Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary has warned couples to never combine their finances, no matter how much in love they are.
She warned that if there is a breakup or divorce, it can be very difficult to untangle joint accounts and people risk losing their credit history.
“What I tell everyone to do in a relationship is: have your own account, your own credit card, never merge your finances,” the investor said in a Fox News interview posted on his Instagram page.
“Many marriages break up, not because of infidelity, but because of financial stress,” he added.
The businessman, whose net worth is estimated at about $400 million, urged Americans not to let their emotions get in the way of making smart financial decisions.
If there is a breakup or divorce, it can be very difficult to untangle joint accounts and people risk losing their credit history.
O’Leary stressed the importance of having one’s own “identity” and financial history, particularly in the credit-centric U.S. economy.
‘After you divorce, if you have merged with your partner, you are nobody in our system.
‘You have to have your own credit history.
“I don’t care how in love you are, keep your accounts to yourself.”
There are an estimated 26 million adults in the United States who are “credit invisible,” meaning they have no credit history or score.
Credit reports and credit scores play a crucial role in the lives of consumers in the United States.
The one in ten Americans who is “credit invisible” could get by making purchases with cash or a debit card, but would have difficulty obtaining a credit card, renting an apartment, buying a car or getting a mortgage on a home.
There are steps people can take to become “credit visible,” including taking out a credit-building loan or becoming an authorized user on someone else’s existing credit card account, but these methods are not without risks and limitations.
O’Leary stressed the importance of having one’s own “identity” and financial history, particularly in the credit-centric U.S. economy.
O’Leary also made similar comments during an interview with Fox Business in March: Business information reported.
“If you don’t have your own financial identity, you’re in the wilderness in America,” he said.
‘You must have a credit rating and a financial identity and an account and your investment accounts just for your own survival.’
She added that when couples tell her they’ve merged their accounts, she tells them it’s a “crazy” decision.
O’Leary said he prohibits account sharing within his own family and requires people to obtain prenuptial and cohabitation agreements.
“I want financial due diligence done on my loved ones because I’m a realist – I deal with the real world,” he said.