A new study reveals that British adults are concealing expenditures on items like beauty products, gambling, and cryptocurrencies from their partners, indicating a trend of “secret spending.”
Research conducted by investment platform AJ Bell and pollster Opinium found that over half of adults in relationships engaged in undisclosed spending on various goods.
The survey, which included 4,000 adults, showed that men spent an average of £2,545 without their partner’s knowledge in the past year.
In contrast, women reported an average secret spending of £1,769, according to the survey findings.
Clothing emerged as the most common secret purchase for both men and women, with 20% of men and 35% of women admitting to it.
For women in relationships, beauty products ranked as the next most prevalent secret purchase, with a quarter admitting to buying them without their partner’s knowledge.
Men indicated that their most common secret spending, after clothing, was on vices such as cigarettes and alcohol, with 19% admitting to these undisclosed purchases.
The study also found that men were more likely to spend secretly on gambling or to give gifts to friends and family without informing their partners.
Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012, displayed more secretive spending habits than older generations, averaging £4,303 in undisclosed expenses over the past year.
Meanwhile, those over 55 reported an average secret spending of just £384 during the same period.
Laura Suter, personal finance director at AJ Bell, noted that while some secret spending “might sound harmless,” it could potentially signal “a much bigger issue around how couples manage, discuss and plan their finances.”
She cautioned that undisclosed spending could “make it difficult to budget properly or plan for longer-term goals like buying a home, building an emergency pot or saving for retirement.”
Suter warned that discrepancies between stated and actual spending habits are “likely to be one of the quickest routes to financial friction in a couple.”
She added, “Ultimately, you don’t have to report every time you buy a coffee or get your nails done to your partner, but major costs, recurring habits or anything that risks derailing a joint financial plan should be on the table.”
Finance expert Iona Bain stated that couples maintaining a degree of financial independence can be “very sensible.”
However, Bain cautioned that some partners hide spending “because they have failed to be honest about their values and priorities at an early stage, and they know deep down that their partner wouldn’t approve.”
“This kind of behaviour is understandable, but it actually creates more conflict in the long run because it’s impossible to do things like buy a house together or have children without being honest about how you spend your money,” she added.
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