Business Insider features commentary from Managing Partner, Gillian Coote in their article about keeping finances separate

A 2023 Bankrate/YouGov survey of 2,233 U.S adults — 1,124 of whom were married or living with their partner — found that 38% of Gen Zers (aged 18 to 27) kept their finances separate, followed by 32% of millennials (aged 28 to 43). That was compared to 24% of Gen Xers (aged 44 to 59) and 16% of baby boomers (aged 60 to 78).

Millennials and Gen Xers were also more likely to choose a mixture of joint and separate accounts than other generations, instead of completely separating or combining finances.

A 2018 survey commissioned by Bank of America involving 1,500 people aged between 18 and 71 similarly found that 28% of millennials said they kept their finances separate, compared to 11% of Gen Xers, and 13% of Baby Boomers. The survey included non-married people, which may have skewed the results as the millennials were younger and less likely to be married.

Gillian Coote, the founder of Coote Family Lawyers, told The Guardian in 2023 that the pattern could be a symptom of a rise in people being skeptical about commitment, or a fear of being controlled by a partner.

"People are thinking differently about relationships. To be honest, they're more mercenary. It's no longer, 'Well we're going to be together forever and aren't we happy and aren't we lucky?'" Gillian said. "It's more, 'Well we're together now and it's going OK, but what can I do to prevent disaster?'"

You can read the full article that was published in Business Insider here or on Yahoo Entertainment here

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