Fighting over money with your partner? These experts have some advice

Key ways to diffuse money disagreements with your spouse is to keep focus on shared goals and show empathy toward your partner even when you don't agree with them, experts say. Frederic Cirou/PhotoAlto/Getty Images

Money can be a fraught issue for most couples.

And no wonder.

“We tend to have rule books around money. And we get upset when someone doesn’t have the same game plan,” said Thomas Faupl, a licensed family and marriage therapist who specializes in financial therapy.

Not to mention that everybody’s money behaviors are influenced by their experiences around money growing up .

But you can defuse your disagreements so that they are not perpetually difficult — or fatal — for your relationship.

How?

Start by recognizing that money fights are usually about something bigger. T