Marriage means you have more money!

[lucybelle]

An interesting article about why married people are wealthier. See, it's not JUST about love!

(sidebar- I thought this was quite disturbing: "That compares to $71,428 for a man heading a household, and $39,043 for a woman heading a household." Woman heading a household makes about half what a man her same age makes.)

[Zephii]

Yay for being married! Boo for being a chick and earning less ><

[Trethsparr]

I concur with Zephii. I had known that there was an gap in income between the genders, but didn't realize just how large it was. Saddening.

[digitalfever]

What a strang article.

[blankita719]

While I realize that my SO is in management and I am not, this is dead true. He makes almost double what I do with his bonuses and commissions. Granted, cost of living is also higher where he lives, so that plays a part in his finances, but it kills me.

[kteire]

My SO makes almost triple what I make, sigh. Maybe once I'm in my actual career I'll catch up to him Although, I did have to take a massive pay cut in London, cause I had a salary almost twice this when I was a medical secretary in Canada!!

Interesting article

[MattDavies86]

Interesting, but makes sense, I don't see why it matters if the woman "earns less" the money belongs to both anyway, split down the middle, or at least how I would view it

[Tooki]

There are many variables to consider. None of what the article says surprises me though, especially in regards to the level of commitment relating to how much expenses are shared.

[digitalfever]

There are many variables to consider. None of what the article says surprises me though, especially in regards to the level of commitment relating to how much expenses are shared.

But I'd also have to say this contradicts many statistics that say STEM careers or professional careers (that usually pay more) are prone to higher divorce rates such as doctors, lawyers and the like. I'd have to say that this article isn't taking into consideration that while higher earning couples are more educated there could also be ONE person earning the higher income which bumps their combined earnings. Also it's clear that there are still fewer women in traditionally higher paid careers so... there again is why the average income for women is much lower.

[Tooki]

But I'd also have to say this contradicts many statistics that say STEM careers or professional careers (that usually pay more) are prone to higher divorce rates such as doctors, lawyers and the like. I'd have to say that this article isn't taking into consideration that while higher earning couples are more educated there could also be ONE person earning the higher income which bumps their combined earnings. Also it's clear that there are still fewer women in traditionally higher paid careers so... there again is why the average income for women is much lower.

That I'm definitely aware of. High paying fields like Engineering are male-dominated and female-dominated fields like Nursing pay less. Along with that, many families with one very high source of income can afford for the other half to stay at home or work a job that pays less but offers more free time. There are too many variables that the article doesn't consider.

[lyonsgirl]

And I'm just gonna throw a wrench in here.... my degree is in graphics. I'm now a graphically-minded engineer. My dearest SO is working retail. And he actually got a degree in engineering. But, you know. We're weird.

Although I know that this article is definitely a generalization/average. We'll see down the road what happens, since I'm a converted STEM and he's a graduate of STEM. It shall be an adventure! (said with feet planted shoulder width apart, one hand on hip and the other arm raised, one finger pointed up to the sky. Yes. You needed the visual.)

[lucybelle]

(said with feet planted shoulder width apart, one hand on hip and the other arm raised, one finger pointed up to the sky. Yes. You needed the visual.)

?

[lyonsgirl]

?

More like this.

[summerkid]

this reminds me of the power rangers for some reason

crazy with the marriage, but i can see how it makes a bit of sense. I also heard a presentation tieing the divorce rate to the macroeconomy and the crisis haha.. and this other research that found that 75% of women in europe today, if given the opportunity ( meaning no social pressure and good financial wealth and stability ) would choose to stay home and take care of the household.

What i like to take out of all of that: if you love eachother and would like to share your lives, marriage might be a good idea. which is what i think they wanted to convey. the numbers seem a bit sketchy, the article is questionable, but i am inlove.. and i like where it's going

[ThePiedPiper]

Interesting, but makes sense, I don't see why it matters if the woman "earns less" the money belongs to both anyway, split down the middle, or at least how I would view it

The issue with this isn't how much the woman earns in the context of marriage or even when she's single compared to men. The issue is that a lot of women end up being paid less even in male-dominated careers, if they're even able to get hired and seen as competent. They also get quoted higher than men for used cars, are seen as less competent for managerial positions (in some cases), etc. The reason the figure bothers at least me is because a woman's income being 50% less than a man's is in part to do with living in a patriarchal society. Like Tooki says, sometimes it comes down to an engineer's salary (male-dominated) versus a nurse's salary (female-dominated) but it doesn't always.

That I'm definitely aware of. High paying fields like Engineering are male-dominated and female-dominated fields like Nursing pay less. Along with that, many families with one very high source of income can afford for the other half to stay at home or work a job that pays less but offers more free time. There are too many variables that the article doesn't consider.

I agree with this. The article felt like it was generalising a lot, especially since there are statistics that say the people most likely to get married - at least at young ages - are people coming from poorly educated, socioeconomically disadvanted backgrounds, so I would like to explore more about the article's methods and samples before I bought into the "research says..." - same as I would the other article about those who get married young. I can also see why it phrases that less wealthy people are more likely to get divorced, because money is, I believe, the number one reason for divorce, but at the same time, people with money have their problems too. I feel like this article left a lot out and that's why I would like to see their sample, method and measures, too. I will say that I do agree with the bit on divorce, at least in a lot of cases, and it's one area where I start getting nervous about the idea of marriage. Unless I'm with someone who will also be making six figures, I don't necessarily want to lose some of that money post-divorce to supporting someone who could support themselves fine before I came along.

Interesting read though.