When I said “I Do” to Terrence nearly a year ago, it was one of the best days of my life. It’s like that for most people, though, right? We get married because we love each other, and we know that from that day forward, we’ll have a partner to go through life with. Those are things that we expect, though. What about the little surprises that come with marriage that we don’t know about. The perks. Over the last year, I’ve discoved a bunch of them. I wonder why no one told me about them before we got married, but I’m starting to think that married folks keep them a secret so as to not make other single people jealous. I can tell you, if I would have known about these perks before I got married, I would have gotten married a long time ago! (Kidding! LOL!)

See pictures from our 2013 wedding!

The Unexpected Perks Of Marriage

1. You no longer have to do chores you hate.

I don’t love washing dishes, but I don’t mind it. I HATE doing laundry. Fortunately, one of the perks of marriage is that you get to divide up the chores. Guess who does the laundry? That’s right, when you get married, it’s totally okay to give the tasks that you despise the most to your spouse to do! Keep in mind, they will reciprocate, so make sure you pick your chores wisely.

2. You don’t have to waste food you don’t finish anymore. Your husband will eat it!

One of the cooler perks of marriage that may not be a huge deal to some folks, but I think it’s pretty fantastic, is that I don’t have to throw food away anymore when I don’t finish a meal. If we’re out to dinner and I don’t eat everything on my plate, my husband will graciously finish it up for me. That goes for wine as well (not that I need his help finishing that up as often!). He does have standards, though, so I make sure to only order things that I know he won’t mind helping me eat.

3. You have a built in excuse.

Before I got married, I was a total people-pleaser and Yes Girl. I often put myself in bad predicaments but agreeing to do things before thinking about it. Terrence and I talked about that before we were married, and I agreed to run things by him before I said yes to anything that was going to take time, energy, or finances away from the family. It’s a great excuse when I don’t want to do something to have to say, “Oh, my husband really wants me to stay home on that night…”. I should just be strong enough to say no on my own, though, right? Well, I don’t wanna. I’d just rather use my handsome built in excuse! It’s way less stressful.

4. You get a closet full of  comfy, oversized clothes to wear.

Oh my goodness, Terrence has the best sweaters! He doesn’t understand why I love to wear his cardigans rather than my own, but it’s because they’re so comfortable! The fact that they’re big on me allows me to wrap up with them, and feel like I’m lounging in the bed when I wear them. Go in your husband’s closet now and see what you can wear. You’re his wife! It’s one of the perks!

Read 10 Things To Say To Your Husband Every Day 

5. You are able to find reasons to laugh at any moment.

The other night, I read from a list of ingredients from a delicious treat I was eating. One of the things included in the candy was, “nutmeat”. If that doesn’t make you laugh, it’s okay. I knew my husband would get a kick out if, and that’s all that matters! When you get married, you and your spouse spend so much time together that you really get to know what is going to crack each other up. Sometimes, you don’t even have to say a word! Isn’t that awesome???

6. You can go dutch on dates and it doesn’t feel tacky.

Even though all of the money basically comes from the same pot, there’s something that feels less spendy when you can go out to eat and split the bill. Oh, my husband doesn’t mind paying for me at all, but sometimes going dutch means the difference between him paying for us, and getting burgers, or us paying for ourselves and having steak!

7. You have a live in assistant, tester, protype, etc.

About a week ago I decided that I needed to practice reading books (aside from ones for Ayva) aloud. I can’t remember what my motive around that was, but all I know is Terrence has been an fantastic listener as I read paragraphs from my book about the history of a local candy company. I’m completely riveted by the book. Terrence, well, he’s my husband. Listening is part of the job, and totally one of the perks of being married to me! Ha!

This marriage gig is working out pretty well, I tell you! I’m looking forward to more of the unexpected perks, and would love to hear if there were any perks that you discovered that I should look out for!