What Are Your Relationships Worth, in Dollars? (Barking up the wrong tree)

Psychology and sociology studies regularly report that social relationships promote happiness in people. Through shadow pricing method, the monetary value of the satisfaction with life gained by social interaction can be estimated. Someone who only visits with friends or family less than once a month would require almost $100,000 a year to be just as satisfied with life as someone who has such visitations most days. A happy marriage is worth around $105,000 a year. A separation, however, will cost about $225,000 a year, while a divorce will only cost the equivalent of $34,000 a year. Why such a difference? People are happy to move on with their lives after a divorce. Death of a spouse will cost a whopping $308,780 per year.

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