Amanda Marcotte, a feminist writer infamous for describing Hallmark movies as “fascist propaganda,” penned an article in the Salon on Tuesday warning young women not to marry young. Using the Lauren Boebert “Beetlejuice” theater scandal as a hook, Marcotte argued that, “Marrying someone off before they’ve grown up doesn’t confer maturity and happiness.”
One could say that about just about anything. Nothing in this life, not even blissful feminist singlehood and child-free eternities, always “confer maturity and happiness.”
Take it from a 23-year-old woman a little over a year into married life: getting married young is a beautiful thing with real benefits. Here are five of them.
1. Better Finances
Marriage makes financial sense, especially when you’re young. Newly married couples usually have double incomes. This means more savings and therefore the ability to save up a downpayment on a home and other investments.
Couples with different employers can choose the better of two health insurance plans. Car insurance and home insurance are cheaper, and couples are sometimes put in a lower tax bracket than the higher-earning spouse would pay as an individual.
Marriage also reorients people’s financial and social priorities in a positive way, meaning, contrary to Marcotte’s assertion, it does make people more mature. Studies show that men who get married work harder, smarter, and make more money than their single counterparts.
Marriage naturally encourages people to spend their money more carefully because they have another person (or people) to look out for. And whether
