Household Money Woes Cause Most Stress for Japanese Couples in Their Thirties and Forties

A recent survey in Japan by Sony Bank asked couples in their thirties and forties, who had been married for more than three years, about stress in their family life. The results showed that “money and household finances” caused the most stress, ahead of “housework” and “raising children.” The combined percentage of those who felt stress “a lot” or “somewhat” over finances came to 57.2%.

At 56.8%, more than half of the respondents said that they had disagreed with their partners over household finances. The most common causes for the disagreements were “not having enough savings” and “spending too much compared with income.”

Among specific examples of disagreements, one man in his forties explained that “We planned that my income would cover most of the household costs and that my wife’s income would be put into savings, but when a sudden cost came up, it turned out we had hardly any savings.” Another woman in her forties said, “We’re too busy with work to talk about managing the household finances.”

The online survey was conducted in early February 2023.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)