SOME friends have told me that the two main stress factors in marriages these days are money and the lack of sex.

I agree with them. As it is common for both spouses to work, each will have his or her own ideas on how money should be spent.

This often creates friction in a marriage, sometimes with tragic results. Many married couples do not have joint accounts, and spend as they did when they were single.

There are also women who say that while their money is theirs alone, their husband’s money also belongs to them.

Some men are expected to give their working wives an allowance on top of paying for the majority of the household bills.

Splitting the household expenses would be a fairer option, as many women in Singapore earn as much as, if not more than, their husbands.

When couples cannot agree on how money is to be spent, it can lead only to conflict and the eventual demise of any good relationship.

If one half of a couple is a spendthrift while the other is frugal, it would take a lot of effort for both to reconcile their differences. The best time to do so would be during courtship.

During that time, couples can place a small sum in a joint account and explore their spending patterns, so that any potential conflicts can be addressed before marriage.

When it comes to money and marriage, it takes two to tango. Failure to do so with finances would lead to disaster for any relationship.

MR GILBERT GOH KEOW WAH

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