/r/MGTOW,

After lurking on this sub for the better part of ten months I've (18, M) been exposed to a great deal of philosophy, ethics, hobbies and other great aspects of life, namely the bachelor life. I thank you all for this, honorable mentions to /u/DangZagnut and /u/zealousmathematician for wonderful commentary on many an article bemoaning the woes of women, and a percieved lack of marriageable men.

This sub has taught me of the wonders of pursuing life for myself; women are no longer the prize I thought them to be. Nor are committed relationships with them something I now desire. I now, more than ever, understand the need to understand what I'm getting into (this goes for anything).

After many an eye-opening post about the horrors of marriage I began to look into the statistics surrounding marriage, divorce etc. Here in Australia one in three marriages ends in divorce. The divorce rate is better than in many other "Western" countries (50% or so), however I have heard of and seen what divorce can and will do to a man. My uncle has now been in two LTRs and been married once (fourteen years, before it ended some eight months ago). In all three cases he was left with next to nothing. However much like America, we have common law marriage, or as we know it in Australia know it; a de facto relationship. Thus I can still get divorced, whilst not being married.

Here in Australia divorce is declining, yet so is marriage. Does this say something about societies possibly changing views on marriage? Perhaps, but I'm not willing to play with fire. Besides, if my own parents marriage is anything to go by, being the sole provider for two other people is destructive. To quote Otto von Bismarck; Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.

As a young man floundering for direction, the internet, mainly this sub, has given me the answers and guidance I sought. After several cost/benefit analysis' of marriage/LTRs, I've concluded the following;

  • "Why buy the cow when the milk is free." Why marry for access to sex when Australia has prostitutes? It's less hassle and will cost less than a wedding, and the inevitable settlement following separation. A recent post by /u/mgtowPatience, also went a long way in helping me; https://www.reddit.com/r/MGTOW/comments/7px8rz/im_leaning_towards_a_new_moral_view_for_the/?st=jcxbaxq1&sh=043f2dea

  • Everything has a price - spousal support payments, coming out of my paycheck, are something I'm better off without. I would state, as I did in my previous post, that the cost of an LTR and marriage isn't simply financial. It may very well extend to a man's cognitive, emotional and arguably spiritual health. Again, everything has a price, and with a relationship; that price is undeterminable. I can attempt to estimate it, but I would rather er on the side of caution, and not pay it at all.

  • The company provided by women, I would postulate, is tainted by an innate wish to procreate with them on our part at least (to varying degrees). As such, I believe the company of men is better.

  • Without a woman in the equation, I'm free to do with my time and money as I wish. Be it a ute with a custom canopy, or a lazy day off doing whatever I wish (gaming, reading or nothing at all). As such there are no decisions in which I need to think of 'us', thus simplifying my life tremendously.

  • After many a post about minimalism/spartan living, I extended such thinking to relationships. I have a small circle of close friends, though we have changed/matured in our late teens, we still stand by each other. I'm very content for this circle of friends to remain small. Not that I'm opposed to the idea of making new friends. I simply wish to ensure they are of the same calibre as those I already have. Friends who will stand by me, like those who stood beside me when I lost my Mother.

Thank You, r/MGTOW, for giving me a rudder in this storm called life.