Splitting bills when moving in together?

Question

My friend/colleague lives with her bf and they have an interesting system for dividing household costs. It seems to work for them and I'm about to move in with my bf so I was wondering what other people think? I don't know if this would work for everyone.

He makes 60% of the household income and she makes 40%. So in turn, he pays 60% of the bills and she pays 40% - this means he pays 60% of the rent, hydro, cable, etc.

I think it's a good idea - she said "we aren't roommates so we don't need to split everything right down the middle." Both of them make good money.

My bf and I are looking for a way to work our finances together and this seems like a good idea (our income split is 45/55). Does anyone else here do something like this? Or, do you have other suggestions?

Thanks!

Answer 1

I think something like this makes sense when it's a 60/40 split. It could work really well when the couple is saving for a big item like a house, car, etc.

However, I'm not so sure it's worthwhile when you have a 55/45 split. It's only $50 difference each on a $1000 rent. I think it would be better to pay that bit more in order to keep the equality in the relationship. But another option might be that if he's going to pay a bit more than you, why don't you take on a bit more responsibility around the house? Do one extra chore or something like that.

Otherwise, I think it's not enough to worry over.

Answer 2

Hmmm...

With the 45/55 split, that seems a tad retentive to me. Unless the income difference is just HUGE, it seems easier to just split down the middle. The extra haggling over 5% doesn't really seem necessary to me - but hey, I don't see anything wrong with it if you want to, but for me it would be easier to just split 50/50 - equal relationship, equal partnership, and all that jazz. Even with the 50/50 split, you both save money in the long run.

Good luck on the living together - that's a big step, and I hope it works out for you!

Answer 3

This is a good approach. Go for it. But write it up in detail before you move in. Discuss everything, then write it down as bullets. And then both sign it. A "contract" will save a lot of fights over little things later. And decide in advance how you are going to divide up things later, if, when needed. Write that up to. Write up chores also. Who does what. This goes a huge way to a better, longer relationship.

One risk: if he pays more, he will feel like his opinions on things like household expenses should carry more weight. The 50/50 stops that but doesn't solve the problem of decision making. One solution is to decide a criteria in advance such as, "if I don't care, than you get to decide. If I care more than you, then I get to decided, and if we both care equally then we have to do it based on benefit".

Answer 4

My bf and I have lived together almost a year, he makes considerably more than I do, but we still split everything 50/50. To us it only seems fair. So we end up spending the same amount on bills every month. He has a car payment, I don't. But I have to pay for my daughters daycare.