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1 day ago
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Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary has warned couples to never combine their finances - no matter how in love they are.
He warned that if there is a breakup or a divorce, it can be very difficult to untangle joint accounts, and people are at risk of being left without a credit record.
'What I tell everybody to do in a relationship is: Have your own account, your own credit card - never merge your finances together,' the investor said in a Fox News interview posted on his Instagram page.
'So many marriages dissolve, not because of infidelity, but because of financial stress,' he added.
The businessman, who is estimated to have a net worth of around $400 million, urged Americans not to let their emotions get in the way of smart financial decision-making.
If there is a breakup or a divorce, it can be very difficult to untangle joint accounts, and people are at risk of being left without a credit record
O'Leary stressed how important it is to have your own 'identity' and financial record, particularly in the credit-focused US economy.
'After you get divorced, if you have been merged in with your significant other, you're a nobody in our system.
'You have to have your own credit track record.
'I don't care how in love you are, you keep your account to yourself.'
There are an estimated 26 million US adults who are 'credit invisible,' which means they have no credit history or score.
Credit reports and credit scores play a crucial role in the lives of consumers in America.
The one in ten Americans who are 'credit invisible' may be able to get by making purchases with cash or a debit card, but they would struggle to get a credit card, rent an apartment, buy a car or get a mortgage on a home.
There are steps that people can take to become 'credit visible', including a credit builder loan or becoming an authorized user on someone else's existing credit card account, but these methods are not without their risks and limitations.
O'Leary stressed how important it is to have your own 'identity' and financial record, particularly in the credit-focused US economy
O'Leary also made similar comments during a Fox Business interview in March, Business Insider 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.'
He added that when couples tell him they have merged their accounts, he tells them it is a 'nuts' decision.
O'Leary said that he forbids account sharing in his own family, and he forces people to get prenups and cohabitation agreements.
'I want financial due diligence on significant others because I'm a realist -I deal in the real world,' he said.
English (US)