Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Trends, June 5, 2000

Lisa Ferguson

Monday, June 5, 2000 | 8:02 a.m.

Proper phrasing

It's June and you know what that means: prepare to eat cake. Wedding cake, that is.

With the nuptial season in full bloom, what better way to honor the happy couple than with a toast?

And, to help ensure that the best man doesn't flub his lines after downing one-too-many glasses of champagne, plant a copy of the palm-sized book "Beverly Clark's Wedding Toasts" (Running Press, $4.95) in his hand.

This tiny guide is filled with handy information about toasting etiquette and finding the right words, as well as examples of traditional toasts.

A bit of toasting trivia: When the act of toasting began it was common for men to hold daggers and other weapons in their right hand or hide them in their clothing. The traditional toasting position -- a glass held high in the right hand, arm extended -- proved the toaster's "peaceful intentions" by showing they neither held or concealed a weapon.

Money changes everything

Not long after the last crumbs of wedding cake are nibbled its time for the bride and groom to get down to the business of dealing with real life, including financial issues.

The folks at Quicken recently sponsored a survey to gauge Americans' "fiscal literacy" about such topics as the stock market, tax issues and retirement savings.

Forty percent of respondents who were married, or living as married, reported money as the No. 1 source for their disagreements. Twenty-nine percent pointed to household repairs and decorating, while 21 percent cited sex as the reason for their bickering.

How to thwart cash-focused arguments? Quicken suggests, "Partners should learn the ins and outs of their spouse's financial status" and also "develop a budget and short-term savings program" and a strategy to make long-term and retirement goals attainable.

X marks the spot

As the playground song goes, "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes (fill in the name here) with a baby carriage."

The makers of the ClearPlan Easy Fertility Monitor recently released the results of the "Magic Moments" survey it sponsored rating "baby-making settings" (read points of conception) favored by moms-to-be.

Thirty percent of "mom-hopefuls" polled in the Northeastern U.S. and 16 percent in the southern half of the country said they prefer a candlelight evening at home to get to work creating Junior.

"Beside a cozy fire in a log cabin" was the pick of 19 percent of women living in the north-central section of the country. Seventeen percent who reside in the west chose a "tropical paradise."