We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

How do you organise your finances with partner?

Options
I'll soon be purchasing a property with my partner of about 5 years (not married) and I'm just looking for advice/opinions/suggestions on how people in similar situations arrange their finances?

At the moment we rent together, each get paid into our own separate current accounts and subsequently pay a set amount paid into a joint account to cover rent and bills. Everything else is our own to do as we wish (e.g. paying for activities, meals out, haircuts, petrol, treats!) and we both have our own savings in our own names.
You were only killing time and it'll kill you right back
«134

Comments

  • HappyMJ
    HappyMJ Posts: 21,115 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    It works however you wish. If you live as if married then you should at the very least each have half of the disposable household income to do with as you please. So combine income pay the household expenses out of the combined income and then split the rest into each of your own current accounts to do with as each of you please including having your own savings.

    That is my opinion and you will get a wide range of opinion if you are going to start a thread like this which has been done many times.
    :footie:
    :p Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) :p Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. :p
  • HappyMJ wrote: »
    That is my opinion and you will get a wide range of opinion if you are going to start a thread like this which has been done many times.

    Thanks for sharing your opinion :D

    A wide range of opinions is exactly what I'm hoping for ... people may well suggest an option which we hadn't considered, but which would work for us.
    You were only killing time and it'll kill you right back
  • mgdavid
    mgdavid Posts: 6,710 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    if the partnership is to work and is intended to be long-term then start making it look like a partnership, not two people sharing a house but having 'mine' and 'yours'.
    Salaries into a joint account, bills paid from same. Agree an amount of cash each for day-to-day expenses (pocket money) and agree an amount to save too. What's left can be split into separate accounts if you must, but better to leave it in one place and just keep a rough check on where it goes so that one (dominant or selfish) partner doesn't spend it all on themselves.
    The questions that get the best answers are the questions that give most detail....
  • psychopathbabble
    psychopathbabble Posts: 5,888 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I don't have anything to add, but I will be reading with interest as I've just moved into my boyfriends flat and am having to learn how to be 'joint' with everything. I've never lived with a boyfriend before so I'm very much used to 'mine' and 'yours' and keeping everything very separate!
    Became Mrs Scotland 16.01.16 :heart:Became homeowners 26.02.16 :heart:Baby girl arrived 27.10.16 :heart:Baby boy arrived 16.09.2018
  • floss2
    floss2 Posts: 8,030 Forumite
    As we have quite differing salaries, we each pay a percentage of the bills into our joint account based on our income. We then each save the same amount and what's left is ours, to spend as each wishes on things like football matches (DH) and clothes & "stuff" (me). We feel that this is the best way for us as all the bills related to the house or us (life insurance, car insurance, housekeeping, pensions etc) are paid jointly, we're both saving for whatever is being saved for, and we can each have a pot for frivoulous spending.
  • girl_withno_name
    girl_withno_name Posts: 1,530 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    floss2 wrote: »
    As we have quite differing salaries, we each pay a percentage of the bills into our joint account based on our income. We then each save the same amount and what's left is ours, to spend as each wishes on things like football matches (DH) and clothes & "stuff" (me). We feel that this is the best way for us as all the bills related to the house or us (life insurance, car insurance, housekeeping, pensions etc) are paid jointly, we're both saving for whatever is being saved for, and we can each have a pot for frivoulous spending.

    Interestingly, we used having quite different salaries as an argument for pooling everything - so that one half doesn't have a much better lifestyle than the other, I imagined this could cause friction within the relationship...
    You were only killing time and it'll kill you right back
  • martinthebandit
    martinthebandit Posts: 4,422 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts
    Interestingly, we used having quite different salaries as an argument for pooling everything - so that one half doesn't have a much better lifestyle than the other, I imagined this could cause friction within the relationship...


    Exactly, I can see no other way of doing it that doesn't result in an unequal partnership.
  • we have a joint account for joint expenses and pay a proportion into it in relation to our incomes, the rest is ours individually. I earn more so put more in, but it also means I have more money. I would totally be up for us just having a joint account and pooling our money but my oh doesn't want that!
    DF as at 30/12/16
    Wombling 2025: £87.12
    NSD March: YTD: 35
    Grocery spend challenge March £253.38/£285 £20/£70 Eating out
    GC annual £449.80/£4500
    Eating out budget: £55/£420
    Extra cash earned 2025: £195
  • Gra76
    Gra76 Posts: 804 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Mortgage-free Glee!
    When I moved in with the missus we started out having a seperate account that we paid a set amount into each month to cover all the bills.

    We had our own personal accounts as well. Whatever we wanted we bought from our own personal accounts.

    This worked out quite well for a while but then I found the missus was racking up debt on credit cards and store cards and was starting to get bogged down with meeting the payments. She asked me if we could have a joint account and just pay everything into that and have the bills come out of the same account.

    After a short period of resistance I agreed to it - after all, I enjoyed buying whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it. The way I looked at it was that we were married and it really should be a 'communal' pot for both of us. Even if I did earn a fair bit more than she did.

    We now have a one joint account. I tend to look after the pennies on a regular basis and we paid all our debts off some time ago. Day to day purchases are ok but if either of us want to make a 'large' purchase we check it's ok with the other first, and I always make sure we have the money to do it first.

    OP - Until you're married what you're doing is what we did. Keep it that way till you have a ring on your finger!
  • tattycath
    tattycath Posts: 7,175 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    We have separate bank accounts at the moment, however, we both pay a share of the bills. If I'm short OH will put money in my account and if OH is short I transfer money over-everything is viewed as very much joint.
    GE 36 *MFD may 2043
    MFIT-T5 #60 £136,850.30
    Mortgage overpayments 2019 - £285.96
    2020 Jan-£40-feb-£18.28.march-£25
    Christmas savings card 2020 £20/£100
    Emergency savings £100/£500
    12/3/17 175lb - 06/11/2019 152lb
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.9K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.5K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.9K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.9K Life & Family
  • 257.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.