A good friend of mine reached out to me just a few days ago. He told me that he and his girlfriend had just broken up. From what he told me, they had been together for awhile. A year or so from what I gather.

They had been living together for a period of time and had just decided on getting a place together, a place that was larger and better than where they had been currently living. Something that they could call their own. They would have moved in on February 1st of this year. But not now. Now that she decided to end it.

I’m sure he’s wondering about the “what’s” and the “why’s” of their break up. I would, and I did when my relationship ended a couple of months ago. I wondered why we broke up. I wondered what I could have done better. I still wonder from time to time about those things.

I’m sure that she gave him some sort of answer as to why they broke up. Maybe it was something similar to what I was given when my ex broke up with me. Maybe it was his age. Maybe it was something about his diet, his health. Maybe it was his politics. Maybe it was all of these things or none of them at all. Maybe it was something else entirely.

The truth of it all, the real fucking nut crushing, hard core, in your face truth is, it doesn’t matter why she left. It doesn’t matter what reason she gave. It doesn’t matter what he thinks he may or may not need to change for a future relationship if he decides to get in another one.

She left because she could. She left because she wanted to. She left because “reasons.” Reasons are just rationalizations and excuses at the end of the day. They don’t really matter. They don’t change anything. In the end, she left because that was what she wanted to do.

I have to remind myself of this sometimes. My ex ultimately left because she wanted to. She didn’t want to be with me anymore. That’s the beginning, middle, and end of it. She didn’t want to do it anymore. And that’s that. I don’t say that out of misery. I don’t say that to garner sympathy. I don’t pity myself. It is just reality. The only reality that matters. She left because she wanted to.

You Men reading this, I want you to understand this:

She left because she could. She left because she wanted to. That’s all that matters. Everything else is just rationalizations piled on bullshit piled on excuses.

She left because she could. She left because she wanted to.

This is the reason that she left. She may tell you a variety of reasons that she left, or not. She could say shit like, “you are too fat.” “You are too domineering.” “You are too angry, too disagreeable, too cold and you shut me out, etc.” None of this changes anything. And it won’t bring her back if you change it. She left because she could.

So your challenge now is to pick up the pieces and move on. To start over. Learn from it and move on. Do shit differently, but move on.

Which brings me to the subject line:

“Should I live with her?”

If you are under the age of 30, the short answer is no. You haven’t established yourself yet. If you are in your career, it’s either just starting, or it’s just starting to take off.

I’ve witnessed many Men, young and old, move a woman in with them only to be bankrupt and living either with their parents or living in a shit-hole a few years later when the relationship went south.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to get a lease or a mortgage that you cannot afford on your own and then entrust this other party, your woman, to carry half of the financial responsibility of this arrangement. What are you going to do if the relationship grenades? You either break the lease and take a hit on your credit and then you can’t get a house down the road, you break the lease and can’t get into something else that is decent, so you end up living in a shit-hole, or you may get “lucky” and be able to move back in with your family, or you end up having to get roommates to pay the bills. And beggars can’t be choosers at that time. Have you seen the majority of people that are “roommates?” Flighty, flakes, and fuck offs for the most part. Who wants or needs the drama? Chasing them down to collect their part of the rent. Going after them because they ate your shit. Confronting them on the fact that they are complete pigs and don’t clean up after themselves. No thank you, I’ll pass.

I own my own home. I’ve lived in it for fifteen years. My house has seen quite a few women come through its doors, including an ex-wife and now an ex-girlfriend. In all cases whether there has been another party living under my roof or not, I can pay the mortgage and all of my other bills. I’m not in danger of losing my home.

I can’t stand the idea of having roommates unless they are women and I’m sleeping with them. Too many flakes, dipshits, and deadbeats in the world. I don’t need or want that drama. So I saved up quite a bit of money when I was younger and started thinking long game. I found something that I could afford on my own. That way I wouldn’t be financially impacted in the event that a significant other and I decided to part ways.

You Men reading this and thinking of moving in with a woman, whether you marry her or not, need to keep this in mind:

If you can’t afford the lease, the rent, or the mortgage on your own, you don’t do the lease or get the mortgage. You don’t get a place together. You may move her into your place if you have the space and can afford to make that move, but don’t get a place that requires both of you to put up the money. You can avoid a lot of headaches and heartaches by doing this.

It will require you thinking in long game terms. That means living within your means. Spending less that you earn. Reducing or eliminating as much outstanding debt that you have. That means you may be making certain sacrifices. You may not be eating out as much. You may be living with your folks for a while longer. You will have to delay your gratification.

Moving her into a place that is in your name means it’s yours. She will have to be the one to find somewhere to live if the relationship ends, not you. Moving sucks. I’ve done it enough in the past and I’ve helped others do it many times over the years. That’s why I’ve lived where I have for as long as I have. That, and it’s a decent area. It’s also close to my work, so my commute is only 10 minutes.

I planned all of those things long before I met my ex-wife or my ex-girlfriend. That’s also how I survived the housing recession back in 2008. I only borrowed what I could afford to pay back and I lived within my means. I was never in danger of losing my home back then, and I’m not in any danger of losing it now. I’m definitely not going to lose it over some woman because we broke up.

If you can’t afford the place by yourself on your own, don’t get into that place. Period. Don’t move her in to help with the bills because you can’t afford those bills on your own. Don’t move her in so that you have “pussy on tap.”

The best, most intense, and most frequent sex I ever had, with any woman, was before I moved her in.

Familiarity does breed contempt. Or at least a degree of comfort and laziness. And the sex can quickly decline in frequency and intensity from there. Have slumber parties, for sure. But think twice before your move her in.

And never, ever move in to her place. Her furniture and decorations will already be in place. You will be second place to her stuff. You will literally be moving into a “man cave” from the word go. You will be the one out on your ass if the relationship implodes. You’ll be the one figuring out where you are going to sleep the night it ends. You’ll be the one having to pack your shit up and move on a cold winter day.

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