"Will you marry me?" is an expensive question to ask on Valentine's Day. "Will you move in with me," however, could mean big savings. Quentin Fottrell reports, and family and couples psychotherapist Dr. Fran Walfish weighs in with advice for couples considering the big move.

IN CASE you thought looming deadlines and a bloated to-do list were enough to worry about in the office today, Susan Patton would also like to remind you that you’re probably going to die alone.

The author of Marry Smart has fired off a timely Valentines Day missive to young women around the world to let them know careers are nice, but wedded bliss is nicer.

So if you spent the dreaded V-Day ordering Thai takeaway for one and bingeing on House of Cards, Ms Patton insists it’s time to smarten up.

“Despite all of the focus on professional advancement, for most of you the cornerstone of your future happiness will be the man you marry,” she writes in The Wall Street Journal.

“But chances are that you haven’t been investing nearly as much energy in planning for your personal happiness as you are planning for your next promotion at work. What are you waiting for?

“You’re not getting any younger, but the competition for the men you’d be interested in marrying most definitely is.”

Oh dear.

Ms Patton has some sturdy arithmetic to back-up her insistence that you should probably be hitched by now.

“Think about it: If you spend the first 10 years out of college focused entirely on building your career, when you finally get around to looking for a husband you’ll be in your 30s, competing with women in their 20s,” she calculates.

“That’s not a competition in which you’re likely to fare well.”

Ms Patton concedes higher education is “the greatest gift you can give yourself”. She graduated from Princeton in 1977.

However, she says it’s also a curse.

After all, what man would want to marry a successful, well-educated, upwardly mobile, intellectually curious woman?

And one who earns more than him? Forget about it, Ms Patton says.

“So what’s a smart girl to do? Start looking early and stop wasting time dating men who aren’t good for you: bad boys, crazy guys and married men.”

If you feel like hating yourself for a few minutes, you can read the full thing here. But I’ve summarised the best bits below.

- “You should be spending far more time planning for your husband than for your career — and you should start doing so much sooner than you think. This is especially the case if you are a woman with exceptionally good academic credentials, aiming for corporate stardom.”

- “When you find a good man, take it slow. Casual sex is irresistible to men, but the smart move is not to give it away.”

- “College is the best place to look for your mate. It is an environment teeming with like-minded, age-appropriate single men with whom you already share many things. You will never again have this concentration of exceptional men to choose from.”

The obvious antidote to this opinion piece is a screening of Legally Blonde. Download it tonight and you’ll feel OK about not marrying your university sweetheart.

What do you think? Is Ms Patton on to something or is this just retrograde BS? Comment below or continue the conversation on Twitter @newscomauHQ | @danielstrudwick

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