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Should I Marry Him? -How to Tell If You
Should Tie the Knot
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Relationship Articles Index

February 12, 2009
By Amanda Hillyard, Columnist and
Relationship Editor

He is a nice guy. He's attentive. You've been
going out awhile. And now he has asked you to
marry him. Or maybe the things he's saying
assume you want to marry him. Funny thing is,
you don't quite feel that jump-up-and-shout
feeling that you thought you would? Should you
marry him?  Is this what it's supposed to feel
like?

Here are 10 great tests to help you figure out
whether to tie the knot (jump the broom, walk
the plank--uh... I mean aisle, you know what I
mean:

1. No money, no money , no money. In past
centuries, marriage was viewed as an economic
arrangement and the primary qualities a man
had were his ability to provide for his family.
Now that women can provide for themselves
financially, other qualities count in your decision
as to whether you should marry, including
compatibility in values (fidelity, same goals with
respect to children), attractiveness and sexual
compatibility.

However--- and this is the Big But ---you should
not marry a man who cannot support himself.
Even if he's great looking, great in bed, wants
the exact number of kids you do, you've known
him since second grade, blah, blah, blah. Trust
me, he's a non-starter. After a year of that
great sex, and looking good together as you
enter the room at parties, it gets old. A man
without his own means to make money is a
liability. First, he's an emotional liability. Most
men have been conditioned to keep tract, to
keep score. That doesn't stop when you get
married. If you are the only breadwinner, he
will still be keeping score. And for every dollar
you bring in, he will secretly subtract a dollar
from his self-esteem. Sad but true. Ladies, men
are not that liberated. Don't believe the hype
that says they are.

Underneath that metro-sexual guy who wants a
facial every Thursday is the same old
Neanderthal who needs to feel like he can carry
his own weight. And good for him. He should.
It's a tough world out there. The boat needs two
people with two good, strong oars to make it
upstream.

2.  Values. Okay, say he can carry his weight
financially. Don't marry a man if you don't
share the same values on the following areas

Fidelity. This is a must. You have to be on the
same page with fidelity. This is about trust and
loyalty, not sex.

Religion. You believe in God. He doesn't. Next.


Family. You both don't have to love your
families. But you should agree on whether
family time is important. You believe in
spending Christmas with your entire family. He
never, ever wants to spend Christmas with
family other than you. Next.


3. Sex. This is a big one. You both have to agree
about the division of labor on sex. When you
first start out, sex is easy. You're both so
excited to see each other, the chemistry never
lets up. You see him from across the room and
you climax, right? After about a year, or
sooner, you'll see him from across the room and
he's have that get-it-on look and you will want
to run. Or vice-versa. He'll look at you and
yawn. What you have to agree on before the
run-yawn stage is that you will each work on,
stay interested in, the task of turning the other
partner on. One of you just won't leave all the
work for the other. Trust me, the partner who's
shouldering the load will get tired. And getting
tired begets getting resentful. And being
resentful begets getting even and so it goes.

You're just getting started on improving your
relationship IQ. Here are more tips you get you
smarter quicker:
Cheating-How to Tell If He Is
Cheating  /Something So Right


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Index of Relationship
Channels

Friends-How to Tell When
You Have a True Friend

Liar Liar How to Tell When
Someone Is Lying

Ten Signs He's Going to
Leave You

Ten Reasons to Be Glad He's
Gone

Why Some Men Prefer
Masturbation

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