What are the benefits of waiting to have sex in a relationship?

First of all I would like to state that I am not a virgin.I am not however, ‘free’ with myself either. After getting out of a 2.5 year long relationship I dated a string of guys, some whom I found very important to me others who just made me feel good again. I quickly slept with 2 of them and I felt as if I was suddenly desensitized to the whole ‘wait to have sex till your in love.’ The whole concept became so blurry to me. I felt as if because I was an adult that it was completely appropriate for me to just sleep with a few guys and see where it goes. Now, 9 months after my long relationship has ended I have met someone that I really truly care about. And, it’s strange because with the current circumstances in my life I just felt that focusing on my schooling, and career would be best for me. But I am falling in love with this person. We’ve talked about waiting to have sex at least a couple of months which already is very hard. But now I have found myself thinking that maybe we should wait longer- perhaps even till marriage? I guess my question would be, what are the benefits of waiting awhile or even much later than awhile? OR how long is long enough to ensure a proper foundation for our relationship? I’ve never cared…but suddenly I care.