Money as the currency of affect in couple relationships

This article explores the meaning of money in couple relationships through a psychoanalytic perspective. It provides a historical overview from the nineteenth century to the present day on how money has been instrumental in organising gender roles, and sketches the shifts in responsibilities and expectations within intimate partnerships that have occurred over this period. The different ways in which partners handle money can generate discontent in their relationship. This is illustrated through select clinical case material which reveals problems that arise when partners struggle to communicate how they feel and, instead, use money as the currency of emotional exchange. The “core complex” perspective is used to understand how these complications may arise as consequence of developmental difficulties rooted in the mother-infant dyad.