Jake and Alma had yet another argument about money-budgets, who was spending what-but, like the others, it led to nowhere productive. But for other couples, it might not be about money but sex, or children's bedtimes. What they all have in common is that problems are not being resolved. This, unfortunately, is a common problem and pattern that, over time, can erode the relationship. These unsolved problems act as landmines that everyone learns to walk around, but which create an atmosphere of ongoing tension.