Do you agree or disagree with the statement: “Cohabitation does more harm than good”.

Nowadays, cohabitation, “the state of living with another person and having a sexual relationship with them without being married”, is not only a popular social phenomenon but also a controversial topic. Most young people believe that cohabitation is a good way to strengthen their relationship. However, instead of positive effects, living together before marriage probably extend several negative influences on a couple-life, especially marriage and finance.

Proponents of cohabitation claim that the risk of divorce can be lowered by this issue. This conclusion sounds unconvincing. Sheri Stritof, a marriage consultant of The Spruce, states “ When evaluating relationships, couples who lived together before marriage tended to divorce early in their marriage”. For couples who have premarital relationships, marrying is a stressful decision. These couples decide to marry not because of the faithfulness, but because they do not want to start over.

Another argument provoked by proponents of cohabitation is that trial marriage is the best way to reduce the cost in terms of financial saving. Although cohabitation may be a good way, it is not the only way to reduce the budget. In fact, there is a large number of methods to save money such as sharing room with friends. Besides, living together means that there are more events needed to spend money such as anniversaries.

On the surface, it is undeniable that cohabitation may provide people with an overview of marriage. However, this kind of relationship is likely to be uncertain, because it is based on emotions. The couples who are in a premarital relationship probably have a flawless impression about their partners. Unfortunately, after a period of living together, they gradually realize each other’s bad habits. Consequently, if they find it extremely difficult to tolerate those problems, this relationship will end in divorce.

In conclusion, it is possible to say that cohabitation causes more harm than good. Cohabitation not only increases the rate of divorce but also squanders the budget. Personally, I highly recommend that cohabitation should be avoided in our society, especially the college community.