Money is one of the top three strains on relationships and it’s a common cause of rift between family and friends too.

You might be cautious and risk averse and hate to see your partner frittering their money away on new clothes and nights out; while they might think you should stop being so miserly with your cash and splash out once in a while.

In the Money Box Summer series Ruth Alexander introduces ‘The Money Clinic’. We eavesdrop on the conversations of three couples and a mother and son talking honestly about their finances with a relationship counsellor. We learn who they are, about their relationship with the other person, and what financial issues are coming between them. We hear practical tips on how each couple can better to manage their cash, and also how to manage the emotional side of money. We learn that individual attitudes to money are formed in early life, and how arguments about money are often about so much more than just money.

In this programme we meet Paul who wants to retire early, but his wife Julie says he can’t afford to. Can they come up with a plan for this next stage of life that they will both agree to?

Producer Smita Patel