Be sure to check out Sunday’s paper. In it, you’ll find my account of taking a couples and money class with my husband. I’ll link to the column here once it’s online.

The class we took was Ruth Hayden’s popular couples and money class. It’s a class I’ve been hearing about for years as a journalist. It was about time I got to see firsthand what it is she’s recommending.

I’d say we were atypical class participants. We don’t fight much about money and are comfortable with how much we save and spend. I’ll gripe from time to time about his lack of interest in the topic and he’ll get annoyed by my constant chattering about money (and many other things for that matter).

And until recently, I’d never let financial mistakes slip– like forgetting to send in a rebate or paying an ATM fee. But then, I forgot to pay a credit card bill and lost a rebate slip I took from him for fear he’d never send it. I try to be more forgiving now.

To me, an open dialogue about money is key. Not only about the exact dollar amount in the bank. But about your goals and values that surround your money behaviors.

Fortunately, neither of us are spendthrifts and have pretty much the same goals. Yes, I spend more on clothes and happy hour. He spends more on cell phones. Although, as you’ll learn from the column, I am more expensive than he is.

What are your strategies for discussing money?

What’s your biggest conflict?

Have you ever ended a relationship because of money issues? I haven’t, but considering some experts say money issues are the number one cause for divorce, there must be a lot of people out there who have.

Funny. I had decided