Tonight, when you’re settling on the couch with your loved one and a giant pile of snacks, take a closer look at your partner: Do they look like they’ve been doing something so despicable, so hateful and mean, that you might not ever forgive them? Or… do you have a bad behavior you’d like to admit? If you’re like almost half the world, someone is Netflix cheating in your relationship. [More]
relationships
Your Arguments In IKEA Are Really About Everything Else In Your Relationship
By 8.3.16
In a deeply unscientific experiment, Vice’s Yasmin Jeffery went to IKEA to eavesdrop on strangers and try to draw wider conclusions about their relationships. While she was prowling in the UK, the feeling of wanting to argue with your partner in an IKEA, much like the feeling of being trapped in a parking garage with no way out, is a universal part of the human condition, even in places where there is no IKEA, because the arguments aren’t really about IKEA at all. [More]
How To Survive A Trip To IKEA Without Dumping Your Partner
By 4.22.15 — Updated: 4.11.17
Hardware stores aren’t the only retail establishments that pose an existential threat to domestic partnerships. Mega-home-store IKEA can also be a treacherous place, where the issues in a relationship surface as you search for items to fill your home together, then get them home and assemble them. That’s why one therapist actually uses the store’s flat-pack furniture as an exercise for patients: they have to assemble a piece of flat-pack furniture together and report back on how they communicated during the process. [More]
KFC Staff Will Miss The Woman Who Spent A Week In The Restaurant Mourning A Bad Breakup
By 10.22.14
Burying your head in a gallon of chocolate frozen custard while letting the tears fall into the bucket and mingle with the contents. Buying all the cheese at the store and using it as an edible blanket while you spend days in bed. Crying/running the other direction anytime you see a happy couple. All are normal reactions to a breakup. But hanging out at a KFC for an entire week to get rid of the lovesick blues? That’s something new. [More]
5 Ways Couples Can Avoid Disastrous Money Mistakes
By 2.20.14
Dealing with finances is one of the least fun aspects of being an adult. Dealing with finances when you’re in a committed relationship is even less enjoyable. Of course you love your spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, fiancé, or whatever, but you don’t have to love the way they handle money. Seamlessly transitioning to a ‘we’ financial situation doesn’t have to be full of mistakes or a completely painful situation. [More]
FTD Salvages Fiancée’s Birthday Present After Florist Tries To Kill Her With Lilies
By 3.1.13
Sometimes, it doesn’t matter all that much when a florist substitutes in a different flower from the one you ordered, and sometimes it matters very much. In the case of Andy’s fiancée, it’s actually kind of important for her to not get a certain kind of flower, because she’s allergic to it. It’s no fun to get flowers for your birthday if you can’t be in the same room as them. [More]
How To Identify And Combat Financial Abuse
By 1.23.12
Not all abuse is physical. One tough-to-detect method of control and domination is financial manipulation, and victims may not always be aware they’re being exploited. [More]
The Hidden Costs Of Being Single
By 7.31.11
When you’ve got to pull your own weight, without a roommate or significant other to help you get by, you may find the burden is harder than you imagined — especially if you’ve recently come out of a relationship. [More]
Dating And Coupons Are Not A Perfect Match
By 6.24.11
Reaching for a coupon at the end of a dinner date could be a potentially mood-killing move. Or it could be a watershed moment to demonstrate shared affection for frugality. [More]
Do Not Air Your Fight With An Ex On A Billboard
By 6.7.11
After a New Mexico man put up a billboard deriding his ex for having an abortion, a domestic court official recommended that the message be taken down. [More]
My Ex Ruined My Credit And Jamie Dimion Doesn't Care
By 11.24.10
Lawrence has been in two bad relationships, first with his ex and now with Chase. He and the woman had shared expenses. He was on her credit card. They broke up but he was still on her card, which she continued to run up to $15k. Lawrence escalated his request to get taken off the card all the way up to CEO Jamie Dimion, who promised to sic one of his secretaries on it. And since this is a letter being posted on Consumerist, you can imagine how well that worked out… [More]
Love In The Time Of Soul-Crushing Student Loan Debt
By 9.9.10
What kind of lies about money would cause you to end a romantic relationship? What is more important–debt or money problems themselves, or if your significant other lies about them? As young Americans begin their adult lives with unprecedented amounts of student loan debt, it’s important to confront debt and be honest with oneself and before pursuing a serious relationship. Just ask the California woman whose fiancé broke their engagement after learning that her student loan debts were significantly higher than she had previously disclosed. [More]
Don't Threaten Yourself Via Text Message Then Tell The Police
By 7.12.10
The conventional wisdom has it that if you want to commit a crime with a cell phone, use a prepaid model. That’s what a woman in California did to get back at her ex-boyfriend and his sister-in-law, by sending harassing text messages to herself and then reporting them to the police. The plan fell apart, however, when her victims hit the pavement to find proof that they were being framed. [More]
Fighting About Money Frequently Increases Risk Of Divorce
By 5.25.10
You already know that it’s not healthy to fight about money all the time, but it might be a bigger risk factor for divorce than you think. A 2009 University of Virginia study found that couples who argue about finances every a week are 30% more likely to divorce than those who argue less frequently. In addition, a couple that marries with no assets are 70% more likely to divorce in three years than a couple bringing $10k in assets into the union. [More]
4 Money Conversations You Should Have Before You Commit
By 10.24.09
Before you tie your destiny and your credit rating to the person you love, there are some decidedly un-romantic conversations that you need to have in order to prevent discord and catastrophe later in life.
Three Tips To Keep The Recession From Depressing Your Relationship
By 3.7.09
Money can ruin relationships, but by talking honestly about finances with your significant other, you just might emerge from this depressing recession as a couple. Even if your finances are deteriorating, there are a few ways to keep your money problems from rotting your relationship.
Vonage Insists You're Still A Customer Two Years After You Canceled Service
By 8.31.08
Listen Vonage, Garry isn’t your customer anymore. You need to stop sending him bills and let him go. Sure, he liked you back in 2004, but he found a better company at a cheaper price and he’s moved on. Billing his AmEx every single month for two years after he canceled? Not cute. Sending his account to collections when his AmEx finally expired? Seems desperate. Please Vonage, get over Garry and move on with your life.
Introducing The Dating Service Consumer Bill Of Rights
By 7.7.07
• If a contract costs more than $25 per month, the dating service must provide a minimum number of referrals each month. Customers can cancel with a full refund if the minimum is missed for two consecutive months, though a reasonable cancellation fee is allowed.
