Can marriage make you wealthy?

The easiest way to spark me up is to sit next to me on a flight - I take two to six a week, so it's easy enough to find me - and tell me that you either

• don't believe in marriage
• you've been with your partner for a hundred years and don't see the need to marry
• or how you gamed the system by convincing your now spouse to not have a wedding but to go to the courthouse or registry office instead.

The last one is the most fun, as I ask some lovely questions about how you could have had some really fun day with people you love, but instead you decided to go see a public servant. You must be fun at parties!

But the other two are always a good conversation because aside from the fact that Britt and I have built a global business creating weddings and elopements, I'm a big believer in the power and beauty of marriage.

I believe that when you truly get married it's not about paperwork, canapés, rings, or white dresses. When you get married your pronouns change from I to we.

You form a union, together, the two of you creating something new and something that is just you two together.

The easiest way to get someone off side on the relationships and finance internet is to summon Dave Ramsey's name. I did it a few years ago when I echoed his thoughts on joint bank accounts (I'm for them) but I found it really interesting to hear Dave recently talk about marriage and wealth. We're not talking about being rich. We're talking about having enough money to live a good life, and if something crazy happens, you don't have to go into debt. That kind of normal, nice, and fun wealth.

Ramsey quotes a study that says

if you graduate from high school, marry before having a child, and have that child after your twentieth birthday, only 8% of the people that do so will live beneath the poverty line.

79% of the people in the study in America that failed to take those steps in that sequence lived beneath the poverty line.

A 2005 study tracking people in their 20s, 30s and 40s found that married people experienced a 77% increase in wealth over single people.

Even Warren Buffet speaking at the 2009 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting said:

Marry the right person. I’m serious about that. It will make more difference in your life. It will change your aspirations, all kinds of things.

Getting married doesn't fix everything, and if you're not ready to communicate, merge, and bare your soul to the person you're marrying, it may well do more harm than good.

But it turns out that if you wed well, marry well, and work together in truth and honesty, you're just better off - not just financially, but mentally, spiritually, and physically.

Jacob Schroeder writes:

In another study, from Washington University in St. Louis, researchers show people with a conscientious spouse saw their salaries rise by $4,000 per year and were more likely to get a promotion. While this research is a testament to the potential advantages of marriage, for us married folks, it should also serve as a call to action to be a more supportive partner. Just take a minute to think of the difference you can make in the life of the person you love.

When they say love never fails, this is what they're talking about. A whole of life change for the better when you love, and you are loved.

How sweet it is ... to be loved by them ...

💍 Josh Withers is an Australian wedding celebrant based in Hobart who travels the world every week creating meaningful, fun, and honest marriage ceremonies for adventurous couples just like you.

📱 Follow Josh on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, Mastodon, Micro.Blog, or in a Qantas airport lounge somewhere.