Financial faithfulness is also important in a marriage relationship. Everyone has heard about the two things that people argue about most in a marriage: sex and money. That may be true for most couples, but it doesn’t have to be in your marriage relationship.

It takes a financial plan to create financial faithfulness. It involves more than a budget; it’s a life plan. Your financial plan includes budget, retirement, college funds, and creating the wealth you perceive God has given you permission to create. Your plan will include a commitment to tithing. I could write a whole book on the blessings and curses of tithing, but I won’t. I can just tell you that nearly every couple I have met who were having financial struggles were couples who were not tithing. On the other side of the fulcrum, I can also tell you that the richest people I have met around the country consistently give much more than 10 percent of their income to advancing the kingdom of God. Being financially faithful to God is one way to be financially faithful to each other. As a couple, be in agreement on your spending. Without a doubt, one of you will probably want to spend more, and the other one will save more; that’s God’s way of balancing both of you. Look at your philosophy of debt—your actual debt load and your agreement. It is also helpful for you to agree on the amount of independent spending each of you will do without discussing your purchase with the other spouse. Financial faithfulness can help to provide a service of safety and teamwork that will keep your marriage strong. Maturity in this area of faithfulness will add decades of blessings into your marital life.