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In A Nutshell
- A survey of 2,000 adults found 59% admit to keeping some kind of financial secret, with a bad credit score (21%) as the most common.
- About one in nine respondents (11%) said they have a bank account their partner doesn’t know about, and 14% hide gambling from loved ones.
- Nearly half (46%) said a person’s debt or money habits would affect their willingness to pursue a relationship, with millennials and Gen Z the most likely to agree.
Somewhere in a banking app or a stack of unopened mail, plenty of Americans are hiding something about their money from others. A new survey of 2,000 adults found that 59% admit to keeping some sort of financial secret, and the most common one is a credit score they would rather nobody see.
One in five respondents (21%) said they secretly have a bad credit score. Another 16% said they silently struggle with “significant credit card debt,” and 14% keep their gambling habits from loved ones. About one in nine (11%) went a step further, admitting to a separate bank account their partner doesn’t know exists.
Talker Research ran the poll on behalf of TD Bank U.S., a company with an obvious stake in getting people to talk about money. Even so, the results point to plenty of households where finances go unspoken, at the same moment most respondents say a partner’s money situation matters a great deal when deciding whom to get serious with.
Bad credit leads the list of financial secrets
Researchers surveyed people online between June 29 and July 13, 2026. Rather than drawing one simple national sample, they recruited 250 respondents in each of six cities (New York City, Boston, Miami, Philadelphia, Charlotte and Washington, D.C.), plus 500 general population respondents with internet access. Released materials don’t say whether answers were weighted to match the U.S. population, so the results may tilt toward big East Coast metro areas. Every answer is also self-reported, and a survey about secrets depends on people being honest about what they hide.
A credit score is a three-digit number lenders use to judge how likely someone is to repay borrowed money. A low score can mean higher interest rates or a rejected application for a car loan, credit card or apartment, which helps explain why so many people would rather keep theirs to themselves.
After bad credit and credit card debt, gambling ranked third among hidden money matters. Further down the list, 9% said they hide unpaid student loans, 6% keep child support or alimony payments under wraps, and 5% have kept a bankruptcy to themselves. Released results don’t say how much money was involved in any of these secrets.
Secrecy also shows up in everyday spending. Three in 10 respondents (30%) said they had hidden a purchase or financial decision from a spouse, partner or family member. A smaller share, 23%, said someone close to them had hidden one from them. One possible reading of that seven-point gap is that some people are on the receiving end of a money secret without knowing it. Nothing in the survey can show why that gap exists, so that reading remains speculation.
Debt can be a dealbreaker in dating
Money weighs heavily on how people size up a potential partner. Overall, 72% said financial stability is important in someone they want a serious relationship with, including 41% who said it is very important that a partner be financially stable and able to help support the household when needed. Only 6% said they don’t consider a potential partner’s financial situation at all when deciding whether to continue a relationship.
Nearly half of respondents (46%) said someone’s debt or financial habits would affect their willingness to pursue a relationship. Younger adults were pickier on this front. Among millennials, 51% agreed, along with 49% of Gen Z. Among Gen X and baby boomers, the share dropped to 39% in each group.
Researchers didn’t connect the dating findings to the secrecy findings, and a survey like this one can’t show that one drives the other. Still, it isn’t hard to see how worry about being judged could keep some people quiet about a credit score or a credit card balance when nearly half of potential partners say debt could change their minds.
Financial secrets and the question of merging money
Most respondents believe couples should combine their finances at some point, but they split over timing. Thirty percent said marriage is the right moment, 13% said after moving in together, and 12% said it is appropriate while seriously dating. Another 13% said couples should skip the step entirely and keep their money completely separate.
Prenuptial agreements, legal contracts that spell out how money and property would be divided if a marriage ends, drew more interest than their reputation might suggest. More than half of respondents (54%) said they would consider signing one before getting married.
TD Bank’s own read on the results leans toward its business of financial education. “Financial education and planning may help people better navigate these pressures, have more productive conversations and make more informed decisions about their future,” said Marc Womack, Head of Client Experience, Strategy and Governance at TD Bank U.S.
Family help with money runs both ways
Many Americans in the survey said they lean on relatives and friends to stay afloat. Sixty-seven percent said they had received financial assistance in some way from loved ones. Among those who got help, 24% received support with everyday bills, 21% with emergency bills, 15% with debt payments and 15% with rent or mortgage payments.
Younger generations were the most likely to have received a hand. About 77% of Gen Z and 71% of millennials said they had benefited from financial help, compared with 60% of Gen X and 45% of baby boomers.
Since becoming financially independent, the average respondent has taken in $12,252 in support. That average blends very different experiences: nearly a third of those who received help (31%) got less than $1,000, while 17% have received $25,000 or more over time.
Generosity flows in the other direction, too. Seven in 10 respondents (71%) said they have given financial assistance to a family member or someone close to them, most often to cover everyday expenses (28%), emergencies (24%) and housing-related costs (15%).
Put side by side, those figures describe families that share money freely and talk about it far less. Plenty of respondents want to know a partner’s financial picture before committing, while many are keeping parts of their own out of view. With 46% saying debt or money habits could affect whether they pursue a relationship, those hidden credit scores and bank accounts may end up mattering more than the people keeping them expect.
Survey Notes
Methodology
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 respondents online between June 29 and July 13, 2026. Its sample included 250 respondents in each of six cities (New York City, Boston, Miami, Philadelphia, Charlotte and Washington, D.C.) and 500 general population respondents with internet access. Because three-quarters of respondents came from six East Coast cities, and the release does not say whether results were weighted, the findings may not represent all U.S. adults. All responses are self-reported, which matters for a survey asking people about things they hide. Talker’s release also does not report a margin of error or say whether questions about partners were asked of everyone or only of people in relationships. Talker Research says its full methodology is available through the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) Transparency Initiative, and the release references a link to the questionnaire.
Funding and Disclosures
TD Bank U.S. commissioned the survey, and Talker Research administered and conducted it. Both quotes come from TD Bank U.S. executives, Marc Womack and Mandy Kelso, Head of Financial Education, who frame the results around the value of financial education and planning. Readers should weigh the findings with that commercial sponsorship in mind.
