by Tom Funk

Created on: October 21, 2009

Many people enter into a marriage without fully understanding what they are getting into or what to expect from being married. Some people believe that the simple act of getting married will change a person or even solve problems, but the truth about marriage is that it is not simple and things do not change magically once you put a ring on. Here are some important tips to remember and consider that should help you achieve a successful marriage.

Let's first examine what a successful marriage is. Obviously, it's one that works, where the couple stays together. In order to do this, you must always keep in mind why you got married in the first place. The easy, and quick, answer to that is love, but come on, there has got to be more to it than that. You should be able to get along with your spouse, trust your spouse and be able to count on your spouse. This should be the one person in your life that you felt you could not live without, which is why you decided to spend the rest of your lives together. You should share common interests and still retain your individuality, being able to share what you love with the person you love and introduce them to new things. If you don't trust your spouse, can't rely on them to be there for you, even for little things, getting married will not change that.

Problems and conflicts will always arise, and more often than not, it's the little things that get to us. Money is always a big issue, but if you can be patient and open with each other, money is easy to handle. Money, like everything else, should be shared so that there are no hard feelings if one person makes more than the other and subsequently gets to spend more on things they want. If you share your money and split bills, costs and excess, then money will not be an issue. What usually bites us in the behind are the little things, little disagreements that can fester and become major arguments. One must always remember, you have your own beliefs, ideals and opinions, and so does your spouse. You can not expect them to agree with you on every issue and you must be willing to accept that. One of the most important things to remember is do not try to change the person you married. If you loved them enough to get married as they were, then be happy with whom they are. You will never be able to change a person's beliefs, attitudes, foibles or bad habits without causing undo stress, unhappiness and resentment.

For a successful marriage, always remember why it is you got

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>