Romantic relationships can be incredibly wonderful things. Like most worthwhile things though, they do have their expenses. At all stages, significant monetary costs can arise in connection to relationships.
Take dating for example. It has been estimated that, in U.S. cities, the average date costs between $43.53 and $81.42, depending on the specific city. The U.S. city that held the top end of this range, $81.42, is a city here in Texas: Austin.
Getting married can have considerable expenses attached to it. One of the things that tends to dominate marriage-related expenses is the wedding. The amount of money spent by couples on weddings has been going up. In 2014, average wedding cost hit $31,213. As a note, wedding costs vary considerably between different parts of the country.
As starting a marriage can be expensive, so too can ending one. There are a variety of costs associated with getting a divorce.
Keeping costs down in a divorce is something divorcing individuals may care greatly about. However, when it comes to any intended cost-cutting measure for a divorce, divorcing individuals should think carefully about whether the measure will actually help them in the long run. Some corner-cutting when it comes to divorce expenses, such as trying to go the DIY route, could lead to mistakes or oversights when it comes to important divorce issues. What happens in relation to important divorce issues can have long lasting implications, both financial and otherwise, so avoiding mistakes and oversights can be vital.
So, in a divorce, it can be important to properly balance cost-cutting goals with other key goals, such as getting things right in divorce proceedings.
Source: NPR, “Money May Not Buy You Love, But It Sure Helps,” Zhai Yun Tan, Feb. 12, 2016