When It’s Time to Close the Account

A marriage is like an investment. You have to look at short-term and well as long-term returns. You need to sacrifice a little early on, so you have something down the road to live off of. Maintaining good credit, diversifying and assessing risks are crucial for success in both. But, just like in finance, there may be a time in a marriage to cut your losses and move on. How do you know?

If you invest $5,000 in a stock and you see it dip a bit, you’ll probably hang in there hoping for a rebound. You may stick it out if your value drops to $4,200. You might hold tight if it sinks to $3,400. But, when you are looking at a value of $2,100 it may be time to call it quits. You’ve lost a lot, and if you stay with it, you are liable to lose it all.

Many of us do that when our marriages are deteriorating. We feel a slight loss, but want to hang in there. Then, it gets worse, but we don’t want to throw away all of the years of work we’ve put into this relationship investment. Then, there’s the point where we must decide if we are willing to live in an unhappy relationship “til death do us part” or do we pull the plug? And, many of us won’t, maybe due to money or the kids, but most of us stay because although we’re unhappy, we are also comfortable.

You know it’s time to “sell the stock” when you are living in a home with someone you are merely bearing with, someone you speak with only to be sure things get done in the home. When sex is merely a chore for the two of you or worse, sex is non-existent. When you have read the books and gone to the therapists together, and yet you both are more often unhappy than happy. If you have been living this way for more than a year, and you both have truly trued to make it work, it may be time to have the talk, and take your loss before you both become emotionally bankrupt.

Written By: Leon Scott Baxter, America’s Relationship Guru

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About the Author:

Leon Scott Baxter, America’s relationship Guru, is the author of “The Finance of Romance: Investing in Your Relationship Portfolio”, and the founder of CouplesCommittedToLove.com.