People admit to making “secret expenses” without telling their partners

British adults are hiding their spending on beauty products, gambling and cryptocurrency from their partners as part of a “secret spending” pattern, according to a new report.

More than half of adults in relationships secretly spend on a variety of products, according to research from investment platform AJ Bell and pollster Opinium.

The survey of 4,000 adults showed that men, on average, spent £2,545 without their partner’s knowledge in the last year.

By contrast, women spent an average of £1,769 secretly, the survey found.

The most common secret purchase among men and women was clothing: it was a purchase for 20% of men and 35% of women.

For women in a relationship, beauty products were next most common, and a quarter said they had bought them secretly.

Men said their most common secret spend after clothes was on vices such as cigarettes and alcohol, and a fifth (19%) said they had made the purchases without telling their partner.

Men were also found to be more likely to use their cash to gamble or send gifts to friends and family without telling their partners.

Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, are more reserved with their spending than previous generations, averaging £4,303 in the last year.

Meanwhile, over-55s spent an average of just £384 secretly over the same period.

AJ Bell personal finance director Laura Suter said a little secret spending “may seem harmless” but could potentially highlight “a much larger problem around how couples manage, discuss and plan their finances.”

He said money spent secretly could make it “difficult to budget properly or plan for long-term goals like buying a home, building an emergency fund or saving for retirement.”

Ms Suter warned that differences between what people say they are spending and what they are actually spending is “probably one of the quickest routes to financial friction in a couple”.

He added: “Ultimately, you don’t have to inform your partner every time you buy a coffee or get your nails done, but major costs, recurring habits or anything that could derail a joint financial plan should be on the table.”

And financial expert Iona Bain said maintaining a degree of financial independence for couples can be “very sensible”.

But Bain warned that some partners hide their spending from each other “because they haven’t been honest about their values ​​and priorities early on, and deep down they know their partner wouldn’t approve.”

“This type of behavior is understandable, but it actually creates more conflict in the long run because it’s impossible to do things like buy a house together or have children without being honest about how you spend your money,” he added.