The other day I received an awesome reader question, and I really wanted to share it all with you since I’m not sure what the best way to approach this situation would/should be. They were wondering how to split bills with their boyfriend.
W and I have joint finances. We have a mortgage together, cars in both of our names, and all of our money goes into one pot. We’ve been doing this for years now and haven’t had a problem with it ever.
However, different couples do different things. Some split everything their whole lives. Some split expenses according to income. Some just throw everything into one pot. There’s no one right way that fits all couples.
This couple does things a little differently from us in that they split their bills. Not evenly though, and that’s where this reader question comes in. I’ll let her question take it away now.
“Hello! I enjoy reading your blog and have a question I hope you can help me out with!
My boyfriend and I are moving in together and likely our first move is going to be him into my small condo. We decided this is a good temporary option for us (for as long as we can make it work) because our ultimate goal is to buy a new house, hopefully while keeping my condo as a rental and we are starting to think about saving for our wedding as well.
I bought my condo almost two years ago to be comfortable financially. I never saw myself getting into mortgage payments I couldn’t afford on my own, so it’s totally manageable. I think the stubborn part of me still doesn’t want someone to pay my mortgage for me, so in initial talks with my boyfriend, I said if he just paid all the bills, I’d be fine with it. I’m not a fan of nickel and diming to split everything down the middle and the idea of him writing me a check for rent and his share of the bills weirds me out!
Obviously I’m still saving money if we go with the original plan and I get an awesome new roommate, but I don’t want to end up resenting the arrangement. The difference is about $450 a month and he makes 25% more than me.
What are other options without ending up leaving passive aggressive notes around asking for payment? Thanks!“
So what would you do if you were her?
Let us know in the comments below. All help is appreciated! Also, please be kind. Keep in mind that this is a reader question.
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