Watch for the plastic, and ask about that FICO score. Does your date have a wallet full of credit cards? That's another red flag. Is he or she afraid to talk about it?
"Too many credit cards concerns me. That's a sign someone may have some real issues with handling their money and paying their bills," Sitton-Halleck says. "One of the things I love about my husband is that he has only one credit card, and he doesn't even carry it with him."
Sitton-Halleck says she advises couples to share something that many people treat as such private matter, they don't even talk about it when they're married: their FICO score.
"My husband loves to tell this story. After our third date, I told him there wouldn't be a fourth date if I can't see his credit report," Sitton-Halleck says. "He said sure, no problem."
They've been married for 14 years, and they're on the same page financially, which helps the relationship tremendously, Sitton-Halleck says.
"People want love so badly that they let themselves become naïve," she says. "They put their heads in the sand and don't have those high expectations that they should, and that could spell trouble down the road."