Quick hit: Money woes become relationship woes

From this morning's NZ Herald:

But relationship problems often worsened when people suffered major financial blows such as redundancy.

"Obviously, then there is a lot of uncertainty - often for both partners - around how they are going to sustain themselves, what it means for the mortgage, what it means for the family and kids," Mr Hayward said.

"That has a big effect on people's levels of anxiety, their levels of depression, hopelessness and so on.

"Unfortunately, our experience is that the rate of domestic violence also goes up when couples are under financial pressure. The research indicates that it's young couples with new children who are financially stressed who are the most prone as a group to family violence."

I remember reading a book about a young girl growing up in Thatcher's Britain, during high levels of unemployment, and the impact that financial stress had on her family. The frustration for the father figure, who could not legitimately earn enough to support them, and his conviction that he was less of a man if he wasn't the breadwinner, combined with the futile efforts of the mother to keep them clothed, fed and housed on insufficient funds, were heartbreaking. Some days I feel very lucky indeed.