living together - how to budget
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What works for us is to have our wages paid into a joint account. All the joint bills are paid from that. We have standing orders set up to pay ourselves "spending money" back to our individual accounts. We can do what we like with that money.. with no arguements! :beer:
For us it was quite easy to set the levels as I earn about 50% more - so I get 50% more spending money than my partner.0 -
When DH and I first moved in together we worked out what all our household bills would cost, added on the shopping and a contingency fund and agreed to pay that money into a joint back account out of which the direct debits would be paid. Initially we paid the same, our salaries weren't so different that they weren't largely accounted for by my higher commuting costs.
We have kept the same principle of paying into the joint account and the remainder is pocket money ever since but the amoounts and proportions change.
You could try it the opposite way round, if you wanted to where you take out a set amount of pocket money.
What you do about the debts and your different income levels really depends upon the relationship. Not sure how comfortable I'd feel in your position subsidising your OH when you already own the house etc. Looks like you are putting significantly more into the pot than he is...... does he make up for this in anyway?
he has more debts than me, and earns less than i do. if we did it like that, ie both paying 50% of our wages or whatever, after he's then paid his debts etc he'd only have about £50 to live on in the month. and i'd have around £500. and we can't really live like that. I mean it would be alright for me! but awful for him! i think me supporting him now is hard, but im sure he'll be doing it for me when i have to stop work for children eventually.
he's a police man, so he can have a good month and earn a lot more cash, when that happens he always transfers money to my account so we go 50/50 on it and treat our selves, or pay things off, that kind of thing.What works for us is to have our wages paid into a joint account. All the joint bills are paid from that. We have standing orders set up to pay ourselves "spending money" back to our individual accounts. We can do what we like with that money.. with no arguements! :beer:
For us it was quite easy to set the levels as I earn about 50% more - so I get 50% more spending money than my partner.
that is an idae i had thought of. it's good it works
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When my GF and I moved in together two years ago, budgeting wasn't really an issue for us as we both earned buttons
From day one we've split things down the middle (50% for everything, with me rounding down to the nearest penny in her favour as a token attempt at gallantry).
It works great for us and we never argue about money (although we often grumble about the lack of it!) That said, it depends upon the couple and a similar arrangement with my ex always led to arguments that seemed completely uncalled for. As a side note, my GF has about £150 a month more than I do.
Some couples that we know do things differently and one of her relatives pays considerably less of a mortgage bill than her boyfriend as he has a stable job and was earning a good amount more than her. They seem happy enough, but unless I was married (and this is only a personal opinion), I wouldn't want to be a burden to someone else.
It's a tricky one and there is no right or wrong answer. As others have advised, figure out which costs you have in common (i.e. council tax, utilities etc.) and try to split these somewhere that assures that you're both paying your way without either of you struggling.0 -
i think that's the key. working out the shared bills and splitting them. and then finding out what's left.
at the moment i am paying 100% of the mortgage, but that's my choice because the flat is mine, and the profit/loss when i sell willl be too.0 -
i would go for the joint account too and pay yourself both back your individual spending amounts.
to be honest if you are in a long term relationship then hte money should just be pooled and no his n hers spending money.
we are married and dont do his n hers pocket money,if there is something we fancy then we talk about it. hubby probably gets more stuff than i do cos i am not bothered about it.
it would make sense to get rid of all debts before kiddies come along so the quicker they are paid off the better lol
hope you both manage to come to a happy agreement!0 -
I agree - the priority should be to pay off the debts. Its important to be completely open about money in a relationship. You dont want to find out after a couple of years your other half has been building up more debt you didnt know about.0
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deffo. we've been honest, we've written it all down, how much we owe and who to etc. we're getting married next year, so at the mo all our spare money is paying for the wedding. after that, we're going to continue saving and then pay off as much debt as we can. once we're in a better financial position we can consider children.
it's hard cause i can hear my biological clock ticking, but we can't do it any sooner
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congratulations on the forth coming wedding!
while you want your wedding to be a happy day, thats understandable, please dont go and make extravagant plans. the fact that you are getting married is enough for folks, but if you go spend 10,000 pds on top of the range flowers then that is just going to be a waste of money, people are not going to be impressed by it. thats just an example!! not meaning to be a kill joy its just that the money could be better used paying your debts off and then towards savings.
i cringe when i hear of marriages that have fallen apart less than an year and they have gone and spent loads of money on :eek:. people say they can afford it but to me i would rather see the happy couple getting married and having savings than spending money on something thats just "ouch" to me lol:rotfl:0 -
out of interest how old are you?0
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31
and god yeah, i couldn't justify spending fortunes on a wedding!! we've booked our annual holiday and have the wedding package thrown in for free! wahoo! married on the beach 0
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