Reckless spending by men forecasts their sexual aspirations

A recent study by a University of Michigan researcher suggests that overspending by men is driven to a large extent by sex. Is this a surprise to anyone? Certainly not to the salespeople hustling Corvettes, speed boats and hot tubs.

The study found that by looking at financial consumption one could predict how many sexual partners a man aspired to have in the next five years. It is also a barometer for how many partners the man had had in the previous five years.

Of those men studied, the most financially conservative quarter of respondents averages three partners in the previous five years, while the two percent with the most reckless spending habits hooked up with twice that number. The researcher hypothesizes that flagrant spending attracts mates whose biological instincts are driving them to find a dependable provider for their children to come. Instincts don't understand debt, just bling.

So what conclusions can we draw from this study? A man who throws money around and has ruinous debts is not a good bet for monogamy, yet he will find more willing partners. On the other hand, a dude with a portfolio has lower aspirations, a good thing, since he's less likely to attract a mate.

The most troubling conclusion I draw, though, is this: the fiscally irresponsible get more at bats in the game of reproduction, meaning the gene pool rewards this behavior. So that Corvette you've been lusting for? Might as well go ahead and buy it; biology is destiny, and it might just get you laid after all...