Midlife crisis priced at £17,000 - they're wrong
Researchers claiming to have added up the cost of a midlife crisis have vastly underestimated the massive expense associated with the phenomenon. They say it costs us an average of £17,420 - with men splashing out more than £25,000 on average and women less than £10,000.
The problem is that Towergate, the consultancy that did the research, only looked at the things people bought. They found that the stereotypical purchases were still on the list - like a boat, flash car, expensive watch or a motorbike. They also found they had been added to with botox, a cinema room, and a home gym.
They also claimed people were likely to take up new hobbies in an effort to improve themselves. Emma Watson, from Towergate commented: "We are seeing more and more people embracing this time as an opportunity to grab life by both hands and do the things they may have been putting off for a long time."
They listed things like taking up cycling or learning a musical instrument, and claimed that far from being a crisis, people's desire for something new in their 50s should be seen as a positive wish to do something new.
To be fair to them, Watson told AOL: "Our research clearly looks at the hobbies and purchases made in our thirties and forties to see whether attitudes, cliches and stereotypes typically linked to a midlife crisis have changed. However, we are cognisant of the fact that for many, a midlife crisis constitutes much more than material purchases and lifestyle improvements."
It's a crisis - and it's expensive
And this is where the costs get completely out of hand
%VIRTUAL-ArticleSidebar-family-stories%
A mid-life crisis doesn't manifest itself in positive ways for everyone. Given the value our society puts on youth, when we start to leave that behind, we struggle to cope. Ask anyone who is trying to come to terms with middle age and they'll tell you crisis is a perfectly suitable word.
How we handle that crisis can include massive overspending we cannot afford. One of the things the researchers failed to take into consideration was the enormous cost of paying for these splurges on credit and having to pay it back for years.
Other people make the kinds of mistakes that turn into relationship problems. A survey of divorce lawyers recently warned that a midlife crisis is responsible for more than one in seven divorces - and this doesn't even include any of the 29% of divorces sparked by an extra-marital affair.
Once you factor in the typical cost of a divorce, the cost of a mid-life crisis starts to look altogether more alarming. A survey by Aviva found that a typical divorcing couple will spend around £1,300 on the legal fees. However, they'll then spend around £22,000 each on the associated costs - once you factor in the new housing arrangements, and the cost of starting a new life.
And this is just the hidden short-term cost. Over the longer term, couples face incredible expenses. There's a good chance one of the couple will have lost all the equity in their property, in any case they will go from sharing the cost of the property to handling it alone - which is a major financial blow. Meanwhile, they may have lost half of their pension, half of their savings, and then there's spousal maintenance and child support. You can argue that in a marriage they only ever owned half of the assets, but most people would have had shared access to everything.
The real cost of a mid-life crisis can therefore easily stretch to £50,000 or even more - and that would constitute a crisis for anyone. So while some people suggest embracing the new outlook offered by a change of mindset mid-life, the best answer financially may be to deal with your psychological issues carefully, to avoid your mid-life crisis costing you your financial security for the rest of your life.
Family stories on AOL Money
Shocking financial gender divide - women have given up
Should you lend money to friends?
If a child falls off your swing it could cost you £100k
