How to Be Sure You Are Ready for Marriage

Sometimes the excitement of getting engaged or planning a wedding can overshadow some of the more important issues surrounding the decision to marry. That can leave a person unsure whether he is really ready for the seriousness of a marriage. If a person is not sure he is ready to get married, there are several criteria he should consider before making the commitment.

Instructions

1. Think about the expectations you have toward marriage. If you are thinking more about the wedding than the years that will come afterward, you may not be ready to get married. If you are thinking about being married and making plans for life together, you may be ready.

2. Look over your finances, and make sure you have looked over the finances of the other person. Even if you are emotionally ready for marriage, there is a strong economic component to marriage. It may not sound very romantic, but then marriage isn’t all romance--it’s also a team effort that involves money and financial stability. If neither of you have enough money to live on, no credit and nothing saved, you are likely not ready for marriage.

3. Communicate with your significant other. Are there things that you don’t talk about together? If you have never discussed and agreed on whether to have children, how many, where you will live and your goals for the future, you are not ready to get married. Only after you have had all of these discussions and you feel secure that you have compatible goals will you be ready.

4. Consider how much you trust each other. Do you suspect infidelity? Has either of you ever been unfaithful? Are there lies between you? If so, this would make for a rocky foundation for a marriage.

5. Remember why it is that you’re thinking about getting married. If it’s because you want to prove something to someone else, to get out of a difficult family situation or any other reason besides love and devotion, you are not ready to get married.