Men or women, who are the bigger spenders?

Putting to bed the myth that women are more impulsive buyers than men, a new consumer study has revealed that it’s actually the men who are the big spenders.

While virtually the same number of men and women admit to impulse shopping, the majority of men confess to spending between $500 and $10,000 – and some even more – on their impulse purchases. The majority of women spend less than $500 on their impulse buys.

And debt is a real deal breaker for many women when it comes to looking for a life partner, according to the findings in the Cash of the Country report by RateCity. Almost 50 percent of women wouldn’t date someone with over $50,000 in personal debt.

Alex Parsons, chief executive officer of RateCity, said: “Fast spending has become easy with credit cards, and more and more Australians find ourselves spending money that we don’t have.”

“One in six of the men who admitted to having impulse shopped for $10,000 or more had an income of under $75,000 per year, which is really alarming,” he said.

Men are a little more relaxed when it comes to debt levels of potential partners, the study found. While 36 percent of women wouldn’t date someone with a bad credit rating, it was an issue for just 19 percent of men.

Debt and deception

Making matters worse, women aren’t as honest as men about exactly how much debt they have, with 61 percent of men confessing to their partners about their debt levels compared to just 56 percent of women.

Men are more open about savings and how much they earn, too, said Parsons.

“Just as debt is a deal breaker for many women, having a stable income can be a deal maker. Our findings show that they more they earn, the more likely men were to be open about money to their partners,” he said.

Not surprisingly, one in four Australians admit money has caused issues in their relationships, which slightly more men (28 percent) than women (24 percent) revealing cash causing problems. Coincidently, men are significantly more willing than women to lend money to partners, family members and friends.

“Lending money to your loves ones is usually a bad idea, because it can put your relationship in jeopardy,” Parsons added. “What often happens is that you don’t get paid back, and that can ruin the relationship.”

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