Posted on 09/01/2006 6:00:41 AM PDT by Mr. Brightside
Womenn: Money more important than looks in a man
By Jennifer Hill Thu Aug 31, 9:44 PM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - Women regard healthy finances as more important than good looks in a man, according to a survey on Friday.
Almost half (45 percent) said a healthy bank balance is more significant than physical attractiveness in a potential partner, according to National Savings & Investments' (NS&I) latest quarterly savings survey.
Just 22 percent of men, however, rate finances above looks in women.
A salary of almost 50,000 pounds a year is demonstrative of male financial success, according to women.
Men need to earn at least 49,247 pounds a year before women consider them successful and wealthy, the study found. And more than one in 10 women would only consider a partner to be successful if they are earning 100,000 pounds or more.
Men were found to have lower expectations, saying they would deem women earning 42,147 pounds to be successful and wealthy.
On the savings front, women expect their men to have an average of 24,281 pounds in savings -- compared to 20,335 pounds in reality -- while men are happy with savings of 15,143 pounds among women, much in line with an actual average of 14,167 pounds.
Dax Harkins, senior savings strategist at NS&I, said: "Finances form a very important part of relationship dynamics and this is reflected in the expectations people have, both in terms of salary and savings levels. Maybe people do believe they can buy happiness after all."
Despite marked differences in expectations, 64 percent of those questioned agree that financial security is important to the success of a relationship.
Kate Maycock, from Relate, said: "Feeling financially insecure will put some strains on a relationship.
"These latest figures bear out that two people are unlikely to exactly agree on what is a healthy nest-egg and what is a financial crisis.
"Accept that you will not change your partner's attitude to money, but that the two of you can come to an agreement on how you will manage your differences and plan your saving."
The research also found that regular savings are on the increase. Average monthly savings were 87.85 pounds in the three months to end-July, up 8 percent on the year.
This savings rate -- equal to 6.8 percent of average income -- is second only to a high of 89.11 pounds recorded in autumn last year.
Around 54 percent of the population put money away each month. They are saving 174.50 pounds a month -- a 10.3 percent increase on this time last year.
duh.
(just go to any divorce court.)
...well, maybe some of the time...but I can send you info on some of the ugliest divorce battles of all time "that would show you that its..."Right..."...other times..
I just have a hard time believing he would do anything controversial.
Maybe that explains it, they are after my crack.
The poll question should have been. "HOW MUCH OF YOUR HUSBANDS MONEY DO YOU EXPECT TO WALK AWAY WITH WHEN YOU DIVORCE?"
Well, I must admit, that's pretty darned impressive. :-)
Your request to investigate whether we can change nature reminds me of Rush's opinion that those who think man can cause global warming is the height of conceit.
I think what I have to do is to recognize what the nature of the beast is, then try to use that information to my advantage.
Roll with the tides, y'know.
Those are my drinking buddies. ;o)
How do you find the time to post, let alone work, just fending off their advances? ;-)
Leeches or Parasites. I call em as I see em.
Baseball bats. LOL
OK. Try these comments on for size, repeated/screamed hundreds of times over the course of X years of marriage:
"You can't support me!"
"We need my money to live!"
"I am paying for your previous child!" (This is an especially insane comment by a wife to an always very gainfully-employed husband)
"You contributed NOTHING to ME!" (See previous comment.)
Now, granted, the woman in question had some very serious psychological problems (though of course, it was the husband who was 'crazy'), but the fact is that many (most?) women, even if extremely successful, will resent their husband making less money - no matter how successful he is - this last part is truly insane, but true)
The above example is an extreme one, to be sure, but such women do exist and their attitudes destroy marriages. Now, had the husband in question above made an "appropriate" amount of $$$ in that wife's view, they would still be married. If that is not a definition of an insane woman, then there ain't no such thing.
bump
..You say you want a revolution, well I say, you'd better change your head; you tell me its the institution, well, you'd better free your mind instead...
-Beatles
Ya, me too.
It's the only thing than John Kerry and I have in common. Kinda embarrassing.
Ah, I think I see the differentials between your (hypothetical?) experience and my own experience:
1. I didn't expect to be "supported"; I expected to do my part and still do.
2. Yeah, we need my money to live...well. We could live on his salary, but mine makes large savings, investments, and other good things possible.
3. I'm a second wife, but fortunately there were no previous children. The ex-wife wasn't even living any more.
4. "Contributed nothing to me!" I don't even know what this means - as I said earlier, if there are shared goals, then "mine" and "yours" aren't applicable. It's all ours.
"the fact is that many (most?) women, even if extremely successful, will resent their husband making less money - no matter how successful he is -"
Maybe this is changing as the younger generation comes up; I hope so. We're in our early fifties, and it just hasn't been an issue for us. Perhaps this is because our salaries are fairly close to each other. As I said in my previous post, he has now pulled about $15,000 ahead of me, but that's still a pretty small salary difference in the total picture.
I'm sorry your experience was so unpleasant, but I'm not sure I'd extrapolate it as the norm.
LOL
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