Therapy helped them to understand their different histories and expectations and over time, each one slowly moved slightly towards the center. Their disastrous fights lessened and they could begin to remember why they fell in love in the first place. It took courage for each of them to learn how to listen to the other and to give up pieces of their own dearly cherished beliefs. By the time they left therapy, money was rarely an issue between them. I doubt that it would have lasted and it would have gone the way of so many marriages where each partner finds the other's attitude and ways of managing money totally incomprehensible.
Money is both a metaphor and a reality.
Talking openly and communicating about money becomes another way for you and your spouse to get to know each other. Attitudes towards money range from the penurial to the extravagant. There is no reason to run to the divorce court just because you and your spouse have different ways of managing your finances. Attitudes and relationships towards finances are unique to you and reveal a good deal about who you are and how you operate. Dollars and cents are the interface or unit of exchange between you and society and learning where you stand along the continuum, from prudent to expansive, can help you learn more about how you negotiate through life.