Military Marriage: It’s Time for a Couple Checkup

This is a sponsored post! All opinions are my own!

Pre-martial Counseling

Before my husband and I got married we went to pre-martial counseling. Although this was required before we got married in our church, I am glad we were able to go through the counseling together. When we started the counseling we had to take a special quiz to find out more about our strengths as a couple as well as our weaknesses. Then, during the weeks of the class, we knew what we needed to focus on.

Based on our answers we found out that one of the topics we would probably fight about the most was finances. We grew up in very different types of homes and had different ideas about money. Over the years this has proven to be true although, after 14 years of marriage, we have learned more and more to see money in the same way.

The Couple Check Up

A few weeks ago my husband and I got to use the Couple Checkup, an online customized assessment tool used to help figure out your strengths and weakness as a couple. The Couple Checkup is powered by Prepare and Enrich, the leading relationship inventory and skill-building program used nationally and internationally. This check up reminded me so much of the quiz we took back in 2002. Now, 14 years later, I knew taking another one would be a good idea.

This checkup was easy to do on our iPad, but you could also pull it up on your computer or phone. Although we did the quiz the same day, we didn’t have to. Each of us did our part of the checkup on our own and once we both completed them, we received a detailed report. The quiz only took about 15 minutes and was filled with all types of questions about us, our relationship and even specific questions because my husband is in the military.

The three main goals of the Couple Check Up are to celebrate your relationship strengths, identify issues you disagree on and need to resolve and encourage you and your partner to talk about your relationship. The report was 20 pages filled with a lot of great information specific to our relationship. This report goes beyond regular marriage advice and offers you advice based on your own relationship.

The key relationship areas that the report talks about are communication, conflict resolution, financial management, leisure activities, sexual relationship, family and friends and spiritual beliefs. There are also sections on how we feel about roles and responsibilities, children and parenting and military life. There is even a section about our own personalities and how they differ from one another.

As a military couple, sometimes we can get so caught up in the day to day business of life.

For us that might mean a busy week followed by a drill weekend and another busy week. For others, deployments can mean not really being able to talk seriously for weeks on end. You really have to be proactive about your marriage and your struggles.

I think this Couple Check Up is a great idea because the report is a great starting off point to talk about what is going on in your marriage. You can find out where you don’t line up with one another. You can also see where you are on the same page which can also be helpful. Through the years, your marriage will change, especially being a military couple. Finding ways to connect and communicate through these changes is important.

My husband and I will celebrate our 15th anniversary this year. Knowing we have a jumping off point to talk about the things in our marriage that need a little more attention is going to be a good thing. I learned more about him and he learned more about me.

You can visit the Couple Check Up and learn more about this great tool to help you and your own military marriage. Cost is $19.95!