Money more important than looks in a man

London - Women regard healthy finances as more important than good looks in a man, according to a survey on Friday.

Almost half (45 percent) said a healthy bank balance is more significant than physical attractiveness in a potential partner, according to National Savings & Investments' (NS&I) latest quarterly savings survey.

Just 22 percent of men, however, rate finances above looks in women.

A salary of almost 50,000 pounds a year is demonstrative of male financial success, according to women.

Men need to earn at least 49,247 pounds a year before women consider them successful and wealthy, the study found. And more than one in 10 women would only consider a partner to be successful if they are earning 100,000 pounds or more.

Men were found to have lower expectations, saying they would deem women earning 42,147 pounds to be successful and wealthy.

On the savings front, women expect their men to have an average of 24,281 pounds in savings -- compared to 20,335 pounds in reality -- while men are happy with savings of 15,143 pounds among women, much in line with an actual average of 14,167 pounds.

Dax Harkins, senior savings strategist at NS&I, said: "Finances form a very important part of relationship dynamics and this is reflected in the expectations people have, both in terms of salary and savings levels. Maybe people do believe they can buy happiness after all."

Despite marked differences in expectations, 64 percent of those questioned agree that financial security is important to the success of a relationship.

Kate Maycock, from Relate, said: "Feeling financially insecure will put some strains on a relationship.

"These latest figures bear out that two people are unlikely to exactly agree on what is a healthy nest-egg and what is a financial crisis.

"Accept that you will not change your partner's attitude to money, but that the two of you can come to an agreement on how you will manage your differences and plan your saving."

The research also found that regular savings are on the increase. Average monthly savings were 87.85 pounds in the three months to end-July, up 8 percent on the year.

This savings rate -- equal to 6.8 percent of average income -- is second only to a high of 89.11 pounds recorded in autumn last year.

Around 54 percent of the population put money away each month. They are saving 174.50 pounds a month -- a 10.3 percent increase on this time last year. -- Reuters Limited

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