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Psychology 409b November 5, 2006

How Money is confused in Relationships

By:  Angela Murray

 

Instructions for this activity are found at:

www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/g25-oral1.htm

Instructor:  Dr. Leon James

 

Leon James and Diane Nahl (2006).  Lecture Notes on Unity Model of marriage for G25.  Reviewing section 21.  Online at:

www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/409b-g25-lecture-notes.htm

 

 

I.  Secrets to a Happy Marriage

            A.  Written by a Rev. Dr. Trey Kuhne who is a Pastoral marriage and family therapist

            B.  He explains he has three secrets that will help out the marriage

            C.  He gives advice to both spouses and Dr. James looks into this advice to see how it relates to the Unity model

 

II. Secret 1:  Full Disclosure of Money, no Hidden Accounts

            A.  The love of money is the root of all evil

            B.  Money often is the root cause of unhappiness in marriages because people keep hidden amounts of money and do not disclose full assets

            C.  Both spouses should be equally empowered in the relationship regarding money--401K, retirement, checking, it helps prevent lose of         money in death

            D.  Husbands need to fully disclose of all money accounts

 

II. Secret 2:  Develop competent communication skills (or become a cryptographer)

            A.  Cryptographer breaks codes to hidden messages

            B.  Husband must read mind or he must develop communication skills

C.  Ex:  Husband comes home and wants to rest in front of TV, wife wants to talk about day, and they both fight because they didn’t know what the other wanted

            D.  Clarify what you mean-

                        1) Husbands need to explain they just need down time, but they still      love their wife and then give her a time you need to rest and then                          be available afterward

                        2) When husband desires intimacy, he needs to communicate with her; she can’t read your mind

                        3) Wives speak in depth, with a lot of emotion, even if it seems shallow to husband

                        4)  He can’t read your mind, so you need to explain

                        5)  We are made to be together in this world not alone

                        6)  It’s not okay for man to say I am the boss and woman just has to      deal with it, no we deal with equality now

 

III. Secret 3:  Words empower--praise spouse in public and private

            A.  Little complaints here and there in the beginning add up to bigger ones later on

            B.  Words can be used for positive or negative

            C.  Spouses need to affirm one another and praise each other in public

            D.  When you complain in public it is like slandering your marriage, is the emotional stock of your marriage gaining interest or losing it?

            E.  Do husbands praise wife in front of buddies?

            F.  Do you praise your husband in front of girl friends?

            G.  We shouldn’t lie to each other, we should give credit where it is due

            H.  Think on the positive and the negative will be easier to deal with

 

Related Links:

 

1)    Money and marriage

 

Money is one of the leading causes of marital discord today.  Couples struggle with whether to have joint checking accounts or to hold a few separately.  Also, people in marriage have different views for how money should be spent, saved and invested.  This website gives suggestions for how married couples can come together in this issue.

http://www.lhj.com/lhj/story.jhtml;jsessionid=J4K4NSNZJQVP5QFIBQSB42Q?storyid=/templatedata/bhg/story/data/14812.xml&catref=cat220015

 

2)    Can money lead to divorce?

 

This website gives several suggestions for how couples can communicate in the area of money management.  The most important thing is not to try to accuse your partner, but instead to focus on the things you are having trouble with.  Using ŇIÓ language is always much better because it doesn’t make your partner feel like they are being attacked.  “I feel this” or “I would like this” instead of “You always . . .” or “You are such a  . . .”

http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/15/commentary/everyday/sahadi/index.htm

 

3)    What peanut butter can do for your marriage

 

This website picked the concept of peanut butter to discuss how marriages are held together.  For some marriages, the only thing that holds them together is their children, their church or some group they are involved in.  A marriage needs to be held together by love, honesty, communication and commitment.  Any time a couple tells other people their problems before talking to their own spouse, they are not doing the right thing.  The website explains more in detail.

http://marriage.about.com/od/keysforsuccess/a/peanutbutter.htm

 

 

My Home Page:

http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409bf2006/murray/murray-home.htm

 

Class Home Page:

http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/classhome-g25.htm