Recently, writer Matthew Yglesias did some research to find out if getting married and having children really does make you richer.
The way some people tell it, the road to riches is paved with wedding rings and baby bottles.
Recently, writer Matthew Yglesias did some research to find out if getting married and having children really does make you richer.
What he found was it depends upon how one defines rich.
As example he offers a scenario in which two women with children, both earning minimum wage, fare if they become wed.
Individually, they bring in about 14 thousand dollars a year each, which puts them below the poverty line.
If they get married, however, their household income doubles and catapults them into an above the line bracket.
Due to shared expenses like housing, Internet, and Netflix, their individual costs of living decline.
One could, he points out, accomplish the same thing by getting a roommate.
Others have added to his observations by pointing out that cohabitation in general only decreases financial costs if enough duplicate expenses are mitigated.
Should the housemates, married or not, still require two cars, have different food preferences, and not generally share much, there’s no real financial gain resulting from the arrangement.
In some cases, the only riches marriage brings are of the emotional variety.
