Mar 12
Love0
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Help! My Spouse Needs Tough Love, But I Don’t Want To Hurt Them

By Communication One Comment

Does your spouse need tough love? Giving your spouse constructive criticism, addressing a problematic habit, or asking them to correct an upsetting behavior can be scary. You love this person more than anyone else in the world. How are you supposed to point out something you’re unhappy about? You want to speak the truth in love, but you find yourself avoiding a direct conversation. Instead, you dance around the topic. Even worse, maybe you bury it, hoping it will go away on its own. Rather than avoiding tough conversations, it’s important to put them on the table sooner rather than…

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Mar 05
Love0
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Let’s Talk Later: How And When To Pause A Difficult Discussion

By Conflict, Time 2 Comments

How and when should you pause a difficult conversation with your spouse? At one time or another, every married couple will experience a prolonged conflict. At the very least, you’ll face difficult discussions you can’t wrap up in one afternoon. These conflicts and disagreements can come at inconvenient times in your life, when you can’t give your full attention to discussing and resolving them right away. Trying to force conflict resolution can complicate problems, rather than solving them. When you pause difficult discussions, you can come back calmer, and with a clearer perspective. Giving yourselves plenty of breathing room also…

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Feb 26
Love0
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Stability Matters To Me, But My Spouse Isn’t Worried. What Can I Do?

By Careers, Conflict No Comments

So you want stability, but your partner’s not worried. What can you do about that? Stability looks different for different people. For instance, some are concerned with being financially stable. Others want a sense of permanence in the place where they live and raise a family. And others connect the idea of stability with a longstanding job or career path. In some marriages, one partner puts more emphasis on stability than the other. When this happens, it can cause marital stress. Each spouse may have different expectations when it comes to stability, so it’s important to develop empathy for each…

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Feb 19
Love0
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I Want My Spouse To Earn More Money. Am I Being Unreasonable?

By Careers 2 Comments

You want your spouse to earn more money. Is that unreasonable? Financial conflict is one of the most common sources of marital tension. Money can be a volatile topic. This is especially true for spouses who come from different economic backgrounds or have differing values around spending, saving, and earning. There are many reasons why you might want or need your spouse to earn more money. These can include: Building an emergency fund Cost-of-living expenses Desire to buy a house Having children Health concerns and associated costs Job loss or reduction in pay Maintaining a particular lifestyle Rent or property…

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Feb 12
Love1
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Help! I’m Stuck With All the Household Chores. How Do I Get Relief?

By Marriage, Time No Comments

Are you stuck doing all the household chores? Whether you’re carrying the entire load at home or just most of it, an imbalance of responsibilities can strain your marriage. When one spouse is used to coming and going without much household responsibility, that can create resentment. It can also make changing the dynamic difficult. If you’re wondering how to get your spouse on board with making changes around the house, this article is for you. We’re sharing a few simple tips to help relieve stress and create a better balance. Let’s get into it. Modern Couples, Modern Expectations Today, the…

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Feb 05
Love0
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My Spouse Says I Always Keep Score. Who’s Right?

By Conflict, Marriage No Comments

What’s “fair” in marriage? Do you and your spouse keep score? We like to say that scorekeeping is for sports, not for marriage. There’s no scoreboard in your living room, and no referees calling each play. It’s just you and your spouse–and if you’re not playing on the same team, you’re headed for conflict. Do you feel like you’re carrying more than your share of the load in your marriage? If so, how can you find a better balance? Let’s talk about it. Scorekeeping Holds You Both Back Scorekeeping in marriage holds both you and your spouse back. It keeps…

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Jan 29
Love0
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We’re Newlywed College Students. Can We Live With My Parents?

By In-laws & Family, Marriage One Comment

If you’re a married couple still in college, is it okay to live with your parents or in-laws? In our experience working on a college campus, we spent time around students daily. We witnessed this scenario hundreds of times. It’s challenging to go through college together as a married couple. Finances tend to be tight when you’re both in college, so the idea of saving money by living with parents can seem appealing. When you marry before college graduation, you experience the excitement of getting married, but the financial pressure is also very real. Living rent-free is an attractive option,…

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Jan 22
Love1
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Help! My Spouse Made a Big Decision Without Asking My Opinion

By Marriage One Comment

So your spouse made a big decision without consulting you. What should you do? Maybe it was time to purchase a new vehicle or piece of furniture. Or perhaps your spouse spent money you hadn’t discussed together beforehand. Regardless of the situation, you feel left out and hurt–and you wish they had spoken with you before they made the decision. It’s normal to feel upset when your spouse makes a significant decision without you. One of the most important things we have in marriage is the ability to be included in each other’s lives. When we feel excluded or as…

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Jan 15
Love0
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We Were Friends Before Dating. Should We Wait to Get Engaged?

By Engagement One Comment

Should you wait to get engaged if you were long-time friends before dating? Maybe you’ve only been dating briefly, but you’re sure you want to marry. You might have discussed engagement with loved ones. However, perhaps they seem put off by the idea. If you’ve known one another for a long time, is there an appropriate waiting period before engagement? Give People Time to Adjust This relationship progression might seem like a long time coming to the two of you. But to friends and family, a quick engagement might feel sudden. Even though you’ve shared a long history, the time…

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Jan 08
Love0
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Do Opposites Really Attract?

By Marriage, Relationships No Comments

Is it true that when it comes to love, opposites attract? “Opposites attract” is a popular theme in movies, television, and books. Some of our favorite stories, from the classics to modern pop culture, feature romantic couples who are complete opposites. We hear and see it depicted so often, we’ve come to believe it. Actually, “opposites attract” is a common misnomer. Sometimes, it might feel as though opposites attract, but the answer to this question isn’t straightforward. There are two ways to answer it, so let’s jump right in. We’re Attracted to Shared Values First, let’s talk about shared values….

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