Till Debt Do Us Part Couples and Money Survey April 2012 TD Ameritrade, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC/NFA, is a subsidiary of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation. TD Ameritrade is a trademark jointly owned by TD Ameritrade IP Company, Inc. and The Toronto-Dominion Bank. 2012 TD Ameritrade IP Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
About the survey 1,014 Americans participated in an online survey on April 2-10, 2012, to seek out and identify financial attitudes and behaviors regarding the costs of weddings and marriage. The 1,014 survey respondents represent a random sample of Americans selected from a consumer panel of individuals in the U.S. who have online access to the Internet. The margin of error in this survey is ±3.0%. This means that in 19 cases out of 20, survey results based on 1,014 respondents will differ by no more than 3.0 percentage points in either direction from what would have been obtained by seeking the opinions of all eligible individuals in the U.S. who are online. Research Now conducted this survey on behalf of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation. Research Now and TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation are separate, unaffiliated companies and are not responsible for each other s products and services. About TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation Millions of investors and independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) have turned to TD Ameritrade s (NYSE:AMTD) technology, people and education to help make investing and trading easier to understand and do. Online or over the phone. In a branch or with an independent RIA. First-timer or sophisticated trader. Our clients want to take control, and we help them decide how bringing Wall Street to Main Street for more than 36 years. An official sponsor of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team, TD Ameritrade has time and again been recognized as a leader in investment services. Please visit TD Ameritrade s newsroom or www.amtd.com for more information. Brokerage services provided by TD Ameritrade, Inc., member FINRA (www.finra.org)/ SIPC(www.SIPC.org)/ NFA (www.nfa.futures.org) About Research Now Research Now is the leading global online sampling and online data collection company. With over 6 million panelists in 38 countries worldwide, Research Now enables companies to listen to and interact with real consumers and business decision makers in order to make key business decisions.
Weddings: Who foots the bill? Those who are married or expect to marry were asked how they paid/will pay for their wedding: Forty-three percent of those who are already married said they and/or their spouse paid, without the help of their parents. Sixty percent of those who expect to marry plan on paying the bill without help from mom and dad. Though not shown on this graph, wedding expenses were influenced by age. Forty-one percent of married respondents ages 18-34 shared the cost of their wedding with their parents, compared to 21 percent of married respondents ages 35-54. Just 28 percent of the younger couples paid for their wedding themselves, compared to 48 percent of those ages 35-54. 2% 5% 2% 1% My Spouse and/or I Paid/Will Pay 18% 18% 43% My Parents and/or My Spouse's Parents Paid/Will Pay My Spouse and I Shared/Will Share Cost with Parents 12% 60% 36% I Didn't/Won t Have a Wedding in Order to Save I Didn't/Won t Have a Wedding for Other Reasons Expect to Marry Already Married Base: Expect to Marry (n=151); Married (n=719) May not total 100 because of rounding
Cost of Weddings When it comes to wedding expenses; most married people (69%) said they paid less than $10,000. Forty-five percent of young people, ages 18-34, spent more ($10K to $30K) on their wedding. In addition to age, geographic location matters when it comes to wedding expenses: Couples living in the Northeast (38%) were more likely to spend $10,000 to $30,000 on their wedding than those living in other parts of the country (South 18%, West 29%, Midwest 26%). 120% Less Than $10K $10K-$30K $30K-$50K More than $50K Among those planning for a future wedding: 46% plan to spend $10K or less 43% plan to spend between $10K and $30K 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 10% 7% 45% 39% 2% 0% 6% 38% 54% 2% 18% 81% 0% 18-34 yrs. 35-54 yrs. 55+ yrs. Already Married Base: Those who ve had a wedding (n=693) May not total 100 because of rounding
Saving for the Big Day How far in advance did you start saving for your wedding? Less than 1 month 1 to 6 months 6 to 12 months 1 to 2 years More than 2 years 9% 14% 18% 30% 30% Already Married Base: Those who paid at least in part for their wedding (n=437) May not total 100 because of rounding
?? No Problem. When considering marriage, which financial issues, if they impacted your fiancé, would be deal breakers or cause for pause? Filed 70 Score High 66 63 60 56 58 % of Respondents 50 40 30 32 26 23 22 27 36 36 41 39 40 38 39 32 33 31 23 20 13 12 12 10 5 0 Deal Breaker Reason to Postpone Neither Base: Those who expect to marry (n=151)
Deal Breakers by Gender Men Women 24% 42% 21% 32% 21% 31% 17% 23% 9% 20% 8% 19% 6% 15% 4% 6% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Base: Those who expect to marry (n=151)
Midwesterners: More likely to call things off or postpone the wedding due to a spouse s financial issues Midwest 61% 46% 73% 73% 70% 67% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% West 66% 66% 59% 43% 39% 36% 32% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% Northeast South 39% 33% 33% 33% 61% 56% 56% 53% 58% 50% 45% 40% 29% 24% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% Base: Those who expect to marry (n=151)