By Michael Sion. Happy Valentine's Day to all those couples with wedding bells in their future. I have bad news: Your relationship may be doomed. A harsh statement, and -- indeed -- an overstatement. But today, the No. Possibly, a complete wipeout. Most Americans already know that approximately half of U. But do they realize that the leading source of marital discord is conflict over finances -- not sex, not kids, not in-laws, not toilet seats?
A study by researchers at three universities found that couples don't necessarily fight most about money, but those fights tend to be the most intense and are, most often, left unresolved.
Yet when it comes to relationships, the notion of financial compatibility is foreign to most Americans. Seriously discussing money is a cultural taboo. Couples will discuss intimate sexual details with a counselor, but "money is the last thing that people want to talk about in therapy.
It's just the way we're brought up," notes Lee Slater, a New York-based certified financial planner and past president of the Association of Divorce Financial Planners.
So we hook up with someone with whom we're emotionally and sexually compatible, wants the same number of kids, shares similar beliefs and maybe even musical tastes and favorite sports teams. But when it comes to figuring out how we'll financially support a marriage, how we'll spend and save, when we'll retire, there's a big silence. We figure love will conquer all.
