What's the bottom line? Love can be blind, and it can break your piggy bank, too. These sites aren't likely to warm your heart, but they could save you money.
LOVE'S PRICE
Should love lead to joint bank accounts and joint credit? Not according to this article at iVillage.com, which is based on the book "The Barefoot Investor" by Scott Pape. Pape also covers the importance of talking about money early in a serious relationship, agreeing or disagreeing on financial habits, and the wisdom of prenuptial agreements and even of cohabitation agreements. Links cover "sex, lies and cash," and "common cash quarrels."
http://go.philly.com/lovecost1
LOVE ECONOMICS
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Some people (very few, actually) love economics. But what is the "theory of love economics"? This page at the dating site SolveDating.com attempts to explain a mathematical model to understand love. It's not really about money, but the author believes there's a way to explain love in terms of its costs and benefits. There's an equation that purports to prove it, too.
http://go.philly.com/lovecost2
COSTLY BABY
To the extent that love leads to babies, here's a way to estimate that bill. Let's see, there's the $5,000 to $10,000 for a normal delivery; possible lost income during maternity leave; $75 to $125 a month for disposable diapers; formula, perhaps; child care; baby furniture. Hmmm. It starts to add up. The article never mentions prom outfits, piano lessons, or college, but what's the point, anyway? After all, we're talking about love.
http://go.philly.com/lovecost3
COST OF DIVORCE
So, it's come to this? The cost of divorce varies widely, but it's always going to be high, considering legal fees, the possibility of child-custody expenses, moving expenses, the cost of lost personal time, and then in many cases the everyday expenses after divorce of running two households.
http://go.philly.com/lovecost4
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LOVE BUDGET
Pick through a few money-saving ideas for date nights from this list of ways to continue a "romance during the recession."
