He asked me to marry him, then changed his mind?

[Anonymous]

So, my boyfriend asked me to marry him about 3 or 4 months ago and he just told me he doesn't know what he wants in life and he needs to think about it and wait on the marriage thing. He says he still wants to be with me, but he isn't sure if he wants to marry me anymore. I'm really confused cuz he used to tell EVERYONE that I was his fiancé. He hardly ever called me his girlfriend. I am confused and I feel as if I was broken up with, so that is how my mind is reacting, but he's still acting like we're together so it throws my mind and emotions off balance. I'm not really sure what to do here.. Any advice? I feel like I'm not good enough if he has to redecide if he wants to marry me. What could it be??

[gray_sailor]

Marriage implies a large financial obligation to your partner and the family you are making. During the Great Depression, the age of household formation shot up. In the sustained period of economic growth that followed WWII, the age of household formation (marriage and separate residence from family) went down I think below the age of 20 for the first time in decades.

Long story short, your guy wants to marry you but he is feeling stress thinking about how it will all work out for you two. Apartment, car, job, insurance, bills and on and on and on.

The wedding is lovely to think about, I think he's scared of the cost of running a marriage. Knowing that you understand these stresses too would do him a world of good.