DR. WALLACE: Please help me. I started having sex when I was 17, and I got pregnant, so I got married. I'm 19 now. I was lucky the father was a decent guy and married me to give our baby a family in order to give her the best chance to succeed in life.

My husband is the perfect father and a loving husband, but I just don't think I'm head-over-heels in love with him, so now I'm daydreaming about getting a divorce when the time is right. I met other guys recently who've asked me out (not knowing I'm a mother!), so I have options. I take good care of myself, and guys seem to like me. How long should I wait to actually bring up the subject of divorce to my husband? — Feeling Stuck, via email

FEELING STUCK: Stick it out, and avoid making what might be the biggest mistake of your life. If your husband was a jerk or a bad father, you might have an excuse for thinking about ending the marriage. But your husband is neither. As you gain maturity and self-discipline, you can and will learn to love him, perhaps in different ways than you do right now.

Trust me, marriage is never easy. Both genders will be happy to confirm this for you if you ask. But instead of focusing on how hard marriage might be, why not ask some successfully married friends and relatives what they feel are the biggest reasons for their success? You might be surprised at what you hear.

A successful marriage requires total dedication to the family from both the husband and wife. Be thankful you have a loving husband who is a great father. Be thankful you have a wonderful baby daughter. You are young and inexperienced at being a wife and mother, but you are gaining valuable experience each and every day. Please give your marriage the chance to grow and succeed, and for now, keep your daydreams in the back of your mind and away from the front of your mouth.

GRANNY WILL EVENTUALLY NOTICE

DR. WALLACE: My parents recently gave me a credit card to use in an emergency situation and, of course, to buy something that is a super great bargain every once in a while. I've never had to use a credit card for an emergency, thank goodness, but I have used it twice for sale items. These two purchases were fantastic deals at discount clothing stores.

The arrangement I have with my parents is that anything I charge is deducted from my allowance and the credit card will be taken away entirely if my parents think I'm abusing the privilege. So far, my parents, especially my dad, have said they are very proud of how responsible I have been with the privilege of having a credit card at a young age.

My problem is that my grandmother thinks my parents are teaching me to be a spendthrift and this will continue my entire life. She goes on and on about how the temptations of overspending increase dramatically once an individual has access to a credit card. To say the least, she is pretty old-school when it comes to money and finances, and she's really set in her opinion on this. Is Granny right about this topic, or am I likely to continue to be responsible since I have started out responsibly? — Young New Consumer, via email

YOUNG NEW CONSUMER: You have wise parents and a dear grandmother who hasn't yet caught up with how business is done here in 2020. Eventually, she will notice that her fears were unfounded, but for now, just keep on being the responsible young lady you are and everything will work out fine.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: TheDigitalWay at Pixabay