Introducing YourTango Experts Spotlight: Love And Money 2011

When it comes to love, one of the hardest areas for couples to successfully, and harmoniously, navigate is their wallets. It's well known that money is a leading cause of divorce. And in the therapist's office, a well-tested belief is that sex and money are two of the most important issues to talk over—so much so that the belief is that if you're not talking about sex and money, someone (and maybe it's the therapist) is in denial!

What is it about money that gets our blood boiling? Our hearts pumping? Our shame meters tilting? On some level, the power that "money" holds over us is purely symbolic. Money itself is simply a line item on our bank statements, yet that set of numbers serves as a symbol for status, freedom, control, happiness and liberty. We believe those who have money are better off than those who don't, and we work tirelessly to increase the comfort levels of our checkbooks. It's no wonder that miscommunication, mismanagement and mistakes around our cash flow keep people awake at night and cause countless arguments in relationships. Sometimes it even prevents people from being in relationships—the shame of past mistakes or never-ending debt can bring even the strongest person to their knees.

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We took this powerful issue to our YourTango Experts and asked them to share with readers 7 days-worth of intensive advice on how to take back the control money has over your life and relationships. In the spirit of our past challenges (31 Days To A Better Sex Life & the 31-Day Love Life Makeover) we wanted to bring you a diverse, educated set of articles that would shine a spotlight on the powerful role of money in relationships—and offer helpful advice on how to make that power work for you.

Over the next 7 days, we will share a new article each day that addresses some of the most common love and money issues. We'll tackle how we communicate about money, how debt may be ruining your love life, habits of financially healthy couples, dealing with breadwinner relationships and finally, how to recover from an unexpected financial emergency.

Experts will be around all week to answer questions and connect with you about any issues you may be facing and how you can take ownership of this sometimes painful, and always powerful, issue. You can find them here.

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So join us daily as dive in to one of the most prolific issues affecting love today: money. Follow this week-long spotlight.

Get started with today's post: Get Real: How Are Finances Affecting Your Love Life?