1.  The key principles of marriage and money are:

1. The family is ordained of God.  There is no higher earthly institution or organization.  It must be first on your priority list.
2. No one or nothing is more important than your spouse.  Your spouse has priority over all things, including job, hobbies, friends, money, and all other things.  They should know and feel it.
3. Partners are equal.  Your spouse is equal in all areas, including  the responsibility with you in fulfilling your parental responsibilities.  Neither of you should have power over the other.  The Lord counseled:  “No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned.” (D&C 121:41)
4. Partners should seek the “best interests” of the family.  All actions of the spouses should be in the best interests of the family. Since the family last throughout eternity, work on that which lasts longest—the family.
5. Financial problems are usually behavioral problems, not money problems.  Determine the reason for the poor behavior, and work on that
6. Change is necessary.  None of us are perfect.  We should first work on improving ourselves first, then try to show our spouses-- through example--the best way to go.
7. Money spent on things you value leads to satisfaction and accomplishment.  Know what you want to accomplish in life, and then work on those things.  Those should be the most important things to you.
8. Financial freedom is more the result of decreased spending than increased income.  Happiness is not dependent on money, but our attitude toward our spouses and what we have been blessed with.  We should be willing to curb our spending on things that are not important.
9. Spouses are to leave their parents and become one.  Spouses need to stop the “traditions” of the fathers and do things the way they, as a couple, consider most important.
10. The best things in life are free.  The things that are most important, the things that bring eternal life, do not have a monetary cost.  “And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.”  (D&C 14:7)

2.  The five most common problems regarding finance in marriage are:

1. Lack of financial knowledge.  Knowledge is important to make good decisions.  But knowledge by itself is insufficient.   You must be willing to act on that knowledge
2. Lack of communication.  Relationships require communication to stay healthy.  Develop processes to ensure that there is time to communicate effectively in all areas of you lives.
3. Differences in financial personality types and family baggage.  We were all brought up differently.  While you cannot change how you were brought up, you can change how you will work together as partners to bring up your children.
4. Lack of shared financial goals.  It is critical that partners be working toward the same general goals as a couple.  Set those goals together and then work on them together.
5. Lack of gospel maturity.  Gospel maturity is not just knowing what you should do, but doing it as well.  The more willing we are to do what needs to be done as a partner, the better the marriage will be and the more likely we will be able to return with our families to Heavenly Father’s presence.