Back in the 1950s, the debate about getting married or living together would be a rare occurrence. At that time, it was not socially acceptable to be living with a partner without being married. However, times have changed and millions of people choose not to wed. Let’s begin by taking a look at the top 5 reasons why a couple should not get married.
Top Reasons Why You Should Not Get Married
Legalities
The legalities of holy matrimony can become pretty complicated. If you are waiting for things to get better, or if you just aren’t happy with your current relationship anymore, you can’t just pack up your things and walk away. I mean, you can, but it won’t be completely over until you finish spending thousands of bucks in divorce court.
If you have children, it makes divorce even more difficult. You need to not be selfish and think about the impact terminating the marriage will have on your children.
Tax Benefits
It’s true the tax benefits of getting married are great, but if that’s the reason why you are considering it, then you should probably reevaluate your entire life.
Cheaters never win
Some people have a history of cheating after being in a long-term relationship (or in short-term relationships for that matter). Regardless of the reason they cheat on you, it still happens and it’s very possible that these people have commitment issues. The issues could run deep and even relate to past childhood events or behavior. The cheaters out there should remain single and if you are dating a cheater, do not marry them thinking that they will change, because unfortunately, they won’t.
Enjoy Being Alone
If you enjoy being alone, your not willing to sleep on one side of your king-size bed, or would rather be playing video games than cuddling, then you might not be ready for marriage. Marriage is all about compromise and some people may be too set in their ways to be willing to change that. There is nothing wrong with this, it just means that you probably shouldn’t get married.
Marriage is Hard
Marriage is hard. It takes a lot of work to hold a relationship together, especially when breaking up is no longer an option. Every day for the rest of your life you need to work on building and maintaining trust. It’s important to constantly look for new ways to love your spouse while looking past their bad habits and try to encourage better ones. You need to be a team player and share responsibility. Marriage is full of constant negotiations and achieving diplomacy.
Why Should You Get Married?
Again, Marriage is Hard
Looking back to item five of why you shouldn’t get married, is also a top reason why you should. Although marriage is hard, so is being in a relationship with someone you love. You still need to look at new ways of loving your person and you always need to keep an open line of communication and do whatever it takes to build and maintain trust. You are investing your time and love into a person who (let’s hope) is doing the same for you. This effort shows a deep commitment to love that is already being established.
Love and Respect
That piece of paper stating that you are legally married is more than a legal document, it is a gesture stating that you love, respect, and honor that person above all things, (sorry if that sounds cliché) and that you are willing to legalize the relationship to prove that you are seriously committed to only that person.
My Best Friend
If your partner is your go-to person for everything from talking about your day, to talking about your hopes and dreams, then they might just be your best friend. Yeah, you can have other friends who you consider to be your besties, but when it comes down to that single person that knows everything about you, down to what brand tampons or moisturizer you use, then they might just be worth making that solid commitment.
Financial Benefits
There are several financial benefits of getting married, but please don’t get married because of them. Combining an income has its benefits especially at tax time. And if you are looking at health and auto insurance jointly, you’ll find that combined policies are typically cheaper. There is also the fact that getting the home of your dreams is a whole lot easier if both of you apply for the mortgage.
Another financial benefit that no one really wants to talk about, because it’s kind of grim, is what happens should your spouse have an untimely death. You are legally entitled to all of your spouse’s assets without having to pay an estate tax. If my fiancée is reading this, she better not be getting any ideas on putting lye in my coffee. She’ll be really disappointed once she realizes how broke I am.
Health Benefits
In a recent study, it was found that married people have a lower risk of heart disease. This may be largely due to your spouse looking out for you and actually caring about what you put into your body. My fiancée is always telling me that I don’t need the extra salt and encouraging me to work out.
In Conclusion
There are a lot of benefits to staying single and just as many for getting married. There is no magic formula to determine who should get married or who shouldn’t. You just need to make sure that both your heart and your head agree before making that final commitment.