@Mate1212 what is YOUR estimation of YOUR readiness to start a family, and YOUR financial ability to accomplish this over the 20+ years ahead of us right now?

By your, I don't mean you personally so much as the present generation.

He'll, when I was coming of age way back in the mid 80s, I was able to sense, despite my naively optimistic idealism, that the world my Boomer parents got married and launched our family in, was already gone forever.

I thought I was ready to launch, and propose to my first girlfriend around age 19-20. But in the moment of almost doing it, I felt an inhibition far deeper than what gets called cold feet. She was a decent woman, though not much of a looker, and the relationship part of it might have worked.

But, I felt an overwhelming sense that the Trad life was not going to be the life for me.

I'm not at all regretful. I had all the things- house, cars business. Covid lock downs rug pulled everything I worked for, for decades. Now I live in the remote desert starting financial life over approaching 60.

Mu Brother, who also had all the things, corporate job wife kids house, got that rug pulled when she ran off with the guy she totally wasn't banging on the side till she was. Now he lives in a small townhouse and was driving Uber for a while after the company got bought out and broken apart and his salary and pension vaporized

As my Grandpa said on his deathbed, "I'm not sad, I feel lucky that I lived during a great time. I feel sorry for you and the generations to come, though!

During my life, there was still some meat on the economic bone. The female centric SMP that TRP works to navigate, isn't the cause but a second order SYMPTOM of Late Stage Capitalism. The American Empire is already over the cliff. I caution young men coming of age now, to be careful and realistic what you hope and strive for. A marriage,, family, and kids started now, will have to exist in a world that is ending as we know it forever, within the time frame of kids born today reaching adulthood.

@adam-l Yes the problem is that ultimately men lack authority these days. The law and western culture (which the law only reflects) forbid men to have authority and give it instead to women.

You can act assertive and hope she likes it. This is however, basically LARPing. In the end any time she wants to end the LARP, she just says "Stop or its abuse" and you either make a rapid change tail between your legs or you lose big time.

In the end what male leadership means these days is you are allowed steer the ship where she wants it to go. You had better be at the helm in any poor weather too or you are a let down. Make sure the ship is up together and load good supplies too. Don't ask her to swab the decks, be a gentleman. When the sun comes out you can put her out a deck chair and organise the band to play for her. You can have the captain's hat if you don't get bigger than the boots she cuts for you but this is not a trade ship its a fucking cruise ship and if you are thinking of quitting, remember Princess owns the deeds to "your" ship.

Any veneer of male authority is just that a veneer. Anyone who thinks that if you have the red pill then you can out alpha her, is not understanding the dynamics of LTRs where short term tricks mean nothing. If she likes you being all alpha for her to stand behind and be led by in the dance of her being amazing, it will be fine being all alpha but in the end if you are not going her way, she has the power to put you on the prison bus or the highway.