marriage

As IRS checks start to pour in around the country, you'll soon hear a chorus of financial advisers telling you why getting a tax refund is a bad thing -- because it means you gave an interest-free loan to Uncle Sam. But at least for right now, that isn't a such big deal.

Your sweetheart may be keeping a big secret from you, and it's not that there's some other guy or gal. It's the truth about their money. According to new poll from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, 24% of respondents wouldn't tell their spouse if they were experiencing financial difficulties.

"To leave hundreds of millions of dollars vulnerable does not seem like a wise choice," says one matrimonial lawyer. Still, many of the rich and famous keep heading down the aisle without a prenup. It's a choice some eventually live to regret.

While not everyone whose marriage ends rushes out to break ground on a new home, some real estate agents say divorcing spouses make up at least a third of their clients. With the economy impacting divorce trends and marital splits pushing spending trends, should economists be watching divorce rates when they chart the economic outlook?

In DailyFinance's new video series, My Three Cents, personal finance columnist Regina Lewis discusses tips and trends affecting today's consumer market. This week's focus: family finances, divorce and depression.

Who would pick the pocket of your grandma or grandpa? Apparently, a lot of people: Older Americans are losing $2.9 billion annually to elder financial abuse, up 12% from 2008, according to The MetLife Study of Elder Financial Abuse. Here's how to protect your older relatives from becoming victims.

Divorce is a common affair in America today, but it hits some groups harder than others. Yes, race can be a factor -- but far more telling is financial status, among other things. For answers, 24/7 Wall Street digs into the Census Bureau%u2019s May report, Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2009.

In 2009, just over two million American couples pledged their eternal troth to each other, and spent more than $40 billion doing it. If the average $24,000-plus cost of a wedding feels steep to you, consider saving some cash and making the day even more special by getting friends and family involved.

Modern couples are bringing more assets into their marriages -- and more liabilities too including credit card debt, student loans and mortgages. It may be unromantic, and the subject of a prenuptial agreement is fraught with emotional peril, but here's why it's worth discussing.

Economic theories have long helped investors improve their portfolios, but can they also help improve your marriage? A new book called Spousonomics: Using Economics to Master Love, Marriage and Dirty Dishes, argues the answer is yes.