Married men earn more than single men, why?

[Philip J. Fry]

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/21/mar...more-money-than-everyone-else-in-america.html

This study has been proven many times. Married men earn more than single men. In my last job, I was harassed for being singled and rejected because of that. I thought it was Singleism, but now to think about it, the owners were on to something (and were Singlists). Married men are expected to provide whereas single men aren't. They'll stick to it longer and have grit whereas single men are short sighted.

What's your opinion? To me, my single friends are too concerned about "finding someone" or entertaining that idea for a weekend to actually put in work in their companies. Not good!

 

[DanielS]

I think there are multiple reasons for this.

Speaking for myself, my quality of life standards for myself are lower than my quality of life standards for other people - especially those I care about. I can only imagine what it'd be like if I were married and had someone (or multiple people) depending on me to give them the quality of life I feel they deserve.

Also, I think getting it "off the table" is pretty freeing. Meaning, when you do get married, you don't have to be concerned about "finding someone" like your friends (and many other people). It's very interesting to see how much more content the young married couples around me are than those who are single.

Another thing to keep in mind is the support system that is gained. Having a wife call you out when you're being lazy can be good I'd imagine (within reason). And if you have kids, well, you don't want to come in the front door to see them wearing garbage bags as clothes.

 

[Jesse]

Correlation, causation, etc.

A more interesting and perhaps more useful question would be about why they are so desperate to push that particular narrative.

 

[Potatoe]

People are probably more likely to get married once they're in a more stable financial situation so there's probably some selection bias right out of the gates. Maybe they have more family support and such, too. Married people would trend older than single people I'd imagine, and people tend to have more money as they get older. Marriage is probably selecting for people who have their stuff together a bit more on average, and feel like they're ready to support a family and all that.

Hopefully they controlled for all of this in whatever the article is citing, I don't know, I didn't read the article but those are just some possibilities off the top of my head.

I don't know if it's necessarily something that happens just by virtue of being married that primes someone to be able to earn more, I think it's probably the other way around.

Edit: @JesseEddleman said it a lot more succinctly than me, lol.

 

[Ryuzaki]

Do men who have multiple wives make more money than men with one wife? Or are men who make more money able to afford to have multiple wives?

I ain't worried bout none of it, cuz I'm married to the game.

 

[Sutra]

Lots of good points in the above responses. I will say that for myself, being married has absolutely helped increase our income, and continues to help increase it.

I am the vision, the leader, the provider, the one who goes out and makes things happen.

My wife is the support, the follower, the nurturer, the one who stays within and provides peace of mind.

Just the thought of how loving, caring, patient, and understanding she is inspires me to become better than I am; to be worthy of the admiration and trust she places in me. To provide her with a life beyond measure.

The support and peace of mind she gives me helps reduce any stress I might feel when things get rough in the business. Thus, any time I get off track, I am able to get back on track much easier and faster - so less time lost.

Additionally, the simple fact that I'm no longer going out looking for girls has been a HUGE boost to productivity. In the past, I would spend sooooo much time thinking about meeting girls, going out to meet them, spending time with them, talking to them/texting them, going to clubs/bars/cafes, always going out looking for new girls, etc etc. It was fun but it was such a huge time sink and waste of mental energy. Glitter and fairy dust. Now that that is removed and all that time is freed up, I'm easily able to focus all of that physical, mental, and emotional energy into building our business.

 

[harrytwatter]

I think it all boils down to confidence and married men have more of it. All of the other descriptions fall into this category, from direct spousal emotional or financial support to reproduction and everything in between.

Single men are by and large on their own so their success must come entirely from themselves.

At the end of the day the difference between typical office drone A and office drone B in terms of how much they earn is their confidence in themselves, in their work, in their interactions, and in the ability to demand to be compensated in a fair manner. Those lacking confidence struggle with all of these things.

 

[B0bbyland]

I think we're looking at it the wrong way. Are they making more because they are married?

Or are they married because they're making more?

Women don't really pick guys for marriage if they're not financially stable, so the guys who are getting married are more likely to be married.

Also, most divorces and fights happen over money, so married men have the incentive to work like a donkey before and after marriage to keep the ball rolling.

When you're single, you don't really have a lot of stuff to spend on. Once you bring a woman into your life it all changes.

 

[GNews]

A relationship usually keeps you grounded. The end.

 

[JOoa0ky]

I would argue that despite married men making more, they also keep a lot less of it. The wife and the kids are like black holes for your bank account.

I think single men probably come out ahead on a net basis.

 

[bernard]

I think we're looking at it the wrong way. Are they making more because they are married?

Or are they married because they're making more?

Women don't really pick guys for marriage if they're not financially stable, so the guys who are getting married are more likely to be married.

Also, most divorces and fights happen over money, so married men have the incentive to work like a donkey before and after marriage to keep the ball rolling.

When you're single, you don't really have a lot of stuff to spend on. Once you bring a woman into your life it all changes.

Yes, this is a classic case of confusing correlation for causation, which in this case is the other way around.

There's also another reason, which is that single men don't need to make as much money. Even if you have kids, they'll just take more from you in child support.

Most men do not really need a lot of money. If you're resigned to a life without kids, then what do you really need? A place to live, a car, something to go drunk/high off and that's that.