It’s that time of year again: wedding season. The time of year when couples tie the knot and the romantics among us breathe a collective sigh as we take in all the love that’s in the spring air! With all the wedding activity going on have you ever wondered how your married friends stack up to your single friends financially speaking? I did a little digging and the answer may surprise you.
Research shows that married couples are more financially stable and have more disposable income than their single counterparts. It would seem that there are some financial benefits to marriage including:
- Shared expenses: Whether you are talking about food, cell phone plans, utilities or just about any other expense you can think of it’s definitely cheaper to share those expenses with someone else. Some people can share expenses with a roommate and get similar benefits, but when you are married you have additional opportunities to take advantage of multi-car discounts on insurance, group health benefits, family cell phone plans, etc.
- Combined income: The old adage of “two is better than one” rings true in this case. Two incomes produce much more buying power and a greater opportunity to save than one income alone.
- More opportunity for tax deductions: According to H&R Block, someone filing individual taxes will generally pay more combined tax than they would on a joint return because they are not able to claim as many credits and deductions.
A potentially better financial picture doesn’t mean that every person should get married – especially for the wrong reasons. If you marry, of course, you should marry for love! A rosier financial future doesn’t guarantee you happiness, but it sure can help smooth out some of the bumps along the way.
If you do tie the knot, however, know that there may be some financial perks in the arrangement that you may not have considered before. In addition to the financial benefits, studies have shown that married men and women tend to live longer, have fewer mental health issues, report better health, and have both more frequent and more satisfying sex. Kind of puts that old “ball and chain” myth to rest doesn’t it?
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