Reply to Stop including your spouse’s net worth as part of your own!

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]When I’m reading the threads about how much is needed to retire, etc. I do find myself looking to see if someone is talking about the amount for themselves or a couple. So in that sense, it kind of does make a difference when referring to net worth.[/quote]

No, it doesn’t.  Again, it’s not like being a couple is twice the cost of being single.  It’s not even close.  [/quote]

I know many couples with expenses far more than double those of a single person.  Usually marriage is entered into with the intention of having kids, and that drastically raises expenses - daycare, college, food, braces, and on and on.  A single person, or one who divorced before kids, will be able to stretch a $1 million or $2 million net worth much farther.

And lastly, one of the main things that eats up net worth is medical expenses later in life.  With two people, the risk of encountering that situation is exactly double than for a single person.[/quote]

See, you’re mixing apples and oranges.  Everybody agrees that families with children are more expensive than couples without kids.  That’s a complete no-brainer.  We’re talking about something different entirely.

As a general rule, being married has financial advantages over being single.  Anyone who has ever had to pay a “single supplement” for an all-inclusive trip knows this very well.  It’s annoying, but it’s true.

Our system is set up to favor marriage.  The tax system, the benefits system, all of it.  To give just one of many examples, my spouse has never worked outside the home, but because we are married we will collect 50 percent more in social security benefits than the OP would.  Why?  The spousal benefit.

No one can credibly argue that from a financial standpoint is better to be single in this country than married.  [/quote]

If you don't make much money, it's understandable that you want to include your husbands assets in your net worth. But it's not the same thing as a single person with the same assets, as their expenses are quite a bit less. I can see how it's slightly more economical for couples because you are sharing housing, but your situation is likely temporary, as you will most likely get divorced and probably split assets 50/50.[/quote]

This is all so nutty. Married people will not "most likely get divorced." [/quote]

Seriously. What a strange world view. DH and I have been married 22 years. We're not getting divorced. My parents were married 51 years, ILs 48, my BIL/SIL been married 35. Most of my friends are in 20+ year marriages. In the couples in my world divorce is definitely a rarity. [/quote]

+ 1.  No one in our close or extended family, on both sides, our big circle of friends and their near-family is divorced. No one.  50% divorce must be a White Person thing. [/quote]

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