Marriage Insurance
Note: This piece originally appeared on the blog of Modern Financial Planning in 2019
Insurance. The act of investing money (or time) to help protect against future losses. Or, to insure is to decrease the probability of ruin after an event or series of events.
Risk mitigation is a better way to phrase it.
Yes, we know all about insurance for cars, houses, life, disability, but what are other forms of risk mitigation?
Investing in your skills to increase the likelihood of future employment. Spending time in the gym or eating in a healthy manner to increase the probability of a long, healthy life.
How about marriage insurance, is it a real thing?
This is the best financial tip I’ve heard directed towards married couples: Invest in your marriage, because divorce is expensive! Both financially and emotionally.
Wait, how do you invest in your marriage? There are several ways, but first I’ll tell you how I did it for only $260/year.
Every Thursday my wife and I would leave the house around 6:15AM, walk 10 minutes to an almost empty coffee shop, chat with the friendly Barista, Ernesto, who opened the doors early for us. We would then sit down for ~15 minutes and just be present, walk home and get on with our day. This sounds so simple but it was amazing for many reasons.
No time conflicts - We never had conflicts or plans at 6:15am on a Thursday. So we never had to reschedule, we never missed it - cold, rain or shine.
No daily stress or baggage - We were fresh and rested in the mornings. We were not stressed after a long day at work, or a long commute.
Easy on the wallet - Our coffee date was $5 including tip. This comes out to $260 over the course of a year. In the Bay Area that usually covers one date, not 52!
Though it was usually only 30-40 minutes, they were very present moments - something people don’t get much of these days since we are always so connected. Having that time locked in and banked every week made it incredibly easy to stay connected as a couple.
The weekly morning coffee date is what worked for my situation. For anyone looking to invest a little more into their relationship this year, I would encourage you to find something that works for you.
If you do something similar, or try out the morning coffee date, I would love to hear from you.