The research topic was originally proposed by Dean when he was a student at BYU. Dean, now pursuing a doctorate in financial counseling at Texas Tech, told Carroll he was surprised that in all his training and all the literature, the focus was always on money management and never on perceptions of money.

"It really rang true with me," Carroll said when Dean pitched the idea.

To gather the data, the team analyzed data sets gathered by the Relate Institute, a study group formed by BYU professors in 1979 to gather data on relationships. The institute has gathered a wide variety of information from thousands of dating and married couples; Carroll, Dean and Yang chose 600 couples from around the nation to get a cross section that mirrored national statistics and examined the data.

Carroll said he hopes the study will reach young couples as they plan their lives together.

"I hope some thought and discussion will be given to what their financial standards are," he said.

Carroll recommended that couples be careful when they compare themselves to others. Looking at those who are more fortunate can create a sense of entitlement and envy, he said, while looking at those who are less fortunate can create a sense of gratitude.

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