There’s a lot of articles out there about how millennials are a commitment-less generation. Maybe they don’t say that in so many words (though some do), but we’re job hoppers. We don’t have a lot of loyalty to any merchants, because, well, they’re merchants and we know most of them don’t really care about us.

On the plus side, we’re doing slightly better than previous generations with divorce so far. To be fair, it’s kind of early along to really say it’ll stay that way though.

The thing is though, commitment can save you a lot of money in the long run.

Marriage

Divorce is stupid expensive, no matter how you slice it. Even an amicable do-it-yourself divorce can run up to $1,500 in legal fees. If you use the internet, you can pile another $300 in fees onto that number, still assuming it was an amicable divorce.

For the less amicable, divorce mediation can pile up to another $7,000 on that first $1,500 and if you need to hire a lawyer, they come in between $200-$500/hour. The average lawyer divorces cost between $15,000 and $32,000. If you have to take your ex-spouse to trial, it can balloon to over $100,000.

That’s just to get divorced!

In an ideal 50/50 split, you now have 50% less savings, investments, cash, etc. At least one of you will need to find a new home, possibly both. You may wind up selling this just to get out of this mess at values less than their worth.

Clearly, I’m not saying don’t get divorced for the emotional reasons, or heaven forbid you’re in an abusive relationship, but I am saying that the costs of divorce are really freaking high and if you can remain committed to that person, your bank account will likely thank you.

Careers

I’m going to stick with the millennial stance on this and point out that I don’t mean jobs – jumping to higher paying jobs at another company is often a way to boost your earnings much faster than staying where you are.

BUT switching careers is costly. I definitely winced during some research into what it would take to get an accounting degree from my old alma mater. Each credit costs $528.39 and each course is 4 credits.

When I was initially an undergrad there, I was a full time student. The school I went to had flat rate tuition for 12-20 credits, so whether you take 3 or 5 courses, you pay the same amount. I took 5 every semester.

If I go back to do this, I would study part time around work for most of it, so I would need to pay per credit to take only 1 or 2 courses a semester for the next several years. Additionally, my old school doesn’t offer every course online, so at some point, I would need to go back for at least a semester (silver lining, I could take a full semester of classes then…) and lose 4 months of pay.

In this case, switching my career could cost me up to $40,000 and about 6 years of free time. Worth it? Maybe, but committing to a single career and sticking it out is definitely cheaper.

Stores

Let’s look at the microcosm of this, even just committing to where you shop can save you money.

Drugstores like CVS, Walgreens, Duane Reade and Rite Aid all have pretty good loyalty programs. If you bop between several of them, you don’t reap the same easy rewards as committing to one.

If you know your shopping habits, you can stock up on discounted gift cards from sites like Raise before shopping, or your friends and family will know the places you like and stock you up on bithdays and holidays.

Even on a local scale, you can save with loyalty. Our local bakery does a $5.00 off your next order when you spend $50 punch card.

It’s easier to get to all these rewards by concentrating your spending in as few different places as possible rather than spreading it out.

Has commitment worked in your favor?