It is a well-known saying that money doesn’t buy you happiness, but researchers now say that single adults with higher incomes are more likely to find love.
The findings, published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, revealed that a higher bank balance could make you more attractive, signalling a sort of romantic readiness.
Researchers also found that people with higher incomes felt more ready to date and were more likely to actively look for a partner than those with less.
The Canadian researchers conducted two long-term studies—one in the US and the other in Germany—to see how people’s relationship attitudes changed over time with their income.
In the US study, researchers specifically focused on 25-35-year olds, with the belief that this is when people are most likely to seek a relationship.
In both studies, results showed that single adults with higher incomes were more likely to say they felt it was the right time to find a partner.
When surveyed again, either six months or a year later, those who enjoyed bigger salaries were more likely to have found love.
In the German cohort, the effect was stronger for men than women though researchers said the bias was not significant.
According to new research, single adults with higher incomes are more likely to want a relationship, feel ready to date and start a relationship within the next year
However, income was not associated with greater satisfaction in being single suggesting that single people with high incomes are more able to look to self-fulfilment
Professor Geoff MacDonald, a relationship psychology expert from the University of Toronto, said: ‘I think that young people are making rational calculations in unstable economic conditions.
‘Young people understand they are not going to be able to enjoy a relationship if they are working 80 hours a week, of if they are not sure where they’re going to live next year.’
Interestingly, earning more money or less money than the year before had little effect on whether people felt they were ready for a relationship.
What mattered most was financial stability, rather than short-term financial influx or decline.
Professor Johanna Peetz, study co-author and and personal spending expert, concluded that one reason for money and relationship desirability being so interconnected could be that money enables us to fulfil basic needs.
‘With increasing financial resources higher hierarchical needs such as love and belonging—namely the intimacy and romance that are part of partnerships—might become more relevant.’
She added: ‘This connection helps in understanding the sorts of tasks that many single people may be occupied with and organise their lives around, such as more firmly establishing material security.’
The researchers concluded that their findings should serve as a reminder to psychologists that whilst things like personality are important when it comes to forming and maintaining relationships, material conditions also play a significant role.
They added that their findings show that the role of income in relationship interest was largely similar in men and women, challenging the common perception that money in a primarily a concern in dating for men.
However, the researchers acknowledged that while the study provides evidence for a connection between wealth and relationship intentions, it does not prove that money causes people to enter into relationships.
They said a whole host of other factors including personality, life goals and cultural values, also play a role in romantic readiness.
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