Pros and Cons of Living Together Before Marriage

Which side of the fence should you and bae be on?

Living in Sin? - Studies show that half of heterosexual couples live together before tying the knot. Which side of the fence should you and bae be on? Here, the pros and cons of cohabitation before marriage. By Kenrya Rankin(Photo: Darren Kemper/Corbis)

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Living in Sin? - Studies show that half of heterosexual couples live together before tying the knot. Which side of the fence should you and bae be on? Here, the pros and cons of cohabitation before marriage. By Kenrya Rankin(Photo: Darren Kemper/Corbis)

PRO: You Get to Spend More Time Together - He's one of your favorite people — it will be awesome to see him first and last thing each day.(Photo: Wavebreak Media LTD/Wavebreak Media Ltd./Corbis)

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PRO: You Get to Spend More Time Together - He's one of your favorite people — it will be awesome to see him first and last thing each day.(Photo: Wavebreak Media LTD/Wavebreak Media Ltd./Corbis)

CON: You Get to Spend Too Much Time Together - You can have too much of a good thing, too fast. If you're not quite ready to have someone else in your space, you could end up resenting having to share your time and energy.(Photo: JGI/Jamie Grill/Blend Images/Corbis)

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CON: You Get to Spend Too Much Time Together - You can have too much of a good thing, too fast. If you're not quite ready to have someone else in your space, you could end up resenting having to share your time and energy.(Photo: JGI/Jamie Grill/Blend Images/Corbis)

PRO: You'll learn about his quirks. - From leaving the cereal box open to loudly singing in the shower, you'll learn all his annoying stuff in time to decide if you can live with them.(Photo: Tomas Rodriguez/Corbis)

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PRO: You'll learn about his quirks. - From leaving the cereal box open to loudly singing in the shower, you'll learn all his annoying stuff in time to decide if you can live with them.(Photo: Tomas Rodriguez/Corbis)

CON: You'll learn about the hard stuff. - Perhaps he never met a dish that he wanted to wash or has no concept of maintaining a budget. You could learn a few things about him that you need to work out before you join your lives forever.(Photo: JGI/Jamie Grill/Blend Images/Corbis)

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CON: You'll learn about the hard stuff. - Perhaps he never met a dish that he wanted to wash or has no concept of maintaining a budget. You could learn a few things about him that you need to work out before you join your lives forever.(Photo: JGI/Jamie Grill/Blend Images/Corbis)

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PRO: You Can Save Money - Why bother paying rent in two places when he's with you every day anyway? Move in together now and you can painlessly cut your expenses enough to pay for future nuptials. (Photo: Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Blend Images/Corbis)

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PRO: You Can Save Money - Why bother paying rent in two places when he's with you every day anyway? Move in together now and you can painlessly cut your expenses enough to pay for future nuptials. (Photo: Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Blend Images/Corbis)

CON: You'll Need to Have the Money Talk Now - There's a reason many marriages end over money: It's a fraught subject. If you want things to work in the long term, you need to talk about your current earnings, debt and general attitudes about household management and money now. (Photo: Image Source/Corbis)

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CON: You'll Need to Have the Money Talk Now - There's a reason many marriages end over money: It's a fraught subject. If you want things to work in the long term, you need to talk about your current earnings, debt and general attitudes about household management and money now. (Photo: Image Source/Corbis)

PRO: You Would Be Moving to the Next Level - Combining your physical space is a big deal. For those who want to get married, it's usually a precursor to walking down the aisle. (Photo: Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Blend Images/Corbis)

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PRO: You Would Be Moving to the Next Level - Combining your physical space is a big deal. For those who want to get married, it's usually a precursor to walking down the aisle. (Photo: Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Blend Images/Corbis)

CON: You Would Be Moving to the Next Level. - If you aren't sure you want to get married — either to your partner or at all — moving in together could create internal and external pressure to put a ring on it. If you are not on the same page — or only get there because of inertia — it could throw things into turmoil.(Photo: Picturenet/Blend Images/Corbis)

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CON: You Would Be Moving to the Next Level. - If you aren't sure you want to get married — either to your partner or at all — moving in together could create internal and external pressure to put a ring on it. If you are not on the same page — or only get there because of inertia — it could throw things into turmoil.(Photo: Picturenet/Blend Images/Corbis)

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PRO: You'll Get to Test Your Bond - Being in the trenches — cooking dinner, cleaning house, paying bills — will show you how you meet obstacles as a couple. It's better to learn he's useless in an emergency now than after you're married.(Photo: JGI/Corbis)

CON: You Could Become a Statistic - Living together before marriage makes you slightly more likely to divorce than people who wait. Experts say that compared to married couples, co-habitating couples argue more, are more insecure in their relationships and have a harder time resolving conflicts.(Photo: Big Cheese Photo/Corbis)

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CON: You Could Become a Statistic - Living together before marriage makes you slightly more likely to divorce than people who wait. Experts say that compared to married couples, co-habitating couples argue more, are more insecure in their relationships and have a harder time resolving conflicts.(Photo: Big Cheese Photo/Corbis)