Conversations about money are never easy, but when you've got bad news, or you need to broach something delicate, it can be easy for a constructive conversation about getting your finances back on track to descend into a destructive row.

Fortunately there are five tips which should help you tackle the subject and come out with your temper and your relationships intact.

1. Do your research. It's not worth stating a conversation about how much you are spending, or the debts you have built up, or the interest you are paying on borrowing, unless you know the full picture. Start by working out exactly where you are, and look into options for the future. If you can suggest a better credit card or loan rate as one of the potential solutions, you're going to have a more positive outcome than if you just lay into your other half for overspending without any real idea of what you might be able to do about it.

2. Choose your moment. In the heat of the moment it's easy to pick a fight about anything and everything, so a row about who left their socks on the floor could easily take a bad turn when you snap and start shouting about the fact your partner has wasted a fortune on clothes. If you have something to say about money, pick a time when you are both calm, and there's plenty of time to talk things through calmly.

3. Don't put it off. Picking your moment doesn't mean waiting weeks until your slight overspending issue has ballooned into a massive overdraft. If you have been meaning to raise something for more than a week you've fallen foul of the temptation to prevaricate, so don't delay things any linger.

4. Consider your language. Saying something difficult is much easier if you are careful about how you put things. It is a lot easier to have a positive conversation about how you both need to find a solution to your overdraft than to have one about how your partner has been wasting money and left you to clear up the mess.

5. Focus on what happens next rather than looking back to the mistakes of the past. You are where you are. You may find it cathartic to get things off your chest, but it's not going to help solve the problem, or encourage your other half to work with you on a solution. Try to avoid blame and raking over what has been done. The conversation is about making things better for the future, so don't lose sight of this.

Even if you follow these tips, there's no guarantee that the subject will be an easy one, but you will at least stand a reasonable chance of finishing your chat with a plan, a solution and a partner - which has to be worth a try.