Bumps

It’s easy to forget, somewhere along the line, that a successful healthy marriage requires that you work as a team. One spouse may start taking things for granted that were never taken for granted during the courtship period. Maybe your husband always did the hard jobs, like digging the garden bed or hauling the trash cans out to the street on pickup day. Then, one week he caught a cold and you stepped in to do one of these chores. Soon, it became your regular task. Similarly, a wife can shift some responsibility she normally did off to her husband. This type of thing can snowball over time, creating discord and resentment.

Cultivate the practice of exercising kindness and compassion with your spouse. This is sound marriage advice for everyone. After all, we all need it at critical times. Avoid mean-spirited remarks and spitefulness. They do nothing for the health of your marriage.

One of the most common causes of divorce is the finances. Couples will fight over how money is spent, not spent or mismanaged. Make the budget and financial matters a joint effort, so there’s no need to fight over who did or didn’t do what with money.