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Marriage has just never interested me. I am not against it – in fact I feel happy for those who decide to tie the knot, but it is just not for me.

If there are people out there who feel like me, I think you should start considering the advantages of being single. Here, by single, I mean unmarried people (not necessarily people in relationships), as well as people who do not have children.

1. You can balance your life out without being confused. Imagine if you’re very close to your parents and after getting married, your spouse expects to spend more time with you. You might actually want to go on a vacation with your parents, but you have to drag your spouse along anyway because you’re bound for life. If you’re single, you can be where you want to be without worrying about bringing your spouse and children along.

2. You can save money and travel the world. Imagine if you are married and have a child. Everything you earn will go towards your child’s education. The thought of raising your child will forever be on your mind. However, if you are single, your expenses are under your control. You can spend it where you want and how you want without feeling obligated.

3. You can maintain meaningful friendships. Once people are married (in most cases), their lives change and they stop meeting up with friends or being in touch with them. Their lives become cocooned. This is even truer for people who have children. It is not a conscious decision to do this most of the times, but it ends up happening because you think your world is complete and you need no one else. However, if you are single, your desire for companionship results in you forming meaningful friendships that you want to carry on for the rest of your life. And this is better because you learn more from more people than you do from one (i.e. your spouse).

4. You can live simply. Once you are married, there is the pressure of buying or renting a nice house or apartment, making space for children, buying a car, buying other expensive household items, just because that is how married life is supposed to be. You are supposed to be settled and not shabby. If you are single, you do NOT always have to do the above. You can decide to live in a medium or small apartment or house. You do not need to buy a car (save the environment from further damage). Also you won’t mind eating out of cookie jars and food storage containers.

5. You do not have to argue about who is going to do what. ‘It’s your day to do the laundry; I’ll go to the grocers’. Well at least you won’t have this problem if you’re single. It is another matter that you might have to do both yourself, but that’s being independent. Regular arguments about household chores are soon going to be a bore.

6. You do not have to be disappointed if your spouse does not enjoy something you like. Most of the time, people look for acceptance in their spouses. If you like to travel, he/she must like it too; otherwise your dream of travelling will never come true. What if he/she doesn’t though? It could very much be a disappointment. If you’re single, the only thing you have to bother about is what you like, and you are free to do that.

7. You don’t have to go into depression if your spouse forgets your anniversary date. If you’re single, all you have to remember is your own birthday!

8. You don’t have to lose your sleep over trying to impress your in-laws (I’m a feminist so I mean this for both men and women). One of the first steps to a good marriage is to make sure your spouse’s family doesn’t resent you. You need to make a good impression – which can take up way too much time and energy. However, if you’re single, this is totally irrelevant.

9. You can change as many professions as you want. Once you are married and have kids, the cardinal rule says you must be stable. This means if your job pays you decently but sucks the life out of you, you must stick to it anyhow, because you cannot afford to go out of work. If you are single however, you can change as many jobs as you like, because stability is important, but liking what you do might be more important.

10. You can save the world. Yeah I mean this literally. You know we are 7 billion people on the planet right now. 7 billion! Can you imagine what that means? Very soon humans will fully inhabit the earth, and everything that is good and green now will be destroyed. We will use up resources. I do not know why it is called ‘multiplying like rabbits’ when it should be ‘multiplying like humans’. If this generation cares about saving the planet for future generations, I think some countries (really overpopulated ones), should consider not having children. Sounds blasphemous doesn’t it? But ultimately I think humans are selfish – why else would you want a child? For YOUR happiness – not for the happiness of this world. Think about the world for a change now.

Ok I’m done. Any more ideas? :D

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