Sheila Larasati

30801900043
Argument

Why Delaying Marriage (For Women) is Not a Bad Idea

Being in our early 20s we have and will accomplished plenty of milestones in our life
such as going to doctor alone without your parents, making your own bank account, getting into
senior year of university, getting a job, and also the luxurious of them all, marriage. I was
meeting my friends few weeks ago and someone asked when are we getting married. I didn’t
think about it much until my friend said ‘23’. Mind you, me and my friends were born in 1999
which means we’re going to be 23 next year. A year passes faster than we thought. I also notice
how these days I found marriage news pretty often. It is actually not surprising knowing that the
average age of woman getting married in their first marriage in Indonesia is 19.7 years old
according to 2010 National Social and Economic Survey sourced in The Jakarta Post. With the
‘nikah muda’ trend and the peer pressure of putting a ring on your finger, some women must
have a hard time keeping up with the trend especially if they are not ready yet. Some are not
ready simply because they don’t have a partner yet, or could have some doubt with their recent
partner to take it to the step, financial issues, and etc. But if they are not ready to settle down
yet, they shouldn’t force it. I am here to present a couple of arguments on why it’s not an
entirely a bad idea to delay your marriage.

My first argument would be the most obvious reason. The one thought that you pushed
to the back of your head when you were thinking about those white kebaya that brides wear on
their wedding day. Delaying your marriage is beneficial for your career. You have spent years
on university with blood, sweat, and tears to get that degree. You have gone through the boring
yet tiring phase of internship. You have survived through the horrendous process of job seeking.
You have gone through the awkward phase of job training. You have your precious career with
you and you think your life is done when your friend got married? Research found that every
year women delay their marriage, their salary would rise by 4 percent which would make a big
change in their salary later on. You can still get married and move with your husband because as
well all know women tend to follow their husband, but research says that married college
educated women earn 7 percent less than a married college educated men a year following a
move. Sure, marriage is great but if I am not 100% ready, I wouldn’t want put my career in
danger. So instead of being miserable about your unmarried life, step up your career for a better
future.

A great career comes with a great bank balance. You know what comes with great bank
balance? Harmonious family which also means tiny chance of splitting. Which lead us to my
second argument that if you delay getting married waiting for yourself to be 100% ready and
focus on your job, chances are you will have a great dynamic with your partner because money
will never be an issue. You can order whatever you want in restaurant without thinking about
the bill just like Ross, Monica, and Chandler in that one episode of Friends in the second season.
According to the new survey by Ramsey Solution, the second leading cause of divorce is
financial problems. Delaying your marriage by working would also help on preparing the
wedding because you have extra savings.

Some women would argue that they got married a bit early because they have found the
love of their life, granting the wish of their parents, inconveniences, arranged marriage, and etc.
Go ahead, it’s their right. There’s always the pros and cons of everything. Women who got
married early would say to a woman who choose to delay their marriage that they are missing
out big time, family. But it’s all about preferences and perspectives. My arguments are made
towards women who defines their worth by their marital status. Marriage is one of the beautiful
thing on earth, but you shouldn’t force it. Research shows that even though women’s wage
declines following a marriage, that’s not the case for men. Their wage remains unchanged or at
least its not declining. So as long as someone is getting ‘bread’ then it’s a beautiful family.