Marital Waste in Virginia Divorce
A recent New York Times article reconfirmed the findings of a 1998 study suggesting that when it comes to choosing a mate, people tend to gravitate toward a partner with spending habits opposite from their own. Researchers who analyzed several studies in which married couples were asked to describe their feelings about spending found that the more of a spendthrift or tightwad a spouse was, the more likely he or she was to have married someone with the opposite approach. That is, “tightwads,” who generally spend less than they would ideally like to spend, and “spendthrifts,” who generally spend more than they would ideally like to spend, tend to marry each other. This is consistent with the notion that adults are attracted to mates who possess characteristics dissimilar to those they deplore in themselves. Put more simply: each spouse hopes the other will balance out his/her spending habits. Alas, these findings were coupled with findings that these “financial opposites attract marriages” also result in conflict and little long term satisfaction.
If you would like to discuss marital waste and how it might relate to your pending separation, feel free to drop me a line.