Comments on: How much does your girlfriend cost?

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 03:27:53 +0000

10% standard of living, not total income.

Money goes to supporting her ass after a divorce. Still money goes to personal well being rather then to a significant other. Dude is happier, spends money on himself efficiently (rebound girls are cheap so are excluded from the formula.

By: Jay

Jay — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:49:14 +0000

Sorry to be nitpicky, but I think the example you gave for change in living standard is backward. The study you quoted said that men’s standard raise 10% after divorce. That would mean that a man with a married standard value of $45,000 would find a value of $49,500 in singlehood (is that a word). If you want to use it as a cost estimate before a relationship, take your current value and divide by 1.1 to find your expected significant other cost.

By: RohoMech

RohoMech — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:54:03 +0000

William,

I’d say there’s a lot of truth to the “bribery” aspect, or rather, its the principle of reciprocity (men buy women drinks to get something in return).

The principle of reciprocity is pretty strongly ingrained in most cultures, to the point that people often refuse “free” gifts because they don’t want to be indebted to the person.

And this is essentially what the Slate article argues, that men find value in paying this fee…

But, if there’s evidence that the opposite works just as well, I’d love to read whatever articles / studies you’ve found (the data gurus who say men shouldn’t do these things…)

By: William Spaniel

William Spaniel — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:17:40 +0000

There might be a societal expectation component to this as well. As much as I try to look past “cultural” explanations, men are “supposed” to be “gentlemen” and pay for their women’s activities. This starts with the classic buy-you-a-drink line at a bar and (I guess) continues on through marriage.

I know a lot of data gurus argue that men should not do these types of things. They say it amounts to bribery, which may not be far from the truth. However, by refusing to pay, you send the signal that there is inherent value to YOU, not your dollars.

Ugh. This hurts my head. How backward is it that they are arguing for UNCOSTLY signaling? Eek.