How do you split the rent?

selement

I think we split 50 50 when we first moved in together. I didn't earn anywhere near double but it was more. I think I paid for all the food to even things out? Struggling to remember now. At one point he was unemployed so then I had to struggle to sort everything. Nowadays we have a joint bank account and our money is totally shared (I still earn more but we're engaged and been together 7 years. It seemed silly to stay financially separate to me).

zebulon

Rent is more or less pro-rata of our salary, but that was by chance really (I said I could only pay x amount).
50/50 on all bills and I generally buy more food and things for the flat (cleaning products, etc.)

mcpitman

Guest101 wrote: »

(Assuming unmarried couples where you are financially independent of each other and don't have children etc)


It would have to be 50/50, otherwise you aren't financially independent?

Couldn't agree more based on the question that was asked. (RE financial independance).

Before children and marriage and all that nonsense, myself and good lady used to split everything 50/50, my wages at the time were approximately 2x my wifes.

Move on ten years, 2x kids and married. I pay for the lot, but then again my wife is now a full time "stay at home mum"/"housewife"/"homemaker" an excellent bargain hunter and we both enjoy life this way.

Stevie_Palimo

We split everything approx. 100% to me paying and her money is used for treats and other things plus put into savings, Not renting though and house is virtually paid off.

Person_one

Whatever you decide on, have a contingency plan for if one or both of you lose your jobs or become too ill/disabled to work.

Me and my ex set out paying 50/50. We earned almost exactly the same so didn't even really discuss it. Problems arose when I was made redundant, had to take a much lower paid job and realised he still expected me to pay 50% when he was now earning 250% of what I earned.

Contingency plan, essential!

gardenia82

Hmm...tbh, in our relationship we don't really worry about how "equal" each thing we pay is, because it all works out in the end.

Longer version: we are moving in together for the first time in a few weeks. We've been partners for 20 months at this point, and it's gone from alternating (without keeping track to the letter; just a general awareness) to paying for dates or weekends away, to basically combining the money we have on us at any time. I earn a bit more than him, but he has savings and I have some debt. We have basically combined our income in terms of how we view our finances (we have separate accounts, however) and we will be paying as and when. Whatever is left COMBINED at the end of the month (after everything has been paid, including food, entertainment, travel etc) will be saved. We are heading towards marriage and neither of us feels like we should be calling it "my money" or "your money" in a joint partnership. Sometimes there will be bigger purchases - he's a gamer and likes replacing his gaming computer every four or so years, for example. But those will come out of joint savings also.

vqmismatch

50:50

I earn roughly double what the other half does but the way tax and costs increase means I have nowhere near twice the disposable money. Added to which without her I would be paying less on rent, bills, and food. As such 50:50 is the agreed compromise.

looknohands

I earn 3 times as much as my girlfriend but we still split the rent and bills 50:50.

Things like dinner and going out for drinks i'll always pay and I pay for most of our holidays. So I think it balances out, i think it's such a mundane thing to pay more for the rent, where as paying for dinner or holiday at least is an exciting thing to do.

We are also buying a house and I'm putting in more of the deposit money, she actually refused to let me put it all in as she wouldn't feel like it was her house, which I understand. We are splitting the mortgage 50:50 and bills. I wouldn't resent her if i paid more but she doesn't want to pay less.