When it’s impossible to sell that house or that time-share, bickering couples decide that getting a divorce perhaps isn’t the most attractive option anymore.
It was a never a smart option. One of the more memorable points made in the book The Millionaire Next Door is that the millionaires next door don’t get divorced. Divorce is an extremely bad economic decision.
One of the many gifts given to America by the Baby Boomers and passed onto unfortunate future generations, is an amazingly high divorce rate and all the social ills that come with it. This is undoubtedly a product of the same mind-set that accompanies the usual Boomer preference for instant gratification.
If a Boomer doesn’t feel “fulfilled” or ecstatically happy for an entire 30 day period, he or she will generally conclude that something has gone horribly wrong and that he or she must a) buy something expensive like an RV or 5,000 sq ft house; b) commit adultery; c) get a divorce; or d)all of the above.
The same extremely high time-preference that has led so many to divorce (in totally non-abusive situations) is what has also led so many to crushing debt loads and a negative savings rate.
Now all of that isn’t looking so easy anymore. Today’s 55-year-olds who squandered what should have been their retirement on huge SUVs and big screen TVs and vacations to Pebble Beach are now facing the propsect of going back to work.
10:39 pm on November 24, 2008
