Marriage and Finances Connection

There are certain issues that come up in every marriage:

1) a failure of communication 2) financial difficulties

3) sexual difficulties

4) problems with in-laws

5) disagreements over child rearing

 are some of the discussions that are likely to occur in a young or even a seasoned marriage.

 I was incredibly surprised at the role finances plays in a marriage relationship. A study completed by the University of Virgina (the Marriage Project) called "Bank on it: Thrifty couples are the happiest" (2009), specifically addressed the effect of financial stress on a marriage. Specifically, financial stress on the wife, has a significant impact on the outcome of the marriage particularly since "65% of divorces are initiated by women". (U.S. Census Bureau )  According to the research on finances and Marriage "Consumer debt is an equal-opportunity marriage destroyer. It does not matter if couples are rich or poor, working class or middle class. If they accrue substantial debt, it puts a strain on their marriage." In fact feeling that a partner spends money unwisely, shows a 45% increase in the likelihood either party will initiate a divorce. Ranking 3rd behind extra-marital affairs, and substance/alcohol abuse.

Since I am pretty new still to the marriage scene, I thought I would also then check out some of the ways to increase the likelihood of a happy union. Interestingly enough (from the same research) a couple with no assets were 70% more likely to divorce after 36 months, than a couple with $10,000.00 in assets. Having done the Dave Ramsey plan, perhaps the best investment in our marriage is our emergency fund of 3-6 months.

Perhaps you have heard that the divorce statistics are 50% of marriages today are likely to fail What's kind of sad about the whole thing is that often those failed marriages are among the same group of people, someone who married prior to the age of 21, is a high school drop-out, and is non-religious. For some people the likelihood of divorce is significantly lower.

Annual income over $50,000 (vs. under $25,000):    30% decrease in likelihood of divorce

Having a baby 7 months or more after marriage (vs. before marriage):   24% decrease in likelihood of divorce

Marrying over the age of 25 years (vs. under 18):   24% decrease in likelihood of divorce.

Own family of origin intact (vs. divorced parents): 14% decrease in likelihood of divorce

Religious affiliation (vs. none):   14% decrease in likelihood of divorce

Some College (vs. high school dropout): 13% decrease in likelihood of divorce.

 (The State of our Unions 2007)

What I like about this information is that  there is something that can still be done, even if you married young, dropped out of school and/or had a baby before marriage. Going to school, increasing family income, and participating in a faith community, will all positively impact your marriage and decrease the likelihood of divorce. And for husbands out there, maybe the best gift you ever give your wife, and your marriage, is investing in an emergency fund, even having a smaller emergency fund of $1000.00 will significantly increase marital satisfaction for your wife.

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