Money   Expenses are the most common cause of squabbles among couples, according to research. Which is no surprise, especially considering the fact that so many more people are living—and fusing their incomes—with their significant others today than ever before. “We all come from different financial backgrounds,” says Nikki Martinez, PsyD, psychologist and clinical professional counselor. “We may have had money, we may have always struggled, but with either situation, people have very strong ideals about how finances are managed.” To squash salary and spending scuffles, she suggests discussing how you each handle money and deciding who will take care of what expenses and how mutual funds will be managed.…

At age 20, I married my very first boyfriend after dating him for 14 months. Seventeen years, three kids, and zero separations later, we’re still married and we still like each other, despite the fact that 20-year-olds are crappy judges of character, and we could have been marrying psychopaths for all we knew. My husband and I didn’t know it at the time, but we were permanently sealing the deal while the morphine of new love was still flowing through our veins, which is kind of like signing a mortgage while high on heroin. At age 20, I would have said, “Of course we’ll make it! We love each other…

It’s best when you both care I love couples who fight in the waiting room. At least they still care about each other. If one or both of you seem indifferent, my job is a lot harder. We try to trick you Sometimes I’ll tell a couple “no sex until the next session. Don’t touch each other, period.” What I’m really hoping is that they’ll fail and feel a sense of unity from their mutual rebellion. Don’t talk to outsiders It may make you feel better to talk about your marriage issues with a good friend, but it will just make things worse. Never talk to outsiders about things in…

Listening can cause headaches in your relationship. Don’t get me wrong, you need to listen to your partner, but when to listen and when should you LISTEN? In my marriage, one of the things that I am still learning is when to take what wife says literally and when to ignore what she says and instead listen to her emotions and her heart. Relationships are difficult because sometimes you need to take your partner literally and other times you need to ignore their words. How we interpret communication is complicated by several things: Our current emotional state What our mind is saying to us Our past relationships and Whatever emotional…

Trust is key to any marriage and sometimes you need to restore trust in a marriage. Here are six ways to restore trust. Admit your dishonesty If you are looking to restore trust then you need to admit your past lies and provide your spouse with all the information he or she needs or wants. Your natural impulse will be to deny your words and actions, even if there is evidence that you did what you did. Dishonesty harms trust and if you need to rebuild the trust you have lost, you should admit to the lying you have done in the past. Voice your emotions This is an important…

Dealing with uncertainty about the future in a long distance marriage can be very difficult. From this article, you will learn five practical approaches and inspirational ideas that can prevent you from becoming discouraged and giving up along the way.   Consider and accept the worst-case scenario Together with your partner, ask yourselves what is the longest time possible you might remain apart and whether you can handle it. Once you accept that you can indeed deal with the situation, do everything possible to make the relationship work and reduce that period. By committing to the worst situation possible, you will have nothing to lose and things can only get…