This is a welcome trend to me: Surveys conducted with singles on dating sites like Tinder, Match.com and OKCupid showed that 58% felt that a physically fit credit score was more important than a physically fit body.

While this is usually not brought up during the dating process, it might be a good idea at some point during the first five dates to discuss credit scores. You could pull it up it on your phone, show your date and say, “Here is my credit score. Show me yours.” Maybe not in those words, but you get my drift. You are not asking your date to tell you how much money they earn, but request they show you how well they handle what they do earn.

Over twenty years ago the first book from my publishing company was Couples and Money by Dr. Victoria F. Collins. She started as a psychologist and then became the partner of a money management firm in Newport Beach, CA. While another 79 more books followed, I followed the theme of helping people in buying real estate, getting out of debt, investing and similar topics.

The point is that more than 50% of couples divorce over money issues. So it makes sense to get started on the right financial footing.

Here are some more survey results:
69% of respondents said that credit history was very or extremely important
Only 67% said a sense of humor was an attractive feature

There was a difference between how men versus women answered, which is not surprising to me. 61% of men said financial sense was a top priority in finding a soul mate, but 77% of women had it as a top priority.

And according to a study by Bankrate.com, 42% of respondents said that someone’s credit will determine if they will pursue dating them. So it makes sense to get this information up front, unless of course you have something to hide.

Sincerely,
Rennie