Money Worries Killing Our Sex Drive? Survey Measures Our Obsession

Money Worries Killing Our Sex Drive? Survey Measures Our Obsession

By Amy Hubbard, Los Angeles Times

Money worries are killing romance right when we need it, on Valentine’s Day.

The holiday means pricey dinners and sparkly gifts, an outlay of cash — and added financial stress — for many Americans. For those wanting to add some romantic sizzle, money worries are a cold shower.

A recent survey shows money-related stress may be snuffing out sexual desire. A majority of Americans surveyed in the Harris poll, conducted for financial data company Yodlee, thought about money more often than sex — 62 percent of those 18 and older. And 27 percent of those in a relationship said financial worries were negatively affecting their libidos.

“Discussing finances is often stigmatized in American culture,” said Caroline McNally, vice president of marketing for Yodlee, in a news release. “This survey shows just how severely financial stress is affecting Americans’ relationships.”

Comparative wealth doesn’t seem to help. Of those making $100,000 or more, 26 percent said money worries were affecting how often they were intimate with a partner. That’s the same percentage as among households earning $50,000 to $74,900 annually.

Of those obsessing over money, women are in the majority — with 77 percent thinking of money or the lack of it more often than sex. Men are more successful at keeping sex foremost in their thoughts — a little less than half, 46 percent, say money worries trump sex.

But when it comes to men in relationships, just as many men as women find their sexual desire affected by finances: 28 percent of women, 27 percent of men.

When viewed through the lens of geography, the West is the sexiest place to be.

In the South, 66 percent of people thought more about money than sex, more than any other region in the United States. In the West it was 57 percent. The West also had the lowest percentage of people in relationships who said their sex drives were affected by money worries: 24 percent.

The survey was conducted online in the United States from December 6 to 10 among 2,039 adults 18 and older. Some figures were weighted to reflect actual proportions in the population. The online survey was not based on a probability sample so no estimate of theoretical sampling error was calculated.

Photo: StacyA via Flickr

Advertising

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

Charlie Kirk

Charlie Kirk

Rupert Murdoch announced on September 21 that he will be stepping down as chairman of Fox Corp. and News Corp. after a 70-year career poisoning global media with right-wing lies and hate. Fox is now in the hands of Lachlan Murdoch, whose track record at the company indicates he is even more grimly ideological than his father, serving as the main force backing Tucker Carlson’s on-air white supremacy and pushing the network to support Donald Trump’s 2020 election lies despite their financial consequences.

Keep reading...Show less
Bob Menendez

Sen. Bob Menendez

Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey isn't backing down as he faces a lurid set of corruption charges—complete with gold bars and stacks of cash—and many prominent Democrats have had nothing to say. That silence is troubling, but it’s also a departure from the previous time Menendez was indicted, when Democrats rallied around him. But Friday evening, the dam may have started to burst, with New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and the speaker of the state Assembly calling on Menendez to resign, along with Rep. Mikie Sherill (D-NJ).

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}