It's really no surprise that financial issues are cited in a majority of divorces.
It's not news that most couples don't set a concrete financial plan prior to getting married.
It might be news, though, that the expenses of getting married are a huge catalyst for future divorces.
According to TheKnot.com, the average 2016 wedding resulted in more than $35,000 in expenses!
And that only includes the cost of the wedding.
The average engagement ring? Now more than $6,000!!!
Add in a honeymoon and the average couple bites off around $50,000 in expenses before they even enter reality as a married couple!
Check out this eye-opening breakdown:
Sure, some of those expenses are absorbed by family, but the financial toll of keeping up with the Jones's when the wedding bells ring is clearly creating a financial burden before even settling into married life.
What's more is that SunTrust just completed a study that found the following...
- Couples who spend the most on a wedding upfront are most likely to get divorced quickly
Notably, the engagement/wedding rings themselves are the single greatest predictor.
- Those who spend above average on the rock have higher divorce rates than those who don't
- The wedding expenses themselves were the second biggest predictor
It all seems to make sense until you enter the personal realities of getting married.
So before you, or your kids, travel down a path of high marriage expenses they're likely to regret - sharing this information could prove to be helpful and create an excuse to take some of the pressure off of the perceived expectations.
Save up for things later in life. The wedding does not have to drain the bank. Trust me.