Über Geld spricht man nicht. “One does not talk about money.” In May 2026 the polling firm YouGov asked 2,094 people in Germany with whom they talk about nine money topics. The answers form rings. Between 42 and 56 percent talk with their partner, depending on the topic. With close family the share is 22 to 44 percent, with friends 11 to 35 percent, with the wider family 4 to 14 percent, and with colleagues 3 to 14 percent. On their own income, 53 percent talk with their partner and 17 percent with friends.
Colleagues are not entirely outside the circle. In a 2023 survey of 3,000 skilled workers for the job portal meinestadt.de, 53 percent said they did not talk openly about pay with colleagues, which means close to half did.