by Ryan Bendall

Created on: August 28, 2008

Cohabitation can be a blessing, financially rewarding and the next step to a brilliant life together but sadly it can also be a nightmarish disaster if all goes wrong.

The main problem couples face when living together is the process of familiarity. Its human nature to tire of something that you have to experience over and over again and this applies to relationships also. Imagine being tied to a chair and made to watch a brand new block buster hit movie repeatedly. You very may enjoy it the first few times, you may even love it for a few days but imagine after a month or so you'll be going crazy with its repetitiveness. Now this is an extreme example but even so, it is a completely justified one. There are ways to stop this familiarity setting in and ruining your relationship and I believe every couple embarking on this adventure should have a handbook presented to them at the estate agents!

1. Firstly you have to take all financial commitments into perspective. If your not sharing a bank account this can get messy. Your probably going to have to decide who pays the bills and who's bank account this is going to come out of. If you do this arguments can arise if money ever becomes tight. Imagine something along the lines of;

"You have a shower every day! You pay for the water you use, I'll pay for mine,"

This is not what you want. I'd recommend setting up a separate account and simply both agree to place a little bit of money into this every month to cover the bills collectively. Also, be considerate. If money is tight don't go out and buy a PS3 or a new set of cashmere cushions and expect your partner to appreciate them when they've just rolled in from a hard days graft at the office.

2. Get a hobby. Living together can create the false illusion of neglect between couples through one persons hobbies taking up some of the time they have. Make sure that you've both got something you can do so that if one of you is occupied then your not left sat on the settee feeling ignored which most probably lead to pining, then annoyance to full on war.

3. Get out of the house. The strain of having to find things to do in your own household can sometimes make you stand back and look at your relationship from the outside in. Don't get to the point where your both sat in silence watching "Killer Penguin 3: Happy's Revenge" and you suddenly think, "I'm dying inside," Make time to go out and do stuff together, even if it's just for a walk or to feed some ducks somewhere. Don't let

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