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Marriage and money: Our biggest mistake

Five couples reveal the worst financial mistakes they've made and what they've learned.

Avoided money talks

couples money mistakes sonita lontoh
  • Name: Sonita Lontoh and Adam Skarsgard
  • Relationship status: Married 12 years
  • City: San Francisco, Calif.

Sonita Lontoh and her husband Adam Skarsgard have starkly contrasting money habits. Lontoh, for example, loves splurging on designer shoes and clothing purchases, while Skarsgard prefers to save for big sporting events, like the Super Bowl or Kentucky Derby.

In their first years of marriage, Lontoh said she avoided serious money talks, preferring instead to keep a wall between them and their finances.

"For me, money is a symbol of my independence so having to make decisions with someone else took a while for me to get used," Lontoh said.

The couple has since learned to communicate, and now agree on a budget that works for them both. "It's actually much better for the marriage," she said.

  @melhicken - Last updated July 18 2013 11:16 AM ET

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