Smart people don't buy houses with people they're not married to. The most important reason has nothing to do with scripture or religion. Any lawyer will tell you this. It has to do with the fact that people's property rights are insecure when they co-own a home with someone they are not married to. So people get married first and THEN they think about investing in a home together. And, usually, it takes two incomes for a couple to make that investment. It's not usually a gift that a man gives a woman. It's an investment that a couple struggles to make together, with both contributing as best they can. And they co-own it, with both their names on the deed. They share the responsibility. That's how sensible people make progress in life.

Of course, before people get married, they do have to have a place to live - as man and wife. So they get an apartment, or one of them already has an apartment. Or, in some families, they live with his or her parents, while they save up a down payment. Very often, these days, a couple will live together in his or her apartment, until they proceed to get married. It's good to know someone real, real well before you marry them.

If you want to know if a man is committed to you, you don't find that out by asking, "Hey, Honey, are you committed to me.?" You will know by how he behaves and what he puts in to the relationship. A guy who's idea of having a love life with you is to take you to rented rooms in porno parlors is not committed to you . . . and doesnt even respect you - or himself - very much. You don't go by what guys tell you, but by what they show you. If, after 10 years, a guy is still living with his parents, then being with you is not a high priority for him. You're just a convenient outlet for him.

So look forward to having a little place of your own. You'll learn a lot from the experience. You'll bump into guys who'll offer to move in with you and share expenses. Don't even consider doing that, until you have lived for at least a year on your own.