What The Research Says
- The older you are when you get married especially if you are older than 20 (or better yet 25) the less likely it is that you will later get divorced.
- Whereas Marriage has been shown to provide reliable improvements in Health and Happiness, Divorce does just the opposite, leaving people worse off than when they started.
- Due to economies of scales (one house, one car, shared food purchases) marriage nets out to be better for your Wealth than living with your BFF.
- Being religious and being more financially well off when you first marry has been shown to decrease the rates of divorce.
- Second marriages tend to have few of the benefits to happiness that a first marriage does, perhaps because of the significant distress caused by divorce.
References
- Marriage Statistics (Statistics Brain)
- First Marriages in the United States: Data From the 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth (CDC, Page 17)
- Divorce Has Lasting Toll on Health (Web MD)
- The Effects of Marriage on Health (HHS)
- Effects of Marriage on Family Economic Well Being (HHS)
The Choices
Never: You think it’s the cats meow to live the single life, perhaps cohabiting with your significant other but avoiding the economic and existential ties that marriage entails.
Score: -1 Wealth, -1 Happiness
Earlier (Before Age 20): You’re deeply and madly in love with someone you met before you’re legally allowed to curse their existence over a glass of Bourbon.
Score: -1 Wealth, +1 Health, +1 Risk
Later (After Age 20): The Marriage bells ring but only after you are both financially stable enough to afford to go into crippling debt planning your wedding day.
Score: +1 Wealth, +1 Happiness, -1 Risk