A bit ago I described a not-so-secret sauce of economic well-being, as explored by Emma Green of The Atlantic. It’s what one might call luck bestowed, education completed, and opportunities taken. Another might call it simply being on the sunnier side of the income gap.

Today, based on the work of Jennifer Silva and her colleague Sarah Corse, Amanda Hess of Slate describes marriage as a middle-class luxury item. (Not quite a 1% luxury, as Salon’s headline editors might argue, but a luxury item nonetheless.)

Meanwhile, I read today (also on Slate!) that an increasing number of siblings, up to a number, like 8, increases your chances of not divorcing your spouse.

So not only is marriage for the wealthy or wealthier, it’s also more likely to succeed among those from large families.

Really? Oh really? I grew up watching Dynasty. Stuff didn’t look so rosy there, despite the abundance of rouge and tight smiles.

So much study, rumination, and angst over what makes a strong marriage and concurrently yields economic well-being. You can read through it all, and conclude it’s essentially, (with other nice variables thrown in if you’d like) Money + Humility. Is that the bottom line?

Yeah, those go hand in hand, all the time. Yikes.

But growing up, I watched Felix and Unger, too. Anything is possible.