Hacker News Reader

Comment by excalibur | Hacker News Reader

Being married isn't all that passive, but it is a great income strategy.

Having kids is a terrible one.

I would assume that a failed marriage is one of life's most financially and emotionally destructive events. So unless you are willing to put in the work that a healthy relationship requires, then it is certainly not passive.

If you include kids in the mix, then, yes, much more expensive and the toll of a failed marriage much more significant.

How is marriage an income strategy?

I guess one method is to marry a rich man/woman.

I wasn't exactly blessed with good looks. That would not be a passive strategy for me, considering how much time I'd have to spend at the gym.

Can I hire a younger, better looking guy to go marry a rich lady and send me back dividends?

No, that would constitute sex trafficking these days.

If he's skilled enough he can build a clone/android that looks better than him and sends it marry rich old ladies ;-)

This message comes from 2080.

My guess, he is talking about having 2 incomes instead of only 1.

Getting married is, without a doubt, by far the best financial decision I've ever made. I doubled my income and only very marginally increased my living expenses. I'm saving more money now that I ever thought would be possible, and that savings generates income in itself as capital gains and dividends which is reinvested and compounded. It's friggin amazing! After several years of marriage our passive income (dividends and capital gains) has become significant.

That being said, I wouldn't advise doing it solely for financial reasons. :)

You would?

Woah, Whoops! Typo - wouldn't. Fixed, thanks.

The tax benefits are also quite nice. The tax bracket thresholds basically double.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_penalty

Great if your better half is a millionaire...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com