While we read the dismal news on the state of marriage in the US, a new survey from Parade Magazine reports that more couples are happily married than previously thought. According to the findings of a new national poll, about 88% said they were happy or reasonably content in their marriages. Only 12% ranked their marriages at the bottom of the scale.

Respondents also offered positive explanations for why they've stayed married, with 71% choosing "deep love" as a reason and 73% citing "companionship." On the negative side, close to 30% of the respondents admitted that they remain married either because of financial reasons or because "it's too much trouble to get out."

No matter why people stay in a marriage, it is good for the pocketbook. The longer people stay married, the greater their wealth accumulations. At retirement, a typical married couple has accumulated about $410,000 compared to about $167,000 for never married, about $145,000 for divorced and just under $96,000 for the separated.

It is simply cheaper living together. There are economies of scale and access to insurance, annuities, pensions, and social security. Even in-laws have value as they often leave assets to their offspring. Especially if you are older, it may be better to stay married even if you are no longer feeling "deep love." Better yet, work a bit and rekindle the feelings that brought you together in the first place.

Barbara Bartlein is the People Pro. To sign up for her webinar to improve your relationship, visit: Webinar

Women may not have parity in the workplace, but they rule the roost at home. According to a study from the Pew Research Center, women make the decisions around the house, and the men don't seem to mind. Of 1,260 individuals surveyed this summer, either married or living together, women have more decision-making power at home.

In 43% of couples, women made more decisions, almost twice as many as men, in the four areas Pew surveyed: planning weekend activities, household finances, major home purchases, and TV watching. The survey also found 43% of men don't have the final say in any of those decisions; they either share decision-making or defer to their partners.

This certainly was not true 40 years ago when I was a little girl. The man was supposed to be the head of the household, making all important decisions. In many families, the woman stayed home while the man brought home the bacon. Perhaps because the man made the money, he often controlled the finances as well. However, my mom disagrees that it was really ever that way. "The difference is back in those days, we let the man THINK he was making the decisions," she says. "In reality, we were really guiding every choice."

A lonely hearts website for married people claims that more women are signing up than a year ago and the economy is to blame. The website, IllicitEncounters.com, states women were joining the site at 55 people per day in 2007, but has risen to 142 as of last week. Reportedly more women are turning to adultery because the credit crisis had made their husbands "no fun," causing them to work longer hours, worry about losing their jobs and shun social activities.

Unlike "golf widows" or "fishing widows," these "downturn widows" report that the husbands are not happy and are too preoccupied to put much effort into their marriages. Seeking attention and wanting to feel special, they are accessing this encounter website to have new, exciting relationships with no strings attached.

A quick review of the site shows listings from married men and women bored with their marriages looking for excitement. And, of course, that is exactly what affairs are all about. It is easy to have excitement when there are no responsibilities; like mortgages, bills, taxes, and childcare.

For lots of couples, a dream wedding involves an exotic location for the nuptials -- maybe a beach, a mountaintop, or a spectacular garden. You don't find these things just anywhere, which is why lots of couples opt for destination weddings.

A destination wedding is simply a getaway wedding. Usually smaller than a typical hometown wedding, everyone travels, often overseas, for the destination wedding. Sounds expensive, huh?

Surprisingly, destination weddings can be a huge money saver -- for the bride and groom. Guests will probably shell out at least three times more to attend one of these weddings than a wedding close to home, so couples who go this route should be sensitive to financial restrictions and accept regrets with no hard feelings.

According to new research reported in USA Today, women start out as happy young adults but are much sadder than their male counterparts by middle age. Researchers at the University of Cambridge in England analyzed decades of national data on 47,000 men and women to create a statistical model that shows women's happiness decreases, while men's increases, exceeding women's by age 48. According to the lead author, Anke Plagnol, women are more likely than men to fulfill their aspirations for material goods and family life, but later, they may be divorced or separated and less financially secure. Meanwhile, men's finances and family life improve.

This study comes as no surprise to this blogger. For single women, who usually make less than their male counterparts, midlife review of finances can be very discouraging. They have been unable to take advantage of the economies of scale that marriage can provide. For single parents, the financial results are even more dramatic. Midlife is the timeframe where kids are going to college with costs that can drain anyone's bank account.

For women who are separated or divorced, the financial reality is even more dramatic. After divorce, wives' standards of living drop 27 percent, while men's standards of living increased by about 10 percent.

I frequently advise women to be cautious about bailing from a marriage at midlife. They may be better off financially by simply separating but staying married. After all, it is likely they will out live their husbands anyway.

Barbara Bartlein is the People Pro. A relationship expert, she is the author of Why Did I Marry You Anyway? Overcoming the Myths That Hinder a Happy Marriage. For more tips and tools to build your relationships, please visit: Marriage Tips. For Barb's Free e-mail newsletter, log on to The People Pro

A tragic case in Taunton, Mass., where a 53-year-old wife and mother fatally shot herself after faxing a letter to her mortgage company, demonstrates a common issue in many marriages; secrets about money. According to police, Carlene Balderrama fax read, in part, "By the time you foreclose on my house, I'll be dead."

"I had no clue," said spouse John Balderrama. He further explained that his wife had handled all the couple's finances and he no idea that she hadn't paid the mortgage in 42 months. But, in fact, there were clues. According to court records, Mr. Balderrama had filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy three times from 2004 to 2006. Obviously there were long-standing financial issues that this couple were not facing together.

This is not unusual. Spouses more often lie to each other about money than any other issue. From hiding purchases and bills to opening single accounts, spouses often minimize their own spending. And in many households, only one spouse is actively involved in handling the family finances.

According a recent article from Reuters, how couples handle money early in their marriage can have a profound impact on the rest of their lives. Now, I don't disagree but couples better not wait until after the honeymoon to talk about the BIG issue. Money is the number one problem that couples fight about and a major factor in most divorces. Yet surprisingly, many couples don't discuss cash until there are problems. Some key issues that you must discuss before you walk down the aisle with anyone.

• How much money do you both have in savings, checking, IRS's, 401K's and other assets?
  
• What liabilities do you or your partner have? Include mortgages, car payments, school loans, personal loans, and credit cards?
  
• What is the current status for you and your partner with the IRS? Beware of marrying anyone who owes the IRS money. It can cause havoc for both of you.
• How do you both feel about money? For some money represents control, others view it simply for fun. Some folks are savers. Identify what your attitude is about money.

Reconsider the next time you look for overtime to make some extra money or volunteer for an extra project to impress the boss. Working on your marriage may be as financially important as working on your career.

Couples who stay together long term have more money for retirement, financial security and fun. According to research by Linda Waite, at retirement a typical married couple has accumulated about $410,000 compared to about $167,000 for those who have never married, about $145,000 for divorced and just under $96,000 for the separated. Married couples also have better access to health insurance, annuities, pensions and social security.

Married couples behave more responsibly about money because they have more responsibilities. Often, the spouse who manages money best takes over the duties for both partners. No more eating out every night or blowing the paycheck at the bar. There now is a financial watchdog on duty. Even in-laws can be valuable. Not to sound mercenary, but they provide a potential access to inheritance. They also tend to help couples, with about 29% of married couples receiving financial help from in-laws and about a quarter of families with children receiving financial transfers in the past five years.

With money being listed as one of the top three reasons that couples fight, it's no doubt that it is a tricky and touchy subject to deal with. The issues can be even harder to deal with if the situation incorporates complex legal rules. In order to better prepare yourself for the obstacles in or after your marriage related to money take Money magazine's "Your marital money rights" quiz.

Check out some of the questions below.

1. Can I cut my spouse out of my will?
2. Can my divorced spouse get my social security?
3. Can men get alimony? - Check out more on Manimony at WalletPop!
4. Will my husband's pension provide for me too?
5. My spouse has large credit card debt in her name. Am I responsible for it?
6. I found my spouse's secret savings account! Do I get half?

You'll have to head over to Money magazine to find out the answers to these questions, a few of which may surprise you. Even if a particular question doesn't fit your current place in life, the knowledge is worth having, if only to remind you to look further into a situation when it happens to you or a friend.

Do you have any marriage and money questions? Leave them in the comments and we'll try to get an answer for you.

What do you suppose was the cost of the average American wedding in 2007? How does $28,732 grab you? According to the Wedding Report, a research firm that compiles these statistics, a drop is actually forecast for 2008. This does, after all, seem to be a recession so Americans are tightening our notoriously extended belts. It appears that we will actually spend $28 less this year! How will we survive?

$28,732. What could most young couples do with that much money? It's the down payment on a house. It's an invested cushion for financial security. Are average Americans really spending that much money for gowns and food and flowers? When did we become convinced that we're all aristocracy?

Every day, WalletPop will be bringing you information about a fantastic freebie. Like what you see? Check back tomorrow for more!

If you or someone you know is planning to get married soon -- or just likes reading about weddings -- this is great Fantastic Freebie.

If you fill out this form -- and agree to receiver emails about "special offers" from WeddingStand.com -- they'll give you a 1-year, 6-issue subscription to Bridal Guide magazine.

That subscription has a cover price of of $29.70, and the same subscription would set you back $9.97 on Amazon.

That's a heck of a deal and win-win for everyone. WeddingStand gets to add a lot of email addresses to its files and Bridal Guide gets a hefty increase in circulation, driving up ad rates.

It's been a tough couple of decades for marriage. Facing a current divorce rate of approximately 50%, pundits and analysts have blamed everything from secularism to birth control to same-sex marriages. One study has even noted a connection between divorce and being a "born again" Baptist! However, regardless of the reason, the one thing that everybody seems to agree on is that marriage is on its way out the door.

There might be a light at the end of the tunnel. Recently, Kaiser Permanente conducted a study in which it sought to explore the potential connection between marriage and health care. The poll revealed that 7% of Americans admitted that, within the last year, they or someone in their household had decided to get married so they could get health benefits through their spouse. This ties in with the 28% of respondents who admitted that they had experienced problems because of the cost of health care. Respondents were more concerned about health care than housing and food costs.

While 7% is a very small fraction, it highlights a major issue: people appear to be making long-term life decisions based upon their worries about health care. On the bright side, however, the decline in health care may accomplish what alimony, societal approbation, and religious tirades have failed to do: it may strengthen the institution of marriage. After all, while many people don't have a problem with adultery and others aren't worried about going to hell, nobody wants to have an untreated case of strep throat!

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. His wife has great insurance and has told him that, if he sticks around for a few more years, she'll put him on her policy.

With millions of people scrambling to get their taxes in on time, there's a large group facing additional complications and the possibility of additional taxes: the estimated 3 million same-sex couples living together as households.

USA Today takes a great look at this overlooked issue: "Take two couples where one partner has a taxable income of $20,000 and the other makes $40,000. If they can file their federal taxes jointly, the tax bill would be $8,217.50. Filing separately, the combined bill would be $9,032.50 - more than $800 higher."

The federal government does not recognize same-sex marriages even from legally-married Massachusetts couples, which can lead to another complication: filing state taxes jointly but federal taxes individually.

Britney and K-Fed could file taxes jointly and save money, but a gay couple that's lived together for 30 years and adopted children can't. That's wrong, and it's also stupid.

Some good links: the best argument for gay marriage comes from a Republican state congressman from Wyoming. If you haven't seen it before, here are 12 (very sarcastic) reasons that gay marriage will ruin America.

When my wife and I got married a few years back, we decided that we wanted a big wedding. We wanted to be surrounded by family and friends as we ate great food, drank outstanding libations, listened to fantastic music, and generally had the time of our lives. Because we were paying for it by ourselves, however, we needed to get creative in our realization of our dream. We called out our friends.

For food, we priced caterers, only to discover that professional chefs would have charged us $25 a head for clay-like banquet chicken. Our friend Rich, on the other hand, was able to get us most of our food at a restaurant discount, and was happy to help us prepare it. When it came to music, we hired my wife's friend Paul Herling and his buddies, who had a nice rockabilly sound and charged us about half of their usual fee. For photography, we called upon our friend Richard Alnutt, a professional photographer, who cut us a break. My cousin John Strymish also dropped in and gave us a hand with his own amazing photographic ability. For flowers, my sister Ella, a sculptor, took over and created beautiful bouquets. My wife's friend Sabrina made us the cake practically for free, only requesting that we pay for ingredients and the necessary pans. My aunt Portia covered the wine and beer, my sister Sue paid for the hotel rooms the night before the wedding, and my sister Jen covered the hotel the night after. Some of my friends volunteered to work as waiters and kitchen helpers, and my wife's friend Julie officiated for us.

My husband is a very faithful man: in the traditional sense. Every time I get upset at him, he says, "but honey! You should just hear me talk about you. Everyone at the bar knows you're the only one for me!"

Umm... that's so not the point, sweetheart! You just spent $80 (plus hefty ATM fees at the only cash machine near the dirty bar where you play pool) buying drinks for your entire street hockey team. Frankly, all I care about is the financial fidelity.

Whether it's a closet full of shoes whose retail price you go to great lengths to hide from your husband, that credit card you never told your fiancée about, or youthful irresponsibility that got your first new car repossessed: many of us are guilty of monetary indiscretions.