Why We Divorce

We know that budgets are getting pinched tighter every day in this economy with food prices rising, gas prices rising, the dollar value depreciating and so on. That's why it's more important than ever for you and your spouse to bond together and don't start a blame game for any financial hardship that may be rearing its head. A study by divorce360.com found that financial woes were the second most common reason for divorce behind only abuse. Just behind financial issues were sexual issues. Now may be a good time to make an appointment with your financial advisor to help weather the current economic conditions. It's better to see a financial advisor than a judge in divorce court.

Happy Marriage Means Better Sleep for Women

Wendy M. Troxel, a psychologist at the University of Pittsburgh has found that women in happy marriages get 10 percent better sleep than women in unhappy marriages. The question that Troxel asks now is, which comes first -- does the unhappy marriage lead to poor sleep, or does poor sleep contribute to a bad marriage? Troxel and her colleagues reviewed data on about 2,000 married women who participated in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. The women were an average age of 46 years. This just seems to offer one more reason to never go to be angry. Read more here.

Newlyweds With Baby Battle Marital Dissatisfaction

Erika Lawrence, a psychology professor released a study funded by the US National Institute of Mental Health that says newlyweds who have children, even those who planned to have children in their early years of married have a much greater drop in marital satisfaction than newlyweds who do not have kids. This article from the Times Online doesn't offer an explanation on why, but it does make sense if you think about it. When you have a child, your attention must be on them. Even when you put forth an effort to nurture your marriage, it's bound to lose time to the new child. That doesn't mean don't have children. The study goes on to say that after 18 months, the marital satisfaction rebounds. So keep this in mind when your first baby is on the way--continue to focus on each other and your marriage.

Army Wives Return Sunday

Lifetime's hit show, "Army Wives" begins its second season this Sunday at 10pm EST. "Army Wives" shines a light on many real issues that face military families today including post-traumatic stress syndrome, single parenthood, alcoholism and infidelity. These issues are a far cry from the guns and explosions most military shows center around. This second season gets more authentic too. The U.S. military has allowed the show to use some of their equipment and film on real bases. If that weren't enough to get new viewers interested, presumed presidential nominees Barack Obama and John McCain have filmed promos for the new season. Go on to our social network and talk about the show with others.

Yikes! One-Third of Married Moms Cheat

Cookie magazine and the AOL Body website conducted a poll of 30,000 moms. The shocking results revealed that 34 percent of married moms said they had cheated on their spouses after having children. Moreover, only 36 percent said they are as attracted to their husbands now as when they first married. If that weren't enough, more than half say even if they haven't cheated, they've considered it. Lastly, 69 percent said they would have sex with their husband even if they weren't in the mood.

If these numbers are in fact true, I'd say marriage is in a state of emergency. That means one out of three marriages is broken. If you were selling a product where one out of three items sold were broken, you'd put a screeching stop to what was going on, find the problem and try to fix it. Let's find the problems and fix them because a good marriage is worth it. What do you think the problems are?

Tech and Internet Don'ts for Marrieds

There's no doubt that technology plays a huge part in our lives. If you're a young married couple, you might find that it plays an even bigger role in your life considering the Facebook profile you must keep up with, the websites you read daily, the podcasts you listen to and so on. This column from Connected Internet offers four items to look out for when you're married. 1. Don't spend all day blogging. 2. If you must blog, make some money doing it. 3. Don't make any major tech purchases without first consulting your partner. 4. If you have made a purchase, wait a while before you even consider your next one. Each one of these points is given more thought and explanation that you can read here. What's your bad technology habit and how has it affected your relationship?

Rock Band Video Game Saves Marriage

Rachel Shukert was in a marriage rut. She typed in, "my husband" "addicted" "video games" "HELP" into the search engine and found salvation amongst hundreds of results. She read many bits of advice, but nothing that seemed to work. Then, her husband brought home a new video game, Rock Band, and asked if she would play with him. She did and she like it, and she was good. If your husband plays video games, you should definitely read this first-person story from Slate, click here. We've said it on numerous occasions, it's important to (a) respect your partner's hobbies and interests, and (b) participate if and when possible if it's something you enjoy as well. Rock on!

Not Smoking is Contagious

A team of researchers at the Harvard Medical School has found that while the urge to smoke is contagious, so is the act of not smoking. These researchers also showed the same type of connection in the past to obesity. In addition, smokers who don't stop smoking while the rest of their group does increasingly find themselves pushed to the edge of their social circles. If this is the findings for general social behavior, it would only seem logical that couples who both smoke would find better success if they both quit at the same time? Do you have any experience with this? Read the complete article here.

How to Beat New Luggage Charge

American Airlines announced today that they'll begin charging travelers for their luggage. No, not starting with their second bag, but the first bag that travelers check-in. American Airlines will impose a $15 fee beginning June 15th. This article from MSNBC offers a few tips for how to beat the new charge. First, read your contract and make sure that AA doesn't try to charge you before June 15th. Second, carry your bag on. Obviously you'd have to pack lighter so that you could carry it on, but for a short trip it'll do. Third, flash your frequent flier card--they're exempt from the new charge. Finally, MSNBC recommends notifying the Transportation Department of your displeasure and ask them to act. Geez, as if traveling in the summer wasn't tough enough.

Surprise! Mom Does More than Dad at Home

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that married mothers with full time jobs are more likely to do housework and provide childcare on an average day than married fathers who also have a full time job. This doesn't really seem surprising, but what's up with that guys? The report also says married moms who are not employed spend an average of 3.6 hours per day on housework, compared with 2 hours for those with full-time jobs and 1 hour for those who worked part-time. It's a little weird that full time mothers do more housework than those working part-time. Do you divide the housework and childcare evenly in your household?