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"  No surprise here: The more spouses differ in their attitudes toward money, the more likely they are to argue \u2014 and the less satisfied they say they are with their marriage, according to a University of Michigan survey of more than 1,000 adults. Unfortunately, the same study showed that tightwads tend to pair off with spendthrifts, leading to lots of fights over how much is too much to spend on a holiday gift for Aunt Hilda. To keep cash from coming between you, follow these couples-and-money basics from psychotherapist and money coach Olivia Mellan, coauthor of Overcoming Overspending: Create a budget, follow it, and set dates to check in with each other and discuss upcoming financial issues.  And since you have better things to do this holiday season than bicker over who spent what, here&amp;#039;s a fresh (and actually kind of fun) way to get on the same spending page: Meet in the middle. Instead of criticizing the way your guy is with money or always trying to change him, try mimicking his spending habits for a day or two and find the joy in breaking your routine, Mellan suggests. If you&amp;#039;re a penny-pincher, dish out $25 on a pleasure purchase, and if you&amp;#039;re a spender, save the $25 that you normally would have blown on a frivolous buy. Putting yourself in your spouse&amp;#039;s shoes builds empathy, respect, and appreciation for his approach \u2014 and makes you better able to defer to each other&amp;#039;s money strengths when you&amp;#039;re making major financial plans, Mellan says. That&amp;#039;s quite a payoff! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/life/money-career/advice/a5658/fighting-about-money/?link=emb&dom=yah_life&src=syn&con=blog_redbook&mag=rbk>