Misery loves matrimony!

Those still struggling to loosen their ankles from the quagmire of recession, better days are almost here. Proof: Divorce is in the air! Law firms are getting three new secretaries just to contain the outbreak on their switchboards. Business is booming, once again.

During the past couple of years when the world was grappling with the downward pull of the economy, divorce rates had also fallen with it – almost like the down-to-earth reality of gravity. There was a 7% drop in the split sample, which means more people likely decided to stay content just scratching each other’s 7 year itches through the bad times. Ironically, this was at loggerheads with the initial assumptions that lean times will squeeze the gel out of many marriages, the half empty cosmetic tubes they were.

So, what’s the key to now setting free those in hapless wedlock? Of course the economics of it all! The banks are beginning to hand out money again. Read alimony. Someone out there is now going to find the funds to buy out the house he or she wasn’t too happy to share so far. In fact, the house itself is another factor in breaking down the wall (or building the wall, as a matter of perspective!). So far, divorce judges couldn’t often decide if the house was an asset or a liability complicating the divorce settlement. Especially to those whom marriage was a shrewd and enterprising investment, clearly this wasn’t the time to sell their stocks! The economic wisdom that has prevailed in the conduct of marital affairs in these couple of years simply shows that marriage is indeed all about company: a limited liability company.

For those relationships destined to rebound, sweet have been the uses of adversity. A good 29% of 1192 Americans surveyed thank the testing times for a better resolve in their relationship. And for a similar number who were clinging on to each other just because the dollar wasn’t strong enough to lean on, happily, this is the end of the road for their misery. They can finally get rid of their dead stock rather than live with emotional bankruptcy!