Cheating spouses spend $444 a month on affair, survey finds

Adulterers, take note. Not only could an extramarital affair cost you the end of your marriage, but it is most likely hitting your wallet as well.

At least that's what a survey conducted by vouchercloud.net found as part of its research into Americans' leisure spending.

While there is no way to validate the truthfulness of the respondents’ answers, the survey results found that the average affair begins a mere two years into the marriage, lasts six months and costs over $2,600.

The sordid details? The average spend per item per month included hotel bills, $123; dinner and drink tabs, $162; gifts, $54 date activities such as movie tickets, $69, and miscellaneous, $36. The monthly tally is $444, or $2,664 over six months.

One wonders how much the respondent’s marriages could have been improved by having a few dates and spending some quality time with his or her spouse, instead. Or perhaps marriage counseling?

Of the 2,645 people who took part in the study, only one-third said their partner had noticed their extramarital spending. Seriously?

Matthew Wood of vouchercloud.net offers the following perspective: “So it seems that not only can an affair ruin your relationship with your husband or wife, but it can also pack a punch for your wallet. Of course, there are a million reasons not to stray from your spouse and the cost is only a very minor one, but perhaps thinking about money is a good place to start. This doesn’t even include the cost of the likely divorce to follow! You should always be able to trust your partner, but if you believe that something untoward is going on, it seems the first thing to look out for is suspicious spending!”