(BPT) - Fights over finances are a commonly known cause of stress and divorce, and a new survey indicates that while the average couple fights over money five times a year, they discuss finances reasonably fewer than two times a month. Every couple knows there are some topics you just don’t bring up – his mother’s dreadful cooking, your uncle’s bad manners. Money, however, should never be among those subjects you don’t discuss – especially if you’re planning your wedding.

“In today’s economy, it’s rare that a couple enters matrimony debt-free,” notes Carrie Braxdale, managing director of investor services for TD Ameritrade, Inc. (“TD Ameritrade”), a broker-dealer subsidiary of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation. “Yet many newly engaged couples may be as hesitant – or even more so – to discuss finances as couples who have been together for years. They can get a jump-start on a lifetime of wedded bliss, however, if they take time to talk frankly about finances before they walk down the aisle.”

The survey conducted by TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation and LearnVest, found that couples today face three top concerns when it comes to their finances: Not having enough money to retire (27 percent), not having enough money to live as they wish (25 percent), and not having enough money to even live comfortably (24 percent).