Successful Relationships

Written by guest writer, Dr Taffy (moneyinmarriage on twitter)

The economy has had an effect on marriages and relationships that many probably did not expect. For example, couples that were headed to divorce court ended up staying together because they could not afford the cost of a divorce.

One thing is for sure, if they were not discussing money before they are now. Couples that had not talked about finances are now in the position of having to talk about money because of the effect the economy on their personal finances.

If you are in one of these positions, it is a good thing that you are now talking about money. Whether you really thought about it or not, money has many roles in our lives.

Two major keys to any successful relationship is love and communication. One expression of love is to show a genuine desire to communicate with the person.

When both love and communication are present in a relationship any problem can be worked out.

When some parents face difficulties with their teenagers that seem impossible to solve, they tend to take the “easy way out” and simply ignore their teen. I am sure you have heard of the theory “if I ignore it, it will go away”. This is so often the human way of coping with many situations that are difficult to handle.

However, in actual fact ignoring a problem does not solve anything, but rather it allows time for any unresolved emotional reactions to go deeper and fester.

There will be added difficulties if communication difficulties existed with your teenager when he or she was a small child. But be encouraged, it is not impossible to restore your relationship with your teen to become a successful one. It will take some time, patience and a determination to win. But always expect the best, and you WILL win!

The other day on Twitter, Wendy Dewar happened to mention that she and her husband had just celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary.

This is great achievement these days, and I knew that Wendy would have some great wisdom to share with you. When I asked Wendy if she would consider writing down some tips and tricks that she has applied over the years to bring her this success, she graciously accepted.

Following is her article, I know that it will be a great blessing to you.

Wendy writes:
I got married in 1975 just after I turned twenty. I am still married to the same man today. Over the years we’ve discovered and developed ways to keep our marriage a happy place. Has it been easy? Yes, and no. But there are definitely some techniques and tactics we have learned along the way that have enabled us to live happily together all these years. Here are a few tips gleaned from over three decades of marriage.

1. Be smart before you start.

This is the fifth article of the series Teenage Years – Parent’s Adventure or Nightmare. How you can embrace the adventure and stay away from the nightmare.

These tips were either suggested or approved by my teenage friends, and the fifth tip that was named is:

Don’t Antagonize Your Teenager.
Remember your teenager is going through a lot of changes already and because of this there may be some strange emotions pop up from time to time. There may even be some “out of character” moments as they are trying to find their own feet in this world.

There are three main definitions of the word antagonize found in the dictionary.