Tips of the Month for Couples are regular tips for building strong relationships and healthy families. If you would like to sign up to receive these monthly tips, scroll to the bottom of the page and leave your email address.
Earnings Gap Can Lead to Relationship Inequality
Many men with greater earning power than their wives or girlfriends will subtly — or not so subtly — use that distinction as a basis for asserting more overall power in the relationship. They may act as though their larger salary gives them a voting advantage when it comes to decisions — spending or otherwise. Once this power dimension takes hold, relationship inequality can result. Sociologists have long known that relationship inequality, particularly large imbalances of…
Money Management Tips for Couples
Opposites tend to attract when it comes to spending styles. Whether you and your partner's spending styles are more or less similar, one factor contributing to marital happiness is operating as a financial partnership while retaining some measure of financial autonomy.
What "Trust" Means in a Relationship
We use the word a lot — trust — but what do we mean when we say it? What aspects of our relationship are we referring to when we use that word?
The Recommended Complaint Formula for a Healthy Relationship
Do you know that there's a better and a poorer way to complain, to voice grievances with your spouse? It starts with knowing the difference between a complaint (which focuses on behavior) and criticism (which focuses on the person). Avoid criticizing; practice complaining.
Infidelity in the Social Media Era
A 2011 review* of 5,000 divorce petitions revealed that 33% of allegations of improper spousal behavior cited postings on Facebook as evidence. This figure is an increase from 20% when a similar review was first conducted in December 2009 by the popular British divorce website, www.divorce-online.co.uk.
What It Means to be Committed in a Relationship
Commitment is about making it hard on ourselves to walk away once we've decided — and only after making it clear to a spouse — that we're not willing to live like this anymore. And it's about being ready to do what it takes for a period long enough to give change a chance, relying on reasonable compromise, appropriate sacrifice, professional counseling, and lots of conversation.
Before You Blame Your Partner
"Why did you have to ...?" "If it wasn't for you ..." "How many times have I told you ...?" Is there any couple alive that doesn't sometimes indulge in the blame game — finding fault in one another when something goes wrong?
Ways to Express Your Affection Through Texts
Who would have thought that texting could be an effective way for spouses to express affection, to convey "I'm thinking of you"? So much of the time, we hear and read about modern technology coming between us. Apparently, it doesn't always have to be that way.