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Love and marriage can also lead to financial bliss.

If your Valentine’s Day plans include an engagement, congratulations! Besides romance, you also are more likely to experience financial joy – if your marriage works out.

Couples who get and stay married can have as much as four times the wealth of their single or divorced peers. Experts say that's not only because they can combine their salaries and share expenses once they get married.

Spouses are better off because of a combination of factors, starting with who is getting married these days.

“It’s more educated, more affluent and also more religious Americans that tend to get married in the first place,” said Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia.

That gives them a starting advantage over their peers who aren’t married.  

Once they are married, the couples also are able to take advantage of economies of scale – anything from buying just one dishwasher to relying on one another’s health insurance. That allows them to build wealth more quickly than their peers who are single, divorced or  living together romantically.

“You have further advantages,” said Pamela Smock, director of the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Smock said those advantages go beyond just sharing expenses. People who are married also are able to divide up responsibilities in financially beneficial ways.

For example, a married man may be able to work 12 hours a day to please his bosses and get promoted, because he and his wife can divide household duties so he can get ahead. That’s not as much of an option for a single parent.

The economic advantages also tend to be greater for those who are married than for those who are living together romantically, said Jay Zagorsky, a research scientist at The Ohio State University who has studied wealth trends by marital status.

He said that while some people are in long-term, unmarried relationships, many cohabitating couples may not yet have committed to the idea that they will be together forever. That means they aren’t combining resources as significantly as married couples.

“Many people are living together as a sort of trial,” he said.

Are you struggling in the suburbs? We want to hear from you.

The wealth differences can be significant. Zagorsky’s research has shown that people who got and stayed married each had about double the wealth of single people who never married. Together, the couple’s wealth was four times that of a single person’s.

Other data also shows that married people see stronger financial advantages than just a doubling of wealth. According to the Census Bureau, in 2010 the median net worth for a married couple between the ages of 55 and 64 was $261,405. That compares to $71,428 for a man heading a household, and $39,043 for a woman heading a household.

Of course, those major wealth effects are for marriages that worked out. Zagorsky’s research found that those who got divorced tended to see their wealth fall dramatically, leaving them worse off than those who were single and had never married.

That’s one reason that Zagorksy said it’s important to marry for love, and hope it also will lead to money.

“Getting married and staying happily married is a wonderful way to increase your wealth,” he said.  “Getting married with the idea it will make you rich is a terrible idea.”

The demographics of who gets divorced also play a role. Wilcox, of the National Marriage Project, said less wealthy people are more likely to get divorced, which may have to do with the stress caused by having very little money.

“More affluent and more educated Americans (are) not only more likely to get married, they’re also less likely to get divorced,” Wilcox said.

In general, government data shows that the divorce rate has stabilized in recent years, but the rate of people getting married also has fallen dramatically.

Smock noted that the idea of living together without getting married has lost its stigma, and having children without being married also is becoming commonplace.

But her research also offers another explanation for why less wealthy people aren’t getting married.

Many of the men and women she’s studied feel like they need to have some semblance of financial security to get married, such as a stable job or enough savings to hold an expensive wedding and reception. A surprising number of men and women also report wanting the man to have the type of job that makes him the primary breadwinner.

“Those people are more likely to be the privileged people,” she said. “And the others, the less well off, are doing family in a different way.”

 Related: New tool shows whether you will have to pay Uncle Sam a 'marriage penalty'

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This is nice, but it may not save your relationship.

A new study is challenging the conventional wisdom that sharing household duties such as scrubbing the kitchen and toilets will reduce your odds of divorce.

But, the researchers caution, the findings are not an excuse for men or women to start shirking their chores.

Researchers used 2007-08 data on thousands of Norwegian adults to determine possible links between marriage, housework and happiness.

They found that divorce rates were actually higher for the approximately 25 percent of couples who shared housework equally than for the 71 percent couples where women did more or all of the housework.

Divorce rates also were significantly higher among the 4 percent of households in which the men did the majority of the housework, although the sample size was quite small for that group.

“The main point is that there is little to indicate that gender equality at home protects against divorce, as many people think and as is typically maintained by scholars in the field,” Thomas Hansen, a researcher with a Norwegian social research institute and one of the co-authors of the study, told TODAY in an e-mail.

Still, Hansen cautions that spouses should not take this as a sign they can throw in the dish towel – or vacuum, dust pan and sponge.

“This should not be interpreted as a causal effect, i.e., that (equality) leads to divorce,” he wrote.

Instead, it could be an indication that the type of modern couple that shares housework equally might also have more modern views on marriage and divorce. In addition, women in those households may have more financial independence to get out of an unhappy marriage.

The full study is available here. If you don’t happen to read Norwegian, skip to page 223 for the English-language summary.

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For married couples, full disclosure is essential when it comes to discussing their personal finances.

You wouldn’t merge companies without combing through a potential business partner’s finances. In financial terms, the joint venture known as marriage is similar.

Sound unromantic? Consider this: the most commonly cited cause of divorce in the U.S. is unexpected financial stress. So it follows that one of the wisest ways to protect a marriage is honest financial openness and planning.

“Regardless of your attitudes about money, spouses must give full disclosure on their finances because each person is liable for the other,” said certified financial planner Dean Harman of Harman Wealth Management.

CNBC.com: How the ‘fiscal cliff’ could hurt married couples

Want to be good at the business of marriage? Take a deep breath and put everything on the table.

The debt talk
For many couples, talking about debt is the most difficult, but most important, financial discussion to have. Past debts from either spouse can affect an individual's ability to buy a home, lease a car or even rent an apartment.

“Assess where you are today in terms of debt levels and you’ll avoid surprises down the line, when it may be too difficult to recover,” said Luke Vandermillen, vice president at Principal Financial Group. “You cannot determine whether you’re in a position to buy a home or save for retirement, if you aren’t aware of debt.”

Past debts show up clearly on an individual's personal credit history — a document each spouse should review. “The big ones are student loans and credit-card debt. We see this all the time. If one spouse has $100,000 worth of student loans, one way or another they both end up paying it back,” said Harman.

CNBC.com: 8 ways to avoid financial abuse

Past bankruptcies or foreclosures must also be discussed because their impact is long-term. (Experts say the standard is seven years for bankruptcy forgiveness). “You can’t just say, ‘Oh, by the way, I had a bankruptcy I didn’t tell you about, so now we can’t get the mortgage.’ That’s a disaster from a trust standpoint,” Harman said.

Once you’ve sifted through your financial pasts, long-married couples say the key to long-term financial planning is figuring out what to combine and what to keep separate. We’ve broken down the majors:

Mortgages and home ownership
Experts agree that, in general, married couples should buy houses together with both names on the title deed for the house and in the mortgage contract. First, they cite what’s called the "right of survivorship." That is, if one spouse dies, ownership automatically transfers to the surviving spouse.

CNBC.com: 10 things you should know about your financial adviser

“It’s also easier to qualify if both names are on a mortgage,” said Kelly Campbell, CEO of Campbell Wealth Management. “Many companies won’t lend to you unless you are joint on a house, because it protects the bank. If one spouse passes away, they still need to collect.”

Health-care benefits
Consensus on this says not to pay double for health-insurance coverage. “It’s typically less expensive for both spouses to be covered on one plan,” said Vandermillen of the Principal Financial Group. “But insurance varies from one employer to the next, so take a close look at what is covered.”

Determine which insurance package will pay for the best benefits at the lowest cost. This one takes legwork, but the savings may make it worthwhile.

CNBC.com: Your financial accounts: Knowing the insured from the uninsured

“If both spouses have employer-based insurance, pick the best one,” said Harman, adding that the single insurance plan for couples can accommodate life changes. For instance, if one spouse is working part-time, or if one retires but is not yet eligible for Medicare, becoming insured as your spouse’s dependent makes sense.

Nonretirement investments
Any investments you have that are not related to your 401(k) plan or IRAs should be owned and reviewed jointly, say financial planners.

“When it comes to investment accounts, I think they should be joint because it’s a commitment that both of you make to your goals,” said Campbell.

Whether it’s a brokerage account intended for a vacation home or a 529 Fund (these grow tax-free, if used to pay for college), committing to an end goal helps couples plan for the future.

“Ask yourselves how much you need to reach these goals, and when you’re going to use the money. Then, while there’s no easy answer, discuss your desired level of market risk,” said Vandermillen.

Taxes
This one’s not optional. Uncle Sam considers married couples one household, so you can’t file your taxes as a single person. It’s a complex issue often requiring the services of a professional.

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Newlyweds are entering their lives with a much different set of experiences than those of a generation before.

It’s more common than ever for people to cohabit before marriage now, and many are getting married later in life. Couples are relying more on their own finances to pay for a wedding, rather than the event being paid for by their families, and gift-giving practices have even changed as well.

Most newlyweds are already equipped with household wares; indeed, they may have an overabundance of kitchen supplies, electronics, bedding and other common wedding gifts. More and more often, couples are requesting a gift of the one thing they need most: money.

Not so long ago, offering cash as a gift was a social faux pas. Now, however, as couples struggle to build their new life against the backdrop of a meager economy, gifts of cash are well-received. Marriage represents more than a union of two people; it’s also the gateway into a new institution that’s governed as much by finances as emotion. Put simply, a marriage founded on shoddy finances is as unstable as any business enterprise, and for young couples, every dollar truly counts.

Making the most of wedding gift cash

As a newlywed, you’re bound to get a lot of money amid your other gifts, whether you specifically ask for it or not. For some people, this sudden influx of cash can be exhilarating. Instead of giving in to the sudden temptation to go on a massive shopping spree, however, you need to carefully consider what to do with the money. By properly investing the cash that you receive, you can build a nest egg that can help sustain you throughout your marriage, rather than running dry a week after your wedding.

5 smart ways to spend your wedding cash

1. Paying off debt

Since most couples pay for their own weddings, they often enter their marriage carrying ample debt. Of course, smart wedding planning alleviates some of this, and it’s very trendy right now for couples to reduce costs by holding casual affairs, having DIY weddings or dramatically slashing the guest list.

Even if a couple manages to evade debt for the wedding itself, however, most couples enter their new life with substantial debt. Student loans, medical bills, consumer debt and other expenses can impact a person’s credit, and those debts magnify when households are combined.

The faster you can pay off this debt, the sooner you will be able to qualify for a mortgage, buy a new car and save seriously for your retirement. It will also save you money in the long run as you avoid interest fees. If you have too much debt to consider paying off entirely with your wedding money, find the most toxic debt and destroy it first. For most people, this means paying off high-interest credit cards or loans rather than trying to pay off student loan debt or other long-term loans.

2. Saving for the future

The best part about money is that it can be used to make more money by investing it in an interest-bearing account. One of the securest investments you can make is a certificate of deposit. This is much more secure than stocks or other investments, but the interest rate is higher than with a regular savings account. You simply place the money in the CD and wait until it has matured, then receive your initial principal plus interest.

To maximize your savings, augment the wedding money with regular payments from your paychecks. Set aside a certain amount of money from each check and add it to the principal every time you cash your CD. This will ensure that you have an ever-growing savings with maximum interest and minimal cost. When you start, you can choose a short-term CD for a few months, then choose longer periods in the future.

The other benefit of having a CD is that it’s very flexible. You can choose the duration of the CD and use the money however you’d like. This allows you to put money aside for a house, vacation, your children’s college fund or whatever else is important to you.

3. Start an IRA

It’s never too early to plan for your retirement, and with fewer jobs offering pension plans, individuals must make their own financial arrangements. Rather than investing all of the wedding money into CDs, a couple might choose to open an IRA or 401k accounts. Employers will usually match the money invested in retirement accounts, and the funds are untaxed until they’re paid out.

If you do choose this investment, bear in mind that it will require two separate accounts as retirement accounts are for individuals, not couples. A wedding is a good time to consider retirement, however, as weddings are ideally a symbol of eternity, and planning for old age and retirement together can help solidify a couple’s bond while putting money to pragmatic use.

4. Buy a house

For couples who would rather live in the here-and-now, using the money from a wedding toward buying a new home can be a wise idea. Depending on the size of the gifts and the amount of guests, cash from a wedding can help form a down payment on a home. Houses are the most expensive purchase most people will make in their lives, and buying a first home is often the first step toward forming a new life together that a couple takes.

Don’t allow excitement to exceed reason when buying a new house. Be sure that your finances are in order first. You’ll want to pay off as much debt as possible prior to applying for a mortgage, and ensure that you have enough money budgeted to cover a house payment. If buying a home isn’t possible right away, go ahead and invest the money in a CD for a year or two and re-visit the plan later after you’ve been able to save up.

5. Buy something nice together

Marriage isn’t only about investments in the future. It’s perfectly acceptable to spend some of the money from gifts in buying something nice together. Indeed, many frugal couples may be so accustomed to buying second-hand or bargain bin goods that they don’t realize how nice it can be to splurge.

Assess your money and see if you can make room for a single nice, practical-but-luxurious purchase such as a TV or high-quality bed. By choosing something that can enjoy together for a long time, you’re also making an investment in your future.

It’s up to each individual couple to determine what the best use of wedding gift money is. This can depend on how much is received, the couple’s needs, future plans and more. At the very least you need to speak about this with each other well before getting married. As long couples consider all their options carefully before proceeding, they can usually make the most of the gifts to launch their new life together.

Alan Dunn is founder of HowtoSaveMoney.com, a destination dedicated to helping people understand how to save and manage money.

More from Forbes.com

• Top 10 financial tips for starting a family
• 20 crucial money questions to ask before 'I do'
• Surviving wedding season: A guest's guide to avoiding financial ruin by Labor Day
• Wedding day confessions: Best advice for the bride and groom
• How being a control freak blocks intimacy & money

David Bach

It’s great when you’re significant other keeps you on the road to financial well-being, but what if your better half is also a fiscal train wreck, or they're just not on the same page as you when it comes to money management?

The first step in dealing with the problem is admitting you and your lover have a problem, said David Bach, a personal finance expert and author of numerous money management books including “Debt Free For Life: The Finish Rich Plan for Financial Freedom.”

Bach was on hand Wednesday to answer relationship money questions from readers during our weekly live web chat that included a host of inquiries on how couples can put their financial houses in order.

The key, Bach maintained, is being honest about financial challenges and getting both members of a couple to do their part.

Clearly, it’s a challenge. According to a Today.com and SELF magazine survey released earlier this year, nearly half of respondents admitted to keeping financial secrets from their partners.

Of those who kept secrets, about 34 percent said it was because they disagreed with their significant other about where to spend the money.

One reader who joined the web chat was able to put all his and his wife’s financial cards on the table.

G. Money asked Bach:

“My wife and I have been married for 15 years. We both are spenders. We have accumulated a lot of debt. We have about a $110,000 mortgage, $35,000 2nd mortgage, $12,000 personal loan and $10,000 in credit card debt. How do we tackle this debt? Also, how do we change our bad spending habits?”

Bach’s reply:

“All financial progress begins with telling the truth and you just did that, so well done. I think you need credit counseling. I would go to www.debtadvice.org, and get a referral to a non-profit credit counselor to review what you bad habits are and what you can do to change your behavior. Also go to the library and get Debt Free For Life, my new book and simply work the plan I lay out, it can help you get on the right track to crush your debt and change your life. Good luck to you! You can do this, and you can change.”

For those individuals who have a spouse who’s the opposite of them when it comes to personal finance, one of you may need an education in dollars and sense, advised Bach.

Khang asked:

“She wants a joint bank account; I don't. She's a spender, I'm the saver. Can you help me resolve conflict with my future wife?”

Bach wrote:

“Khang, welcome to marriage...lol. The truth is we almost always marry our financial opposite. Check out my book "Smart Couples Finish Rich." In this book I teach couples to first work on discovering their core values, and planning their dreams together. Then I turn to your finances. The best place to start is on organizing your financial documents at home with my Finish Rich File Folder System. You can actually find this on my website also at www.finishrich.com. Next you should work on finding your couples Latte Factor, where you spend small amounts of money on little things that you can both give up. And then it's time to work on a 'pay yourself first plan', where you agree to set aside a fixed percentage of your income off the top of your income before you spend anything. Lot's to consider, but trust me you really can do this--and being on the same page with your money will change your life! Good luck to you!”

Here’s a transcript to the entire Q&A with Bach:

Stephen Coburn / Featurepics.com

Have you ever found yourself competing for a job with your significant other?

With more and more couples meeting at work, it’s bound to happen: You and your spouse end up in the running for the same job. Have you ever applied for the same job as your husband or wife? If so, we want to hear from you. Please include some details about the situation and how it turned out, plus contact information so we can get in touch.

Members of Generation X, especially those without college degrees, are increasingly spurning marriage in favor of cohabitation, according to a report published Monday.

Marriage is still far more common, with 58 percent of adults aged 30-44 married as of 2009, compared with 7 percent living with an opposite-sex partner, according to the study from the Pew Research Center.

But cohabitation rates have doubled over the past 15 years, and the marriage rate has plummeted among those without college degrees, according to the study. In 1995, 63 percent of adults in the 30-44 age bracket without degrees were married, but by last year that had fallen to 56 percent. Meanwhile the cohabitation rate doubled from 4 to 8 percent.

The cohabitation rate also doubled among those with college degrees, from 2 to 5 percent, but the marriage rate remained almost unchanged at 71 percent.

The report underscores the apparent economic advantages of marriage, especially for those with less formal education. Individuals who lacked a college degree but had a spouse had median household income of $65,800 in 2009, compared with less than $50,000 for those who were cohabiting or listed as living with “no partner.” The advantage held even when adjusted for household size. (The Pew report was based on Census data, which did not account for same-sex couples.)

College graduates, of course, had far higher median household incomes — $110,000 for those who were married and $95,400 for those cohabiting.  But when adjusted for a typical three-person household, the Pew Center figured that cohabiters actually had a higher median income than married couples.

Marriage still seems to confer some economic advantages on the college-educated, however. Only 2 percent of college-educated married adults aged 30-44 lived in poverty as of 2009, compared with 9 percent of those cohabiting and 7 percent of those living without partners.

Poverty rates were far higher for those without college degrees, but married couples enjoyed a significant advantage there, too.

We’ve written about how the recession has caused some to delay having kids and others to put off getting divorced. So it should come as no surprise that unemployment – a major factor in the current economic doldrums - also would play a role in whether people get married.

Two websites, yourtango.com and Forbes Woman, recently polled 625 of their readers and found that 75 percent of them would not marry a man who was unemployed.

The good news for lovelorn guys: Many of these women also appeared to be holding themselves to the same standard. The websites said 65 percent of the women surveyed also wouldn’t get married if they themselves were unemployed.

Although the reader survey may not reflect all women’s attitudes toward marriage, it fits with recent trends toward delaying major life events because of the long recession and weak recovery.

Last fall, U.S. Census researchers speculated that more people may be shacking up because of the high unemployment rate.

In addition, the Centers for Disease Control has reported a decline in the marriage rate between 2004 and 2009, the most recent data available.

Those who are putting off tying the knot may end up waiting a while. The unemployment rate stood at 9.1 percent in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the median duration of unemployment was a hefty 22 weeks. 

When you're doing well at work, your marriage suffers and when you're happy with your significant other, your career must be failing.

Many of us buy into this school of thought, but according to recent research, balancing work life and family life doesn't have to be a zero sum game.

Social psychologists studied 169 newlywed couples over the course of four years and measured their workload, work satisfaction and marital satisfaction.

For couples who didn't have children, the results were fairly predictable. When husbands had a higher workload, they were happier in their marriage, and so were their wives.

"A husband's hard work is part of being a good husband," said Benjamin Karney, one of the study's researchers and a professor of social psychology at UCLA.

Wives are happy when husbands are hardworking because this is consistent with "the husband role," he said. The couples were even more satisfied with their marriage when husbands were happy at their jobs.

But when couples became parents, the roles changed and so did the levels of marriage satisfaction.

When husbands became fathers and had a higher workload, their wives were less happy. Now that husbands are being asked to fulfill an extra role, work does interfere, Karney said. Work gives you an excuse not to be a dad, while the wives are left at home to take care of everything, he added.

"It's much more difficult to balance the roles of husband, father and employee," he said.

Another finding that came as a surprise was when the mothers' workload did affect the marriage, it added to a couple's marital satisfaction.

"We know that when moms are working hard, husbands have to step up and do more around the house," Karney said. "So we're thinking, when wives are working really hard, they're happier because husbands are contributing more to housework. Also it might be healing for moms to get away and have space from their kids."

The big takeaway is this: If your work is consistent with your gender role and you like the work you're doing, then there's no reason your career has to take away from your marriage, Karney said.

The advice Karney would give to couples is be aware of all the different roles you're trying to meet.

"And maybe cut each other a little slack when you're having difficulty," he said.