Want A Wealth Hack? Get And Stay Married

[james.hendrickson]

Something like 50% of marriages end up breaking up before the marriage has lasted 30 years. And divorce is hugely expensive...

So a great wealth hack is, GET AND STAY MARRIED.

For example, this guy on reddit lost $850,000 in his divorce.

[ua_guy]

I don't understand how some divorces end in such disaster. I get that people change and I don't fault people for finding that they aren't compatible together any longer as life gets a ways down the road. But for it to end in such bitterness and financial ruin? For both partners?

What James said is good financial advice. Get married and stay married. And just as important, own your finances together.

This is up there with "Keep exercising after you turn 30" because it will pay off in spades the longer you keep up with it.

[disneysteve]

I don't understand how some divorces end in such disaster..

For every single one of my close friends and family members who has gotten divorced, I and everyone else around me predicted it from day one. It was blatantly clear to us that the couple was wildly incompatible. Some of those marriages ended quickly, within a year or two thankfully. Others lasted way too long including sometimes involving bringing children into the world together. I can't think of anyone close to me for whom the news of their divorce came as any big surprise. It was always a matter of when, not if.

As the saying goes, love is blind. People dive into relationships that they have no business being in. Maybe they're insecure and have low self esteem and think they won't ever find anyone better. Maybe they believe the crap the partner is saying while ignoring a mountain of red flags to the contrary. I wish pre-marital counseling was legally required for every single couple. I bet it would reduce the divorce rate significantly by opening people's eyes and letting them end the relationship before it got as far as marriage.

[ua_guy]

For every single one of my close friends and family members who has gotten divorced, I and everyone else around me predicted it from day one. It was blatantly clear to us that the couple was wildly incompatible. Some of those marriages ended quickly, within a year or two thankfully. Others lasted way too long including sometimes involving bringing children into the world together. I can't think of anyone close to me for whom the news of their divorce came as any big surprise. It was always a matter of when, not if.

As the saying goes, love is blind. People dive into relationships that they have no business being in. Maybe they're insecure and have low self esteem and think they won't ever find anyone better. Maybe they believe the crap the partner is saying while ignoring a mountain of red flags to the contrary. I wish pre-marital counseling was legally required for every single couple. I bet it would reduce the divorce rate significantly by opening people's eyes and letting them end the relationship before it got as far as marriage.

I realize my next comment is more social than financial in nature, but I've seen seemingly good marriages come to a screeching halt because, infidelity. Not even emotional infidelity, just sex. Not any kind of situation that would ever last, and yet some married couples destroy each other's lives over it and it costs a mint. Why can't more couples have honest conversations about needing to scratch itches and give each other limited permission to do so? Save a couple hundred thousand bucks...geez.

Then again, there are probably couples that do deal with this and they continue to make things work and move past it. Typically don't hear about it.

[scfr]

Was the $450K divorce settlement above and beyond the spllitting of marital assets / household net worth? Or was this yet another example of a guy thinking that household net worth is all his?

[disneysteve]

I realize my next comment is more social than financial in nature, but I've seen seemingly good marriages come to a screeching halt because, infidelity. Not even emotional infidelity, just sex. Not any kind of situation that would ever last, and yet some married couples destroy each other's lives over it and it costs a mint. Why can't more couples have honest conversations about needing to scratch itches and give each other limited permission to do so? Save a couple hundred thousand bucks...geez.

Then again, there are probably couples that do deal with this and they continue to make things work and move past it. Typically don't hear about it.

There are absolutely couples that deal with it in a mature manner, get counseling, and work through it. I personally know people who have done just that. Infidelity doesn't automatically mean the relationship is over. You tend to only hear about it when that is the case though.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Not all marriages end on infidelity. I've known many that haven't. I also know of many who are counting down the days until the kids are out of the house and will finalize the divorce imminently. They are over but at the point where it's harder to get divorced with kids and custody than just live "separate" lives for a bit.

That being said why were the legal fees so high for a couple without kids? Recently friends got divorced and they ended up settling up through mediation which the wife is pissed and feels screwed. Personally I think she got a good deal but she is mad over not getting more. But the truth is that getting divorced will always mean a lower standard of living.