The economics of building a life around friends

Make Me Smart

A recent survey found that almost 15% of Americans have co-bought a home with someone other than a romantic partner, and almost half said they’d consider it. This is part of a larger trend — many Americans are choosing to structure their lives around friends as opposed to a spouse or romantic partner. On the show today, Rhaina Cohen, author of “The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center,” explains what it really means to build your life around friends and the financial costs and benefits that come with it. Plus, how the LGBTQ+ community has shaped the conversation around the issue.

Then, we’ll unpack what baby boomers’ retirement readiness says about the wealth gap in the United States. And, the endless possibilities for crab emojis and why our intern, Thalia, was wrong about her curly hair.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “Why more people are buying houses with their friends” from Axios
• “What If Friendship, Not Marriage, Was at the Center of Life?” from The Atlantic
• “Inflation Widens Married Couples’ Money Lead Over Their Single Friends” from The Wall Street Journal
• “Want financial security in America? Better get married.” from Vox
• “Two Women Redefine What it Means to Marry Your Best Friend” from The New York Times
• “If you can’t stay indoors during this US heat wave, here are a few ideas” from AP News
• “Northeast Heat Wave 2024: This Is a Disaster. Treat It That Way” from Bloomberg
• “US Retirement Accounts Are Flush for Millions of Older Americans” from Bloomberg

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