15 Signs a Person is Financially Irresponsible and How to Deal with Them

You don’t think about a possible romantic partner’s financial responsibilities when you’re younger. You don’t care how much money your lover makes, whether they pay their bills on time or if they’re in credit card debt up to their ears. It is easy to not notice whether someone is financially irresponsible.

As you get older, you understand that, it may not be glamorous, but being with someone who has decent financial habits is quite essential. Financial stability is appealing, and being with someone who is financially mature will help you feel comfortable in the long run.

Unless you’re married and have a joint account or make joint payments, it’s a good rule of thumb not to discuss finances with anybody or ever speak about money.

As a result, determining if your spouse or someone you’re seeing is financially solid might be quite tough. If someone is financially irresponsible, they may exhibit various behaviors, and you should be aware of – and careful of – these.

They Have Credit Card Debt

Although debt isn’t unusual, there is a significant difference between owing the bank a few hundred dollars and owing thousands. Most individuals who use credit cards are continuously worried about paying off the debt to regain financial freedom. As a result, they will spend less and save more to pay it off.

If your spouse is in debt and doesn’t have a payment plan in place or is often skipping payments, it’s a sure indicator they aren’t good with money.

It’s not a stretch to believe that someone who accumulates credit card debt and never pays their payments on time would end up with poor or even worse credit. Not everyone who has credit card debt is financially reckless, but you can sense the difference in their mindset.

They Have Bad Credit

The credit rating method is rather simple. You’ll have a good credit score if you keep your debt to a minimum and pay your bills on time. If you stick with it for the long haul, you’ll eventually have a fantastic score.

• Poor: 300-579
• Fair: 580-669
• Good: 670-739
• Very good: 740-799
• Excellent: 800-850

Only financial carelessness, such as utilizing an excessive amount of available credit, asking for several loans in a short period, falling behind on payments, and defaulting on loans, would result in a negative credit rating.

The terms “no credit” and “poor credit” are not interchangeable. This is particularly true when it comes to accountability.

No credit means that you don’t borrow much money. Perhaps you’re young and haven’t built up much of credit history. Alternatively, maybe the credit cards are in your spouse’s name, and you’ve never required your own. You are not being reckless in any of these circumstances.

On the other hand, poor credit indicates that you have a history of financial carelessness. In addition to your poor credit score, lenders will look at your credit record for particular red flags, which isn’t the case with no credit.

They Use Multiple Credit Cards

While having many credit cards might help you improve your credit score, it can also be a source of additional temptation for someone who has poor financial habits.

Whereas someone with a decent financial history would attempt to make the most of having numerous credit cards to maintain a high credit rating, the other would use them to rack up unnecessary debt. In this scenario, excessive credit limits, expirations, and other reasons for refused transactions are all red flags.

You shouldn’t have more than two or three bank cards, and having a lot of bank cards is usually a hint that you’ll need a lot of credit cards to survive. If your spouse uses many credit cards or tries a variety of them after one is refused, it could mean they don’t have any money and are in debt.

They Owe People Money

Someone who is financially unstable and reckless will almost certainly owe money to others. They may have borrowed money from friends, relatives, or even strangers. If someone is in a difficult circumstance, they may need a helping hand from a friend or family member. Still, responsible adults would be extremely worried about repaying this assistance.

The difference with someone reckless is that they won’t give a damn about wasting other people’s money, and they may not even pay it back.

Be aware that if you get involved with financially irresponsible, they may be asking you for money soon. People with money problems do not have issues asking just about anyone for a loan. Therefore, you should be prepared for this person in your life, at least questioning you about lending. You need to decide ahead of time what you will say and be prepared.

They Get Upset Talking About Money

When you attempt to speak about money with someone, they become upset. One of the clearest symptoms is that they have money difficulties or are reckless with money.

Although it is awkward to discuss money, most individuals will not get enraged if it is brought up. If your spouse becomes enraged when you attempt to speak to them about money, they may not want you to know that they’re having financial difficulties.

Furthermore, if you’re in a long-term relationship, talking about money shouldn’t be an issue since it’s necessary to ensure that you and your partner can work together in the future when it comes to finances.

They Live Above Their Means

The majority of adult people will only live a life they can afford. Someone who is lousy with money, on the other hand, would live a lifestyle that is much more costly than they can afford. To conserve money, people may even live at a somewhat lower level of comfort than they can afford.

If they are financially irresponsible, you may be getting lovely things all the time, being lavished with costly meals, and being whisked away to the most wealthy locations. Yet, your spouse may not be able to afford it. Your partner will be unconcerned that they are living over their means, but this alone speaks volumes.

This is important to remember since living over your means is one of the most obvious indications of financial irresponsibility.

This habit entails spending more money than you can afford. It’s also not confined to overtly frivolous expenditures such as extravagant trips and fancy outfits.

Purchasing more property or automobiles than you can afford is one of the most harmful symptoms of living over your means. These are, without a doubt, necessary goods. Overstretching oneself to acquire them, on the other hand, might lead to a lot of stress and financial difficulties.

Furthermore, living above your means indicates that you have a faulty view of money’s role. You could be more concerned with impressing people than with accumulating riches. This neatly leads to our next point.

They Overspend

When a responsible adult is short on cash, owes someone money, or is in credit card debt, the last thing they want to do is a splurge. Yet, if someone is careless and immature when managing their spending and saving, they will waste every dime they have. Every month, they will spend much more than they make.

Overspending is a symptom that someone isn’t thinking ahead of taking their financial situation seriously. Overspending can be showcased in big ways like a new car, a new computer, or a new TV. Still, it can also manifest itself in smaller ways, like always buying fast food, purchasing a new piece of the wardrobe, or even splurging on Starbucks daily. 

They Don’t Pay Their Bills

Have you had the landlord come knocking on your door multiple times to collect rent while you were at your partner’s place? Have you ever discovered past-due credit card bills at their apartment? And I’m not just talking about a few difficult months; I’m talking about it being their normal.

Waiting until the last minute to pay these expenses isn’t a good indicator if your significant other is an adult who isn’t relying on someone else to pay them. It either indicates that they don’t value credibility or aren’t well-organized in general.

Bill payments are one of the things you should budget for every month as an adult. Therefore it’s not natural to miss them. If your spouse does not pay their bills on time, it indicates that they have not checked to see if they have enough money in their account ahead of time or that they do not have any money at all. This is a major financial warning sign.

They Only Focus On The Present

It’s refreshing and exciting living in the now, and certainly, it’s more stressful to think about long-term objectives and problems and plans. But, as much as we want to make today count, a financially responsible person understands the need to save for the future. This is when financial objectives come into play.

You should be worried if your boyfriend or girlfriend takes living in the present literally, in the sense that he or she never plans or budgets and has no savings or investments. Of course, this is not the case for those suffering from a fatal illness and are striving to enjoy their lives to the fullest while they still can.

A good indicator of financial irresponsibility is if the person you are with is not thinking about next month or next week. As they are not thinking about their financial situation, they will not be handling their money well.

They Lie

We all have different methods for obtaining information from our romantic partners. Most of the time, our lovers are honest and faithful about the truth. People who aren’t financially responsible and don’t take their money seriously, on the other hand, will find methods to embellish the reality and lie about how well their bank accounts are doing.

It’s just unfair if you’re in a committed relationship with this person and they lie about a job loss or promise you that everything is fine when they’re drowning in debt.

While it’s understandable that their ego is driving them, you have a right to know about circumstances that might make your life more difficult.

Couples are expected to manage things like this jointly, so it’s not that they’re being protective, but rather that they’re failing to communicate properly.

They Want to Look Rich

Financially irresponsible people are scared of seeming destitute. Being impoverished or homeless does not frighten such a person nearly as much as how others view them. Your spouse is not financially accountable if this culture extends to you.

To indicate they are secure, many reckless people with their finances would make large purchases and shell out on fancy stuff.

Your spouse, for example, may have just purchased a designer jacket or a high-end cell phone or gadget. If you know they don’t have any money or are in debt, and they’re still doing it, you can see how immature and financially unhealthy they truly are.

You could find them inviting you to a luxury restaurant that you know is beyond their price range or borrowing money from friends to make a great gesture and sweep you off your feet. While going to such efforts to impress you may seem romantic, it’s an indication that your spouse bites off more than they can chew.

They Ask You To Pay

If your spouse often requests that you pay for items or pick up the bill, it’s an indication that they’re having financial difficulties. In most serious relationships, the pair will divide expenses or take turns paying for things, so it’s not a good sign if you’re always the one who has to come up with the cash. This is, in fact, one of the most serious financial red lights.

They Have No Savings

People save money to buy assets, invest, have a safety net, or achieve a financial objective. Although hardly everyone saves money, most individuals strive to have a reasonable amount set aside. If someone has no savings and lives paycheck to paycheck, this is a symptom of financial irresponsibility.

You’ve got a tough scenario on your hands if your significant other earns more than enough to fulfill their requirements but has no assets to show for what’s left. If they can’t show you where their money went, whether to an investment, a savings account, or even a failing company, that sounds like a future stability issue waiting to happen.

You Don’t Trust Them With Money

A romantic or emotional affair with another person isn’t the only way your lover might be unfaithful to you. Financial infidelity is just as real as sleeping with someone else, and it can be just as harmful to a relationship.

Simply put, financial infidelity occurs when two people who have shared assets lie to one other about their finances.

This might involve withdrawing money without telling your spouse, stashing some of it elsewhere, or disguising the true situation of the account, like in the example above.

There’s one clear sign that you can no longer trust your spouse with money since you discovered personal bank statements or other abnormalities.

What Should You Do?

Sometimes you may need to address financial irresponsibility via discussion, like other challenges that couples confront. It may be necessary to devise a strategy jointly or seek expert assistance after discussing how your partner’s financial behaviors impact you. You can manage your funds in the meanwhile.

It is important to remember you love your partner, even with all their faults. There are some things you cannot allow, such as lies, but there are other things that you can find boundaries for and still live a life with the relationship being strong despite these financial irresponsibilities.

If you are with a financially unsound and unhealthy person, you should never lie to them. You should plainly and openly state what you will and will not accept. You should make a hard line in the sand and stick to your guns. 

Most importantly, it would be best if you never weakened your financial standing because of theirs. If that means you need separate bank accounts, that’s okay. If it means you don’t lend them money, that’s also okay. Just make sure that you clarify what you are doing in advance so your partner knows where you stand. Whatever your boundaries are, stick to them.

When your romantic partner makes it obvious that they want to change their ways and get better, support them, be there for them, and root them on. Hopefully, your care and love for them will help them strive forward on a path of financial responsibility and health.