Tag: Michelle Singletary

How much money would it take to dump your partner?

A few weeks ago, Washington Post business columnist, Michelle Singletary wrote an interesting piece titled, Would you dump your honey for this much money? In it she examined a pool that asked millennials what they were willing to give up for their career. The results might surprise you.

Comet, a website that provides people with student loan financing, conducted the survey with 364 employed, childless, young adult participants—asking them if they would stay single to focus on work or break up with a partner if it meant getting a raise and/or promotion.

A full 41% said they would break up with their significant other for a life-changing promotion. 32% said they would call it quits for a significant raise. Talk about expendable relationships. Specifically, respondents said it would take 36,000 to delay getting involved; 37,000 to end their relationship; 64,000 to delay marriage; and 67,000 to delay parenthood.

Probably not that surprising is that male participants were willing to make these sacrifices for half the money women needed to make the same choices. What about you? What would you be willing to give up if the price were right? Do you think this is more a reflection of the quality of these relationships than everyone having a price? Definitely something to think about. Maybe everyone contemplating marriage should consider what amount they would be satisfied with to walk away from this other person. If the answer comes too quickly, it’s time to hit the pause button.

Good financial advice for singles on Valentine’s Day

Michelle Singletary, money columnist for the Washington post had a great column in this Sunday’s paper titled, Four lessons from the stock market if you’re looking for love. Sounds romantic, doesn’t it? Yet it has great value to anyone who may soon get into that blissful state, where they forget that exciting romance doesn’t last forever, and financial security is a pretty big turn on when travelling through life with someone. Just imagine a life without it? And do that now, before you fall in lust and lose your head.

This is the point that Ms. Singletary makes (very well) in her piece. She uses lessons from the stock market as her frame—and they are actually a great guide when evaluating someone’s rightness or wrongness for you.

The first lesson is that you need to have a plan, one that takes you through the ups and down of the stock market—and a shared life together. If not, you may end up with someone you are not financially compatible with and life will be a constant struggle of savings VS spending, debt VS security.

The second is to not let your emotions cloud your judgment. If you panic when the stock market falls and get too comfortable when it is on a roll, you may lose sight of the bigger and healthier picture and make the wrong moves. When choosing a mate, you don’t want to overlook or ignore red flags that seem so unimportant when you are head over heels, but will be waving brightly when the hormones and highs of love subside. Imagine struggling through life, living hand to mouth, never having enough to take a real vacation, live where and as you want and/or retire someday.

The third is don’t take more risk than you can afford. Ms. Singletary states that staying with someone who doesn’t have your financial values will leave you frustrated at best and struggling and miserable when you have never had a plan and never have enough.

The fourth is manage your expectations. If you choose someone who has certain traits that concern you but expect this will change later on—you will be very disappointed when this doesn’t happen. Don’t expect anything you don’t see and know is actually there. Love does not conquer all.

As usual, Ms. Singletary delivers some sound financial, and in this case, relationship advice. Check her out on Washingtonpost.com.