IT PAYS TO SAY, 'I DO.'
2008-05-13 20:42:32 -
Okay, society lied to you; two can't live as cheaply as one. However, two living together can indeed live less expensively than two living apart. So you've found your special love, gotten married, finished paying for your wedding - what comes now? On the books in the U.S., there are approximately 1,400 laws that favor marrieds over singles. Many of them encompass purely economic benefits, which, in this day and age, are nothing to sneeze at.
ECONOMIC BENEFITS FOR MARRIEDS:
1. Joint insurance policies: home, auto, health. Your insurance company likely already offers reductions in premium rates for combining home and auto coverage. If your health insurance is provided by an employer, you're already paying a moderate amount for your own coverage. For significantly less than the cost of another single premium, you can add your spouse to your premium. Two cars covered under the same policy work the same way. Insure your cars and your home with the same company and you'll receive a very nice bundled deduction.
2. If your roommate should reach an untimely demise, no matter how
long you have lived and loved together, you will have no legal standing. If you're married, you inherit all jointly owned real and personal property automatically in the absence of a will. (Providing you're not the deceased, of course.) This is not to imply that dying intestate is a smart thing. But your lover, if that person was not your spouse, may have told the entire world over and over that he or she wants you to have everything, but a heretofore-unknown third cousin is bound to spring out of the woodwork and make off with the china, silver, priceless collection of Battersea boxes, and the house that houses all these bibelots.
3. Marrieds are allowed to file income taxes jointly. Joint filing works to advantage for most married couples, and we don't know anyone who wouldn't like to save money during tax season. (If you know someone who wouldn't like to save money during tax time, run away from this person, lest lunacy prove contagious.
BENEFITS FOR THE ECONOMY WHEN PEOPLE MARRY
1. The commitment, which for a lucky number of people, is lifelong and
strong brings about amazing changes in purchasing and buying patterns.
Hard-goods manufacturers are especially favorably affected. Two single
people are more likely to direct expendable income toward objects of
short-term planned obsolescence: clothing with which to make a good
impression during the never-ending hunt for the soulmate you've already found; cosmetics - see above; and just the right Ikea furniture for your bachelor/bachelorette apartment.
In startling contrast, married couples head like homing pigeons straight to not-so-obsolescent washer-dryer combinations, a larger refrigerator, a good lawn mower for the house you just purchased as a twosome, and, of course, the house itself. Even with the purchase of these larger, higher-investment items, married couples often discover that, while they were living fairly comfortably on two no combined salaries, the combination of those salaries seems bizarrely to translate into substantially more discretionary funds. These funds frequently find themselves enriching the coffers of local businesses such as restaurants, department, home improvement and hardware stores, and, later, baby-sitting services.
Your duty is clear. Get married, revel in the joy and contentment of a
wisely made commitment with your love, make more money for yourselves and your local businesses, and stimulate your local economy.. Ofcourse, if you love to travel, no more mind-numbing singles-only cruises. Make reservations for two to Paris or Venice or any other bastion of romance and history, and enrich the local coffers of Parisian restaurateurs and Italian wine bars. They'll be happy you were there, and you'll both be thrilled to spend your travel time with your spouse rather than ensconced cheek-by-jowl with retirees who complain incessantly about the clean water, plumbing and bath tissue.
Marriage, if entered into carefully, cautiously and realistically, is the only true win-by-win situation we can find, so find your favorite version of 'Here Comes the Bride' and embark on your happy, economically enriching your partnership of a lifetime.
About TogetherŽ /The Right OneŽ
The Right OneŽ and TogetherŽ create a match every 17 minutes, a marriage every day and serve 300,000 active members. With more than 30 years of experience, they are the relationship experts. The company includes more than 300,000 members at 60 locations throughout North America. The Right OneŽ and TogetherŽ offer a level of personal attention and security that no other service can match. They do it the old-fashioned way: one-to-one interviews, caring guidance, background checks and a focus on compatibility. They are the largest bricks and mortar dating services in the industry.
About TogetherŽ / The Right OneŽ / eLove
With more than 30 years of experience and a match every 17 minutes, International Dating Ventures, Inc. is the relationship expert. The company includes The Right OneŽ, TogetherŽ, and the new eLove, with more that 300,000 members at 60 locations throughout North America. The Right OneŽ and TogetherŽ offer a level of personal attention and security that no other service can match. They do it the old-fashioned way: one-to-one interviews, caring guidance and a focus on compatibility, and they are the largest bricks-and-mortar dating services in the industry. eLove.com will serve singles through the Internet as well as through its physical locations nationwide.eLove was the first dating site to offer instant messaging/web cam chat and one of the first to offer personal matchmaking. The service is currently one of the top 20 internet dating sites in the USA and has over one million active members.
