Does Marriage Help Your Wealth?

People love to say that getting married is an instant way to build your wealth, but is this really true? Unfortunately, it’s not NECESSARILY true, at least not in every case. However, with that said, studies do show that married people tend to be much wealthier than single people. Of course, there are a lot more factors at stake than whether or not someone is married, but these trends suggest that marital status CAN play a role in financial stability, especially given the fact that married couples often have two incomes instead of one and can also enjoy some tax breaks made just for them.

None of this is to say, however, that getting married will automatically make you rich or ever richer. However, if you choose your spouse wisely and go into marriage with not just a romantic-minded perspective, but also a business-minded one, you greatly increase your chances of your marriage increasing your wealth.   

Know the Facts

The key thing is to make sure that you don’t go into a marriage without knowing where your partner stands financially. While it may not seem like the most romantic thing in the world, you need to know what your partner has going for him or her, financially speaking, as well as what your would-be spouse is dealing with in terms of debt. Marrying someone with horrrible credit and a mountain of debt certainly isn’t going to help your financial situation.

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t marry someone who is in a bad financial state…but you probably shouldn’t marry that person YET. Work together to clean up any bad finances on both of your parts and THEN tie the knot if you want to see the most benefit.

Remember, knowing the truth before you take the plunge and working together to better yourself will only help your intended marriage, so treat financial planning as one of your first responsible acts as a serious couple.