The Marriage Game: It's About Money, Honey

Feb. 7, 2007 — -- One of the biggest things couples argue about is money: Who's squandering it, who's saving it, where's it going?

In today's edition of the Marriage Game, our three couples answered questions about their financial issues. Then, "GMA" financial contributor Mellody Hobson interpreted the couples' answers and offered some helpful advice.

You can play at home by answering the questions below with your spouse, then clicking to the next page to see what your answers mean.

Question for the Wives: (Husbands answer first)

What's the one thing your husband wishes he could buy if it wouldn't get him in so much trouble with you?

Does your husband say that you are a super saver, a big spender, or a penny pincher?

Question for the Husbands: (Wives answer first)

Which monthly bill is most likely to cause an argument?

Where does your loose change end up?

Click to the next page for what your answers mean.

Mellody Hobson on the dream purchase:

In terms of your dream purchase, you should try to come to some kind of accommodation or compromise. If you have a small amount of money that you put away every month, it's really up to you to make the call about what you want to do with it. You should both agree that that's your "slush fund," so your spouse doesn't get angry about what you use it for.

If you want to save it up and buy a plasma TV, or if you want to order pizza every night, that's your issue. "It's a small amount of money or a reasonable amount that we both agree on and we both have our separate pools and then we don't have to get in each other's way and constantly ask permission," which is what gets people very upset, because we're grownups here.

Mellody on what kind of spender you are:

The second thought that I have is about the differences between how people perceive themselves and how their spouse perceives them in terms of being a saver, a spender, or a penny pincher. If there are big differences in what your perception is versus what your spouse thinks, I think you've got to get your arms around that and immediately address that situation.

I think longer term, that leads to big, bad issues, and a source of a lot of tension. Hence, you want to make sure you at least reconcile what you are with what your spouse thinks you are, come to grips with that and have some agreement around it, and ultimately, that will allow you to move forward in a much better way.

Lastly, each person decides how their finances works in their family, but ignorance is not bliss, ignorance will get you into a lot of trouble.

You want to make sure that even if someone else is driving the financial process on a daily basis, a monthly basis, or a yearly basis, you're aware of what is going on. Because if that person weren't there, you'd be in big trouble.

Mellody on bills:

The first one is this credit card issue. This is a big issue. It's the monkey on the back of a lot of people in this country, and really, when you think about it, it's a growing problem in America.

The average U.S. family has about $9,300 in credit card debt. And it will take decades for them to pay that debt off, if they're just paying the minimum payment.

Just understanding the obstacles that credit cards create over the long term, the inability that they create for you to get in front of saving and investing, is gigantic. So, having a conversation about credit cards, limiting credit to just one card, is something that I strongly, strongly advise.

Mellody on spare change:

Secondly, on the spare change issue -- which I think is a really neat question -- the average household has about $99 in spare change. There are billions of dollars in spare change in seat cushions and pockets around the country.

And the idea of spare change being used for small delicacies or pleasantries, I think, is a great thing. If it's iTunes or if it's a CD or whatever it is that gets you excited and keeps you happy, I think it's actually good to spend, as opposed to just having it sit in jars around the house.

Obviously, I'd love to see that spare change taken to pay off credit card debt or to invest. But in the absence of that, I think some of these small pleasures are a way of just making your life a little bit better.