Love and Money

I never realized how important it was to be on the same page financially as your significant other until I got to the age where many of my friends were getting married.  My boyfriend's smart financial habits have been a huge motivator in getting my own finances in order, but I'm sure many couples do not talk about money issues as often as we do.  It's not as important at the beginning of a relationship, but as you get more serious it is not a bad idea to have a discussion about finances.

Once a couple gets engaged (or even before they do), it's important that they discuss how they will go about their finances once they are married.  Will you both be working?  What will your combined income be?  How will your budget have to change?  Do either of you have debt?  How will you use credit cards?  Will you combine all of your bank accounts, or maintain individual accounts?  Should you consult each other before making larger purchases? 

I don't know the statistics, but I've read that money is one of the biggest issues that married couples fight about.  Although it would be difficult to avoid any disagreements involving finances, I'm sure you could avoid a lot of them if you came up with a budget and a few rules beforehand.  But like I said, I'm no expert.... what do you think?  How do you and your significant other deal with your finances?