Archive for June, 2009

This is Part 3 of my review and chapter summary of Getting Rich in America: 8 Simple Rules for Building a Fortune and a Satisfying Life by Dwight R. Lee and Richard B. McKenzie.

You can read the first two parts of this review by clicking the following links:

Getting Rich in America Book Review and Summary, Part 1

Getting Rich in America Book Review and Summary, Part 2

Rule #5. Get Married and Stay Married

“Marriage is like life in this - that it is a field of battle, and not a bed of roses.” - Robert Louis Stevenson

Contrary to all the bad press, marriage can lead to greater wealth accumulation.  The evidence points to married people earning disproportionately more and having disproportionately more wealth than single people living separately or together.  While marriage is not essential to making it in America, it can greatly improve your chances of making it.

Married men earn up to 26% more than unmarried men.  Married women earn more than unmarried women, as long as they remain childless.  Married couples have an income that’s 15% greater than the median income of all families.  Due to their higher incomes, married couples have more wealth later in life than unmarried couples.

The cooperation required by marriage can lead to economies of scale and specialization.  This specialization leads to efficiency, which allows for more time to do other things, among them work, which brings in more income.

Married people have the advantage of not having to look for a life partner (unless they want to get in trouble with their spouse).  The time and money invested in this endeavor can be enormous, as clubs and dating services have their own distinct costs.

Divorce often occurs because spouses devote insufficient resources to developing and maintaining the marriage contract.  An extended dating and engagement period affords the partners the time to test each other beforehand.

Marriage can extend the life expectancy over that of single people.  The most general reason is that married couples have better health than single and divorced people, as highlighted in the following research findings:

• Divorced men have twice the lung cancer rate of married men;
• Divorced men have three to four times the rate of other cancers;
• Divorced and single men and women have from two and a half to three and a half times the married men’s rate of death from heart disease;
• Married people have fewer problems with anxiety and depression;
• Marriage increases the likelihood that women will have children, and women who have given birth tend to have a lower rate of breast cancer.

Children can be expensive.  Many couples delay their savings until after the kids are out of the house.  This could prove disastrous to your accumulation of wealth, as college costs take precedence over retirement savings.

The key to a happy and successful marriage, not surprisingly, is to find someone who is both emotionally and financially compatible.

My Take

Not to get too sappy, but marriage was probably the best choice that I’ve ever made, so I have to second the authors’ advice.  I think it’s key to take the time to get to know each other thoroughly, just so there are no surprises (look at me acting like Dear Abby).  It’s also nice to know that at least one person in this world has your back, and will miss you when you’re gone.  From just a financial perspective, having a compatible partner allows you to both follow the same goals of wealth accumulation.  It’s been working for us so far.

Rule #6. Take Care of Yourself

Why accumulate wealth and destroy your health in the process?  Healthy people miss less work, are more productive at work, and are more likely to be promoted and earn larger salaries.

Taking care of yourself increases the odds of living to a ripe old age, but we Americans aren’t taking full advantage of our opportunities.  The average life span of an American is ranked twenty-third in the world (must be all of that supersizing at Mickie D’s).  Wealth can increase the opportunities for indulgences that are unhealthy.  Resisting these unhealthy temptations will pay long-term dividends both physically and financially.

The good news is that you can choose to live a longer, healthier life.  Consider these facts:

• A male who smokes forty or more cigarettes daily will lose eight years of his life.
• 90% of premature deaths can be attributed to smoking cigarettes, overeating, misusing alcohol, failing to control high blood pressure, not exercising, or not wearing seat belts.
• Death is seventeen times more likely on a motorcycle, motor scooter, and motor bike than in a car.
• 40% of traffic accidents result from speeding, failing to yield right of way, or tailgating.
• A 20mg/dl drop in blood cholesterol reduced deaths due to heart disease by 16%.
• An active life and a long life go hand in hand.  Those who exercise can expect to live longer than couch potatoes.

The longer you live, the better return you’ll receive on defined benefit plans such as Social Security, pensions, and annuities.  The definition of retirement is also changing.  Many people are retiring on the “Installment Plan” for various reasons:

• Satisfaction derived from work;
• Work is becoming less physically demanding;
• Career shifting will become natural;
• Technology has allowed working from home and flexible hours;
• Companies have shifted from defined benefit plans such as pensions to defined contribution plans like the 401(k).

The chapter offers some practical advice for taking care of yourself, such as exercising every day, making exercise fun, controlling your weight, eating healthy foods, not smoking, moderate drinking, not doing drugs, getting enough sleep, being careful, doing volunteer work to feel good about yourself, and staying mentally active as well as physically active.

My Take

I’d like to stick around to enjoy my money, too.  I’ve taken better care of myself this year, changing up my diet and exercise routines.  I’ve even tried to eliminate caffeine from my life.  The “be careful” message reminds me of the movie Along Came Polly, where Ben Stiller tried to get insurance for a Richard Branson-type daredevil who enjoyed dangerous hobbies like BASE jumping.  Maybe “dangerous” things like skydiving or motorcycle riding make life worthwhile for some people, so you can’t generalize and have us all live in protective cocoons.  I think I’m on board with the new kind of retirement, too.  I don’t think that I’ll have the patience or the money to play golf for thirty years, so I’ll continue to work in some manner.

Don’t miss Part 4 of this review.  Click this link for email updates: Email Updates

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