THE popular '80s song by the late disco diva Gwen Guthrie would have you believe that there's "nothin' goin' on but the rent," and that you've "got to have a j-o-b if you wanna be with me."

Nowadays, however, romance and finance is about a lot more than rent-paying and earning a paycheck. It's about mutual funds and 401(k)s. It includes stock portfolios and credit-card debt. It covers student loans and car financing. It even delves into life insurance and home mortgages.

In today's world, with the complex forms our finances can take, and with the perplexing emotions surrounding romance, love and money are strongly linked. Money ranks at the top as a relationship-buster, often ahead of sex and intimacy. And it takes a lot of time and effort for couples to come to a money understanding. Experts say honesty is always the best policy.

"Shared information is the best way to avoid a fight ...," says Brooke M. Stephens, an author and financial advisor from New York. "Money and marriage is about being adult, mature and responsible."