With money at the root of a lot of relationship issues, it’s no surprise that most people won’t swipe right on a date with bad credit.
More than one-third, or 38%, of adults would reconsider a romantic relationship because of the other person’s debt, a 12% jump from a year ago, according to a recent study by personal finance site Finder.com.
In the wake of the Covid crisis, singles are looking for a partner in good financial standing, the report found. However, the type of debt was also a factor.
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These days, significant debt is harder to avoid, particularly among those just starting out. Most would forgive at least some student debt, although the amount varies by generation.
Millennials said a balance over $12,000 was too much, while Gen X considered $15,000 unacceptable and Baby Boomers would be understanding of as much as $34,000 in student loans. (In fact, about 7 in 10 college seniors graduate in the red, owing about $30,000 per borrower.)
In general, most people are OK with certain types of borrowing, especially when it comes to securing a house or a car. Post-pandemic, many people were also more forgiving of medical debt.
Credit card debt, however, was considered the most unacceptable, followed by loans from friends or family and high-interest payday loans.
But how much debt is a dealbreaker? Overall, men are willing to be with a partner who owes up to about $40,000, Finder found. The cutoff for women is lower: just over $34,000.
Finder surveyed more than 1,600 adults in the U.S. in January.