Why Aren't You Married?

[I'm bumping up this entry because it is as relevant as ever. I noticed that I indicated that things go well in my marriage some of the time. "Well" is a relative term. If you would have described to me the "good" time in my marriage now before I married, I wouldn't have married.]

Even when things are going well in my marriage, I’m not one of those married guys who thinks everyone should be married. Unless someone has a baby on the way, it irritates me when I see someone pressuring someone else to get married. [My thinking on this has changed.]

Whether you are officially on a marriage strike or you have decided marriage is not for you, the fact remains that most people will get married at some time in their life, and so many people assume everyone wants to get married. Whether from relatives or coworkers or women who want you to buy them drinks, or fellow religious congregants, guys get to hear it over and over again: "Why aren't you married?"

If you are a Free Man or part of Men Going Their Own Way, or you are a marriage striker, or have simply decided marriage is not for you, what works as a good reply to this annoying question? Being married, I don’t use these, of course, but let's look at a few possible replies. Please comment with any good ones you have, too.

Here are six responses, getting progressively more provocative (I keep in mind that casual sex is no loner discouraged in our culture):

Be Smart About Food Costs

As you know, food prices are significantly higher. It’s even worse if you live in certain “blue” states and cities. As I write this, fast food prices have just been driven up again in California by legislators micromanaging those places and the wages they pay. [This has been boosted up from December 2024.]

If you’re a very high earner so that your time is expensive, it is relatively inexpensive to hire someone to prepare your home meals. They can even do it once per week for the whole week. It’s certainly less expensive than a wife!

For the rest of us…

While it can take some time, planning, and other effort, you can save money (and be healthier!) by eating more home meals.

You don’t need to be a chef, but you do need some basic kitchen safety habits. It’s never been easier to prepare your own meals. There’s an endless supply of free information online, there are books, there are free or inexpensive local classes, informing you of everything from tips to recipes. You can also recreate your favorite fast food tastes at home, if you really want to.

In general, unless you’re homesteading, the cheapest way to eat is getting your groceries from supermarkets, superstores (like the larger Walmarts), membership stores, and the like. Don’t dismiss places marketing to ethnicities different than your own. Yes, using their club card, app, or credit card will mean they will track everything you buy and keep it in a file about you. Do you really care? It will make your purchases cheaper (as long as you never carry over a balance on the credit card).

Pay attention to those ads and coupons that come to your physical mailbox. Just as you can find food prep and recipe tips online, you can find shopping tips online that will save you money.

In general, the more “raw” and less processed the food, the less expensive. Yes, you can buy frozen cheeseburgers complete with buns, but you’re probably saving money if you buy ground beef to cook yourself. But stores are increasingly offering prepared, “grab and go” meals that might save you over fast food joints and other restaurants.

Buying in bulk can also lower costs, providing what you’re buying doesn’t go bad before you consume it. Don’t buy more than you need.

If you’re not already doing it, you’d be surprised how tasty and filling it can be to simply eat a vegetable (like a carrot) or piece of fruit. You don’t even need to cut them up and process them.

You can have air fryers, slow cookers, blenders, bread makers, coffee makers, and other food processors at home. You can have a thermos and other containers to make it easy to take home prepared meals with you to work or wherever else you’re going. You can make most of your meals for an entire week in one afternoon or evening, especially if you’re willing to make more than one meal out of the same dish.

Pay attention to the drinks you’re buying when you’re out. Fancy coffees, shakes, booze, teas, sodas/pop ain’t cheap. Driving? Take water with you or whatever drink you make at home (no boozing and driving!) and if you must do a drive through, that alone will save you money. Getting table service? Nothing wrong with water.

Fast food prices have risen so much it can make sense to instead order pickup/takeout from a table service place instead. For example, if you want a burger or chicken sandwich, there are places like Red Robin and many others. Order it to go using an app, website, or phone call. Even better if you’re going to be out running errands in the area anyway. A minimal tip will suffice. The total cost won’t be much more than a lower quality fast food order.

And, finally, you’re saving a lot if you’re running game, because you’re not paying for the meals and drinks for a woman (and her kids or friends!). Even if you’re not running game, but just not dating at all, that saves you money, guys. 

I feel bad for small business owners suffering because of government interference and inflation. I feel bad for the people who won’t get jobs or enough hours because of these government-imposed labor costs. Automation will increase. But as a consumer, your priority needs to be your own finances. 

If you you will be enjoying fast food or other restaurants, consider local “mom and pop” places and be aware that some other places are corporate-owned, others are franchised. Franchisees can be large or small. Bottom line: Who owns the places you’re considering? A big business or a small business? It’s possible your local McDonald’s is actually a small business.

Vows Vary

Dr. Laura read a letter at the end of the Wednesday, May 13, 2020 show from the wife of a caller. The wife explained that her husband had called claiming that there were sexual problems in the relationship. The letter writer explained, because he never said so during the call, that her husband had been trying to get her to have sex with other men. (There is a whole fetish or two about that.) [This entry has been bumped up.]

Dr. Laura again talked about "breaking vows".

Practical Advice for Men Avoiding Relationships

Hey all free men! Are you dealing with family, "friends", coworkers, and fellow congregants who insist you should "settle down" or "grow up" or "man up" or "get serious"* and find a "nice woman" and marry her? Are they doing even worse by actually trying to fix you up with someone?

If telling them you never want to get married is either not something you want to do for whatever reason, or hasn't worked, try cutting them off at the knees by insisting any woman you could be with has to fit the following profile:


[NOTE: Are there great women who don't meet the criteria below who can be fun at dinner or parties, or good coworkers, or good friends, or good neighbors, or successful? Yes, but that doesn't mean they'd make a good wife or you'd want her as a girlfriend. That's what we're talking about here. This message is for men who want to avoid marriage and relationships in general.]

Answering Marriage Seller Assertions, Talking Points, and Questions - Part 15

Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here and Part 3 here and Part 4 here and Part 5 here and Part 6 here and Part 7 here and Part 8 here and Part 9 here and Part 10 here. and Part 11 here and Part 12 here and Part 13 here and Part 14 here.


Alimony is rare and/or limited now, and child custody is default 50/50 which means no child support.

A family law attorney publicly asserted this to me. Now why would someone with a financial incentive in people getting married say that?!?

Guess what? Don't enter into a terrible state contract and the risk of alimony is ZERO.

What matters is what the laws say. And the laws allow the higher earning spouse (usually the man), to get screwed over.

I'm glad if the terrible state contract is being enforced to the full extent less often these days, but nobody should ever sign a terrible contract on the chance that it wouldn't actually be enforced against them in a devastating way.

Guys, don't fall for "Trust me!" from someone who has a financial incentive in you making a stupid decision. Don't let misleading weasel words fool you. Don't enable the state to come further into your life and your finances. The terrible state contract isn't necessary.

You can get tagged for child support even if you didn't want children and even if the child was conceived by her having an affair!

Every time she wants to ask for more alimony, every time she wants to change the custody agreement, every time she wants more child support, you're going to have to pay legal costs, and maybe spend time in court.

Today, right now, there are seemingly endless lines of men who are coming out of family courts with terrible outcomes. They are losing their children, homes, possessions, and money.

The best way to win is to not play.

Answering Marriage Seller Assertions, Talking Points, and Questions - Part 7

 


Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here and Part 3 here and Part 4 here and Part 5 here and Part 6 here.


Why aren't you married/Why don't you want to be married?

One problem with these questions is that they are asked as though marriage is the default. It isn't. One must do a series of voluntary things in order to be married. If someone doesn't do those things, they won't be married. Once you realize that the default is being unmarried, deflecting these questions becomes easier.

Yet again, there are several ways of answering this, depending on your situation and your interactions with the person who is asking.

A) I was born without a wife.

B) Marriage is voluntary. I am naturally free. The real question is "Why should I get married?"

C) I don't have compelling reasons to marry.

D) I don't voluntarily sign terrible state contracts.

E) I haven't found a compatible woman.

F) I don't want to inflict myself on someone.

G) I have too much respect for the independence of women than to do that.

H) I refuse to perpetuate such misogynistic patriarchy.

I) Just lucky, I guess.

J) (Turn it around.) Why did you marry?/Why are you marrying? (They will usually cite something they could have had without a terrible state contract. It's up to you if you want to point that out or not.)

Most men don't have a good reason to marry. When men stop accepting without question that marriage is a must and a if not married, a man must seek to get married, and flip things around to place the burden where it belongs, which is on the marriage seller, most of the marriage marketing campaign crumbles.

Part 8

Answering Marriage Seller Assertions, Talking Points, and Questions - Part 5

Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here and Part 3 here and Part 4 here.

 

 

Doesn't the woman you're with want to marry?

There is more than one way to answer this depending on your situation, but this question is based on you having at least one woman you are seeing, which may not be the case. In some cases, more than one of these answers will be useful for you.

A) No.

B) She says she wants to marry, but I know she isn't prepared to be a wife.

C) More than one woman I'm with wants to marry. I treat them equally by not marrying either/any.

D) There are things I want. That doesn't make it her/any woman's obligation to do them.

 

E) So what?

F) I take marriage very seriously and I don't want to enter into it lightly [...or at all].

G) We haven't been seeing each other long enough. [60 years might be enough.]

It is important to remember that you're not holding any woman hostage. Ideally, you haven't made any promises about actually proposing or getting married to any specific woman, nor are you living with any woman. She is continuing to see you AS-IS.

If you have told a woman you will propose to her or you will marry her, you need to invoke your prerogative to change your mind, and the sooner you make that clear, the better. She might leave/stop seeing you, she might not. Even if she does, it is far better than marrying. Living together is usually a very bad idea, but don't make it worse by signing a terrible state contract.

This sort of question by marriage sellers is often followed up with "So you're just using her?" or "You're wasting her time!" You are no more using her than she is using you. Since you're not married, your interactions are entirely voluntary, whereas marrying (even if subsequently divorcing) forces some interactions even if one of you no longer wants to interact in that way. If she doesn't enjoy the time she's spending with you or doesn't otherwise get anything out of it, she is free to NOT see you.

Part 6