I am not one to condone lying. In general, it will ruin relationships and leave you unhappy. However, there are certain times when it's okay to tell a little white lie in order to preserve the situation. Without further ado, here are 6 times when it's okay to lie.

1. When you're surprising someone

This goes without saying. It's okay to tell your friend that you're going to get lunch, just the two of you, when in reality 20 of their closest friends, family, coworkers and whoever else you could manage to find are waiting at home to surprise them.

2. When your safety or personal comfort is at stake

By all means, tell that creepy guy at the bar that you have a boyfriend so he'll stop hitting on you and you can go back to sipping your drink in peace.

3. When secrets are involved

Whether it's your secret or someone else's, you can pick and choose who to tell. If you don't want to tell anyone, that's okay.

4. When you reeeaaally don't want to do something

We've all busted out a fake cough or lied and said we have a lot of homework when our friends have called to ask if we're going to that party tonight.

5. When someone else's feelings are at stake

If you're out for dinner with a friend and they ask if their outfit looks okay, and it doesn't, just lie. There's nothing they can do to change it and it'll put them at ease. On the same note, if her new pixie cut makes her look like a 12 year old boy, lie through your teeth and say she looks great.

6. When your feelings are at stake

When some random acquaintance asks how you've been doing since your breakup with Jerk #3, you are well within your bounds to lie and say you're doing great (when in reality, you watched two Nicholas Sparks moves, destroyed an entire tub of chocolate ice cream by yourself, and then proceeded to cry yourself to sleep last night.)

Of course, there isn't a set of hard and fast rules pertaining to when you should lie and when you should tell the truth. Sticking with the truth is best in most situations. Just have your poker face ready and go forth using your best judgement!