Marriage is a bigger commitment than home loan: Aussie couples We're more likely to get cold feet at marriage than buying a house. THE older we get, the more scared we become of saying until death do us part. And putting a ring on it is a much more intimidating prospect for commitment-phobes than signing their life away to a bank for a home loan. New research by Slater and Gordon has found two-thirds of Australian couples say marriage is the biggest commitment they can make. About 28 per cent said buying property or moving in together was the biggest commitment, while 3 per cent nominated setting up a joint bank account. But a breakdown of the 1500 people surveyed showed that while 60 per cent of people aged 25 to 34 thought marriage was the biggest commitment, that figure jumped to 78 per cent for those aged over 55. Sex and relationships therapist Susie Tuckwell said couples who could make financial commitments were often more likely to have successful relationships. "When people are willing to make other big commitments, have a home together, their money together, then they're on the way to becoming a real couple and a real team," she said. Marriage is about a team ... I think we still care very much about who we marry, and I think we assume rightly or wrongly that we'll make everything else work around that. Slater and Gordon family lawyer Heather McKinnon said the hundreds of couples she had represented all had their own ideas of commitment. "Some people live together first, others decide not to marry at all, some buy property before getting married and others wait until after marriage to open a joint bank account," Ms McKinnon said. There is no right or wrong when it comes to getting married, buying property or moving in together. At the end of the day, only a couple can decide what is best for them. She said de facto couples had the same legal rights as married couples, so they were subject to the same benefits and their financial disputes were treated the same way. Originally published as Bank loans less scary than tying the knot