I edit the personal finance page for Parenting, which means I read a lot of letters from moms complaining about their husband’s spending habits or budget-aversion--and an equal number admitting that their family’s financial woes are their fault, that they hide expenses from  their husbands or just don’t know how to keep track of the family’s money. So in the interest of scientific inquiry, we put up two polls, one asking, 'Who is the bigger spender in your family, you or your husband?' and the other, 'Who is the biggest nag about money?' The results, read together, fascinate me.

So I have one last question: What is the biggest money problem you guys have had to (or will have to) overcome? Seems like there's something off here, people.

Q: My husband was just laid off. We’re ok moneywise, but he’s cranky and not interested in the kids – or sex. Can our marriage survive this?

A: Losing a job affects more than finances; it can shake a person’s confidence. And while it sounds like stereotyping, many men still feel responsible for providing for their families. When they can’t, their masculinity takes a hit – that can make even the most enlightened man irritable, standoffish, and even disinterested in sex. By offering the right kind of support, you can get through this tough time together. First, let him be. While we women may feel better by venting, most men – no news flash here – find the idea of sharing their deep, dark emotions about as fun as watching QVC. Let your husband know that you’re available to listen if he wants to talk, but then give him space. Next, help restore his confidence with compliments (not fake ones or he’ll feel patronized). For example, tell him what a great dad he is when you see him playing with the kids, or that he’s a fantastic chef when he makes dinner. As for your intimate life, while it can’t hurt to keep making advances so he knows you’re still attracted to him, try not to be offended when he’s not in the mood. In time, his confidence and libido will return. If they don’t, it’s time to look beyond the job situation. Have an honest discussion about ways to fix the problem, or seek the help of a counselor.

Laura Breman, Ph.D., runs The Berman Center, a sex therapy clinic for women and couples, in Chicago. Send her your questions here.

Are you dealing with unemployment in your marriage? Is Dr. Laura’s advice helpful to you?

Here's the stereotype about sex and moms who work: Honey, can I squeeze you in for 20 minutes of nooky two weeks from Thursday if my conference call doesn't go late? Love ya!

Too many to-dos and too little time is still a near-universal reality, but a recent survey conducted by Working Mother revealed a surprising truth: most working mamas still want it, and they want more of it. In fact, three-quarters of respondents rated sex as "important" in their lives, and 71 percent are fitting it in between Blackberries and bottles a respectable two or three times a month.

To discover why toys (ahem, the adult kind) are a busy mom's best friend, the difference between mercy sex and just-say-no nights, and why becoming a daddy may make your husband less hot, read Frumpy, frazzled, and uninterested? No way.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user ghindo, CC licensed

Me: Hello, Parenting.com, this is Lauren.

Mom: Hi, Laur. Would you say your father is highly suggestible to being sick?

Me: Mom? Pardon me?

Mom: He just ate an egg and says he is going to throw up because it smelled funny and I think he’s being a big baby. Would you talk to him?

Me: Yes.

Dad: Hello?

Me: Dad, if you throw up it will be because you made yourself throw up because that egg is not going to make you sick.

Dad: Yes it is! It smelled bad and it’s making my stomach hurt! I had one bite and I could tell there was something wrong with it.

Me: Dad, it’s not going to kill you.

Dad: It’s not going to kill me but it’s going to make me throw up. OH. And I’m probably going blind.

Me: Dad, a bad egg cannot make you go blind.

Dad: I know, but I can’t stop playing Grand Theft Auto and it’s ruining my eyes. The Chula Boys keep stealing my car and then I get killed. Well not killed, but I have to go to the hospital...

Nevermind that my mom was calling me in the middle of a busy work day to discuss a potentially rotten egg. She was right – my dad is highly suggestible to being sick. He thinks he can catch the flu over the phone. Most men are the same, I’ve noticed, and also require an insane amount of coddling when they are sick. Special meals, absolute silence and isolation, a servant of some sort, baths, backrubs, whatever. When women are sick, they pretty much try to keep life as normal as possible — they are tough cookies. I’m sure this has something to do with the fact that men feel pressure to adhere to rigid standards of masculinity 99% of the time, so when they get a chance to act like a sissy, they really milk it. ("Are Men Babies?" in Men's Health does a good job exploring what's going on, here.)

Is it just me, or can men be a little “suggestible to being sick”? Do they require more coddling than women? And why does the world stop turning when they are feeling under the weather?

Photo by Francois Duhamel, Copyright: © 2008 DREAMWORKS LLC. All Rights Reserved

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are together again on the big screen, and while die-hard Titanic fans might prefer them as passionate lovers encapsulated in an intense, fairytale-esque love story, their equally fiery (albeit often insufferable) relationship in Revolutionary Road does not disappoint.

What struck me, watching the film with my mom, was how trapped April (Winslet) is. A woman with dreams of becoming an actress and moving to Paris, she finds herself as a housewife in the Connecticut Suburbs, a position that allowed few freedoms to women in the 1950’s. She doesn't work, is responsible for running the perfect family, and is obviously resentful for the things she gave up to become a housewife and mother. Frank (DiCaprio), her husband, takes their only car to work every day, leaving her literally and metaphorically stranded in their quaint home.

In one scene, April and Frank are in a heated argument, and April bursts out of the house, infuriated, escaping to the only place she can find – the woods across the street. She is running in her high heels and apron, and her husband dutifully follows her, asking her to come home. “Can’t I even get away from you in the (freakin’) woods?” she cries.

I laughed. The degree of April’s isolation is almost comical in itself, and here she is, practically hiding behind trees, and she still cannot get away. Surely today, with women working, with their own cars and freedoms, this isn’t such a problem, I thought. But while I was laughing, my mother was much more stone-faced. Afterward, she confessed that she knows exactly what it's like to feel a little trapped and overwhelmed. “Every woman has her own woods that she has to run to sometimes,” she said.

Is being a homemaker still stifling, even with all the advancements women have made? If April and Frank were married today, would their marriage carry this much strife? Do all women need their own woods to run to?

Revolutionary Road, Rated R, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Michael Shannon, and Kathy Bates, premiers January 15.