In a recent survey by Quicken, the financial management software company, respondents said that managing their finances is the biggest strain on marital relationships. OK, so we at Vertical Thought might question whether finances are really the biggest source of marital stress, but we certainly agree it's right up there near the top. (This survey was done by a financial company, so we can understand the possible bias).

Anyway, what did Quicken find were the major marital money problems? Overwhelmingly, the biggest problem respondents cited was not being able to control their partner's spending habits, at 44 percent. Another 21 percent cited "repeated questions about my spending habits," while 17 percent complained of their partner not sticking to an agreed-upon budget.

These were the top three, and they're really just different sides of the same problem: lack of financial discipline. So add them up, and you get 82 percent of all financial problems in marriage stem from lack of self-control, or not trusting a spouse's self-control, with money.

Other statistically significant problems were not agreeing on long-term goals (14 percent) and one partner hiding money from the other (5 percent).
Most people don't know that God's Word teaches us sound financial principles. You can read and learn about them in our booklet Managing Your Finances. It's available on our Web site (www.gnmagazine.org/booklets). And it's free. Now how's that for a no-stress financial decision and a good investment in your future marriage?