Carrie Underwood is enjoying her hunky hockey boyfriend Mike Fisher, but announced on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” that she has no intention of sharing a love nest. “No, call me old-fashioned. He’s there. I’m here. We’re both doing our thing and it’s good,” she said. “The next guy I move in with will be my hubby. Whoever that is. I’m not saying it’s going to be him.” [People]

I’m totally with Carrie on this one. I’m not going to bother cohabiting with a guy unless I’m positive that we’re getting married. It’s hard enough breaking up with roommates and moving out—I can’t even imagine dealing with the emotional entanglement that comes with love. Here are some other celebs who won’t give up their bachelor/ette pads, either.

There are only two reasons why I’d move in and live with another girlfriend. We’re married and determined to fill a sweatshop with our nimble-fingered love critters. Or she cracks me in the head with a shovel, sews my mouth shut, replaces my eyeballs with marbles, and sits my stuffed body in the corner. Whatever you do, don’t move in with your boyfriend. What? It’s too late? Sweet Zeus, Odin, and Quetzalcoatl, winged serpent god of the Aztecs! I hope your cohabitation doesn’t end the way two (two!) of mine did – with helicopters launching off the roof amidst tornadoes of debris and smoke, a single individual hanging off the skids, flipping the bird to the person whose name is on the lease.

Whether you’re getting married or have decided to live in (gasp!) sin, the decision to cohabitate is one of the most nerve-wracking, potentially fight-provoking, all-around-scariest things you will do as a couple. Here are some pitfalls to avoid:

1. The Money-Saver Move-In: The recession is kicking everyone’s ass, but if the major reasoning behind your decision to shack up is to save money, don’t. Living together, while fun, is also hard work and you’re going to need a big fat love connection when things get rough.

For many women, moving in with a serious boyfriend is not merely a stepping stone in the evolution of a relationship, it’s a practical way to both give the mundane realities of marriage a test-run and deal with the exorbitant expenses of modern living. When it comes to co-habiting with a significant other, we’ve come a long way since that old chestnut about not buying the cow when you could get the milk for free.

Or have we? Some research shows that living together before marriage actually increases the already stacked odds that the union will end in divorce. It might seem old-fashioned, but there are plenty of progressive, independent women opting to hold off on living with their dudes until after “I do.” Of course, there are no hard and fast rules for ensuring a marriage succeeds. I talked to two women with opposing views about whether co-habitating with a partner was good or bad for the long-term health of a relationship.

Whether you’re getting hitched or embracing the modern tradition of premarital cohabitation, moving in with your significant other is a big deal. From fighting for the covers every night to waking up with the person you love each morning, this new chapter in your life—especially the first 30 days—may be rife with happy moments and potential conflicts. While there’s no foolproof plan to avoiding relationship complications after you move in together, following these tips will help make the transition that much easier.

You truly don’t know your man until you perform the ultimate test of compatibility. No, it does not involve signing up on eHarmony.com to see if you’re meant to be. To know if your love will last until the end of your days, you must do the inevitable: Move in together.

When my boyfriend of a year and I considered signing a lease together at the beginning of this year, the prospect of living together was a dream come true. I, like many other women, naively thought shacking up was the natural first step to happily-ever-after. Through my rose-colored glasses, I envisioned our bond strengthening and our relationship evolving. Best of all, we’d be together all the time.

Our brother from another mother, the venerable dude site AskMen.com, has some words of wisdom for their readers on the perks and perils of shacking up with your one-and-only. We thought the advice was so universal, we thought we’d share it with the broads who read The Frisky. Enjoy!

Asking your girlfriend to move in with you seems like a good idea. It’s the fantasy of waking up to freshly brewed coffee, hot waffles and clean, matching socks that has you contemplating the big question: “To shack up or not to shack up?”

You might figure shacking up kills two birds with one stone:

1. It’s a brilliant way of proving you are serious about making a commitment without having to fork out a Donald Trump-sized fortune for a diamond ring.
2. You can literally save bundles sharing the rent, food and utilities. Plus you will have sex on tap and a personal chef.

Of course you know you’re going to have to be a bit more considerate and share your prized possessions, but are you really ready for the realities of shacking up with your girlfriend? We present you with the seven realities of shacking up with your girlfriend to help you make this decision, after the jump…

It’s almost August 1…which means a couple things. One, I need to return that skirt I just bought or I’ll be broke at rent time. And two, leases are coming to an end, which means more and more couples will take the plunge and move in with each other.

As someone who just took the plunge and moved in with her boyfriend for the first time, I can tell you it’s everything it’s cracked up to be. It’s fun, convenient, cost-effective, and the next logical step in our relationship. But how are you supposed to know when it’s the right time?

For many couples that’ve been going steady for a while, the first big relationship hurdle occurs when they go on vacation together. Chuck Thompson, author of the fantastically hilarious book Smile When You’re Lying, says that there are five very important breakthroughs that occur when taking a vacay together. “Traveling together is really practice for living together or even being married,” he says. “It’s the first time you’re going to be in each others constant company for, let’s say, a week straight. That is much different than seeing someone three times a week or even seeing them everyday for a few hours. It’s a real test of compatibility.” The five travel-induced hurdles that will make or break your relationship, after the jump.