Mistresses More Important than Pensions

July 8, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Data from an extra-marital dating site in the UK indicates that cheating husbands and wives contribute more money to their affairs than to their retirement savings.

The Telegraph reports they spend an average of £291 a month on their love affair, compared to just £59 a month on their pension, according to extra-marital dating site IllicitEncounters.co.uk. The numbers suggest sustaining an affair costs £3,500 a year, which covers money spent on accommodation, weekends away, phone calls, gifts and flowers.

“An affair is a notoriously expensive thing. Most cheaters own two separate mobile phones, and buy gifts more regularly for their lover than they do for their spouse,” said Sara Hartley, of Illicit Encounters, in the news report.

She added: “Generally, those who cheat seem to be more hedonistic than most, which may explain why they’re spending more on instant gratification, rather than preparing themselves for the future.”

Illicit Encounters says its average member is a professional, in management or an executive, and between the ages of 36 and 40.

The research was based on the spending habits of around 2% of the Web site’s 300,000 members.

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