Current:Home > Contact-usWhich is the biggest dinner-table conversation killer: the election, or money?-LoTradeCoin
Which is the biggest dinner-table conversation killer: the election, or money?
View Date:2024-12-23 15:46:09
Which topic is the bigger dinner-table conversation killer: our nation’s fractious presidential election, or your own family’s finances?
Both subjects make for uncomfortable conversations, a recent survey finds. But if you really want to hear the sound of clinking silverware, ask your loved ones how they spend their money.
Parents would rather talk to their children about how they’re voting in Tuesday’s election than about their finances, by a margin of 76% to 63%, U.S. Bank found in a survey published in September.
And children would rather talk to their parents about whom they would choose as president (68%) than their own finances (55%). The survey reached more than 2,000 Americans.
Money and elections make for uncomfortable conversations
Americans are notoriously uncomfortable talking to family and friends about money. USA TODAY’S own Uncomfortable Conversations series has delved into societal discomfort about discussing kids’ fundraisers, vacation spending, restaurant bills and inheritances, among other conversational taboos.
Marital finances are particularly fraught. In one recent survey by Edelman Financial Engines, 39% of married adults admitted that their partners didn’t know everything about their spending. For divorcees, the figure rose to 50%.
In the U.S. Bank survey, more than one-third of Americans said they do not agree with their partner on how to manage money. And roughly one-third said they have lied to their partner about money.
The new survey suggests American families may be more open about money now than in prior generations. But there’s still room for improvement.
Parents said they are almost twice as likely to discuss personal finance with their kids as their own parents were with them, by a margin of 44% to 24%.
Yet, fewer than half of adult children (44%) said they ask parents for money advice. Women are more likely than men, 49% vs. 35%, to approach parents for financial tips.
“For many people, discussing money is extremely uncomfortable; this is especially true with families,” said Scott Ford, president of wealth management at U.S. Bank, in a release.
Half of Gen Z-ers have lied about how they're voting
How we vote, of course, is another potentially uncomfortable conversation.
A new Axios survey, conducted by The Harris Poll, finds that half of Generation Z voters, and one in four voters overall, have lied to people close to them about how they are voting. (The Harris Poll has no connection to the Kamala Harris campaign.)
Gen Z may be particularly sensitive to political pressures, Axios said, because the cohort came of age in the Donald Trump era, a time of highly polarized politics.
Roughly one-third of Americans say the nation’s political climate has caused strain in their families, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Poll for the American Psychological Association.
In that survey, roughly three in 10 American said they have limited the time they spend with family members who don’t share their values.
“For nearly a decade, people have faced a political climate that is highly charged, which has led to the erosion of civil discourse and strained our relationships with our friends and our families,” said Arthur Evans Jr., CEO of the psychological association. “But isolating ourselves from our communities is a recipe for adding more stress to our lives.”
veryGood! (78471)
Related
- Britney Spears Reunites With Son Jayden Federline After His Move to Hawaii
- How Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky Put on a United Front for Their Kids Amid Separation
- Federal judge poised to prohibit separating migrant families at US border for 8 years
- Baltimore’s light rail service suspended temporarily for emergency inspections
- Investigators believe Wisconsin kayaker faked his own death before fleeing to eastern Europe
- US Sen. Kevin Cramer’s son makes court appearance after crash that killed North Dakota deputy
- Utah attorney general drops reelection bid amid scrutiny about his ties to a sexual assault suspect
- Texas teen struck, killed by semi after getting off school bus; driver charged with homicide
- Early Black Friday Deals: 70% Off Apple, Dyson, Tarte, Barefoot Dreams, Le Creuset & More + Free Shipping
- Review: Tony Shalhoub makes the 'Monk' movie an obsessively delightful reunion
Ranking
- Pie, meet donuts: Krispy Kreme releases Thanksgiving pie flavor ahead of holidays
- French actor Gerard Depardieu is under scrutiny over sexual remarks and gestures in new documentary
- With no supermarket for residents of Atlantic City, New Jersey and hospitals create mobile groceries
- With no supermarket for residents of Atlantic City, New Jersey and hospitals create mobile groceries
- 25 monkeys caught but more still missing after escape from research facility in SC
- Jon Rahm is a hypocrite and a sellout. But he's getting paid, and that's clearly all he cares about.
- Exclusive chat with MLS commish: Why Don Garber missed most important goal in MLS history
- Chef Michael Chiarello Allegedly Took Drug Known for Weight Loss Weeks Before His Death
Recommendation
-
Bowl projections: SEC teams joins College Football Playoff field
-
2 nurses, medical resident injured in attack at New Jersey hospital, authorities say
-
Police in Dominica probe the killing of a Canadian couple who owned eco-resort
-
Ex Black Panther who maintained innocence in bombing that killed an officer died in Nebraska prison
-
Falling scaffolding plank narrowly misses pedestrians at Boston’s South Station
-
Celebrities Celebrate the Holidays 2023: Christmas, Hanukkah and More
-
Use these tech tips to preserve memories (old and new) this holiday season
-
Top-ranking Democrat won’t seek reelection next year in GOP-dominated Kentucky House