Have you ever seen those cheesy “House Divided” bumper stickers that poke fun at a husband and wife pulling for different sports teams? I have always thought they are kind of silly, and maybe a little cute. Mark and I would never need one of those, though, because we absolutely agree on our favorite teams. Especially since we went to the same place for college! But like every other couple, we don’t agree about everything. There are preferences we have that are not identical, and that’s okay. Couples don’t share the same likes and dislikes about everything, and it doesn’t necessarily matter if one spouse is a die-hard Yankees fan and the other couldn’t care less about baseball.
Of course, it is nice to have a lot in common with the person you’re spending the rest of your life with. But there are really only a few things that every husband and wife must agree on, no matter who they are or what else matters to them personally.
- How to Discipline Your Kids
- How to Handle Money
- Your Family’s Religion
In this podcast, Mark and I address all of these critical areas. Not knowing where the other person stands or disagreeing about any of these issues can cause serious rifts in a marriage.
A really big one with many marriages is how to handle money. Marriages can fall apart because one spouse can’t handle the way the other spends money, because the couple doesn’t even talk about their finances, because of poor financial planning, or because of the emotional strain that comes with unresolved money problems. Finances are complicated, and it’s not a lot of fun to make budgets and pay bills. It’s absolutely necessary, though, to be on the same page with the way you handle money as a couple. If the husband is a minimalist and never wants to buy anything that isn’t practical but the wife enjoys having nicer things, that’s okay! You just have to understand and agree. Communicating about these things is key.
Listen to the entire podcast here for tips on making sure you and your spouse are on the same team when it comes to kids, money, and values.
Do you and your spouse disagree about anything you think is important? How do you handle it? Share your story in the comments below.
