10 Keys to a Happy Marriage

Prioritizing Your Spouse

Doug continues his discussion on how cognitive distortions harm marriages. He also shares how to not resent a husband for spending too much time at work. Plus: The Friday rant!   Listener questions and comments: * Michael - My wife’s therapist confirmed that my wife’s feelings were reality even when it wasn’t the truth and I had to fight him on that. (16:50) * David - I am civilly divorced but married in the Church. I am wondering if the marriage was valid or not from the beginning. (22:04)   Resources: Cognitive Distortions in Marriage https://relevantradio.com/2026/06/cognitive-distortions-in-marriage/ [https://relevantradio.com/2026/06/cognitive-distortions-in-marriage/]   Marriage Unhindered https://www.marriageunhindered.com/marriage-tune-up [https://www.marriageunhindered.com/marriage-tune-up]

Money Management in Marriage

Have you and your spouse ever disagreed about money? Today, Doug is joined by Kevin Smith to discuss practical money management strategies. Kevin shares tips for creating and sticking to a budget, and explains the difference between good debt and bad debt—and how understanding that distinction can help you make smarter financial decisions.   Listener questions and comments: * Deedee - My daughter recently graduated and she has federal loans but she can’t find a job. If she has to file for bankruptcy, how does this impact the federal loan? (45:08)   Resources: Kevin Smith https://ethoslogosinvestments.com/ [https://ethoslogosinvestments.com/]

Faith Begins at Home

Fr. Carter Griffin joins Doug to discuss his book Forming Families, Forming Saints. Together, they explore how human and spiritual formation help cultivate virtue and shape families into communities of faith, fostering the growth of future saints.   Listener questions and comments: * Len - I just bought the book! Lots of wisdom. I will order 8 more! (37:39)   Resources: Forming Families, Forming Saints https://stpaulcenter.com/store/forming-families-forming-saints [https://stpaulcenter.com/store/forming-families-forming-saints]

Order Within Family Chaos

Mike and Alicia Hernon from the Messy Family Project join Doug discussing how to handle the chaos of family life.   Listener questions and comments:   * Cindy - My boyfriend and I have been dating for a year and we are talking about money. My concern is that he isn’t 100% open to support me. Should it be 50/50? (8:39) * Jean - We have been married 60 years and We share the money. (22:10) * Jack - I am 62 and my daughter is 22. I am seeing some similarities between what I did with my ex-wife. How involved with this should I be? (38:01)   Resources:   Sacred Heart of Jesus by Pompeo Batoni https://relevantradio.store/products/sacredheart [https://relevantradio.store/products/sacredheart]   Happy Marriage for Life https://www.happymarriageforlife.com/ [https://www.happymarriageforlife.com/]   Messy Family Project https://messyfamilyproject.org/ [https://messyfamilyproject.org/]

Cognitive Distortions in Marriage

Doug discusses how cognitive distortions can harm marriage. Listener questions and comments: * Teresa - I have been married for 36 years and after living with this for so long we had to get different living situations. (19:24)   11 Cognitive distortions 1. Filtering 2. Discounting the positive 3. Over generalization 4. Jumping to conclusions 5. Catastrophizing 6. Personalization 7. Fallacies 8. The blame game 9. “Should” statements 10. Emotional reasoning 11. Always being right