I am a single man who is very ambitious. Now I know why. I need to earn my feelings of love, devotion, adoration, and loyalty with cold hard cash. This article suggests that I would be better off getting married to the woman of my dreams. If it were only so easy. Am I not the only Washingtonian who believes it is infinitely easier to make $100k more a year than it is to find that perfect someone?
“. . .while most of us devote much of our waking lives to careers we may or may not love, the true secret to a wonderful life may be as close as that ring on your finger. Wedded bliss (or a rough approximation of it) is a much better predictor of happiness than cold, hard cash.”
According to the economists David Blanchflower and Andrew Oswald, the feelings of happiness felt by a married couple can be bought. Yes, bought. But the price is dear.
In order to be as happy as a married couple in love, one would need to increase one’s salary by $100,000.
Of course, there is always a risk because divorce “instantly erases the benefits of marriage, and then some, leaving ex-spouses considerably less happy than not only their married friends but also those who never married in the first place.”
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