Love can't conquer all. So, before couples tie the knot, they should know what they're getting into. The taboo against couples living together before marriage is decreasing, and more and more people are saying 'I do' after they've spent months, or even years, living together. As much as a person loves another, he or she never really knows what happens behind closed doors unless he or she is standing on the other side. While some people view living together before marriage as immoral, couples are actually expanding the boundaries of their relationship by moving in together. For example, the division of household responsibilities can be a major issue for newlyweds. By living together, couples can solve imbalances in the distribution of those responsibilities before someone realizes he or she has married a lazy bum. This may seem like a small point, but how many women and men are out there who never thought they would be the only ones cooking, washing dishes, vacuuming, mopping, scrubbing, disinfecting, cleaning laundry, dusting, etc.? One of the largest problems in marriages is the 'm' word: money. If couples live together before marriage, they learn one another's saving and spending styles. By sharing expenses, people learn not only how each person controls the purse strings but how to discuss finance matters with each other. It's important for couples to figure out budget priorities before they are married, and this is difficult to do unless a person has been sharing expenses with his or her partner. If couples don't have their financial issues in order, they are bound to surface, causing trouble in the marriage. It's also difficult to know someone intimately without living with him or her. A special bond forms between people who share their living space their personal belongings, and their lives together. Some things you just don't know until you've lived with someone. While some people believe living together before marriage is inappropriate, like most everything else in this .country, it is a choice that everyone should respect. Living together can be a positive experience that will later reinforce a marriage, but it can also be something that ends a relationship. But if a relationship is going to end, it's better people discover the hard truth before they marry. Even though two people love each other and enjoy spending time together, the real question is, can you live together? People might want to find out before they make the serious decision to marry. 'Tie the knot' in the first line of the first paragraph means ______.