conversation: User (whine_away): "Thanks so much to everyone who gave their feedback/suggestions. Using some of the suggestions  a below, we've managed to come to an agreement that works well for both of us. \n\n-----------------------\n\nApologies if this isn't the right sub-reddit for this topic. \n\nMy partner [33/m] and I [32/f] have been living together for the past year and need some advice on how to split living costs. We keep our accounts entirely separate.\n\nThe house we live in together is owned by me and I pay the mortgage ($780/month) and house-related expenses and maintenance/improvements myself. \n\nWe split grocery costs about 50/50. Our utilities bills amount to about $200 per month which I pay myself. \n\nHe owns an apartment of his own and has a mortgage on it ($450/month) which he pays himself. Any expenses related to the apartment are handled by him.\n\nHe is now letting/renting out the apartment and gets $750 a month from this. \n\nWe've been trying to figure out a fair way to split the expenses. Would appreciate some advice on how to tackle this going forward.\n\nNote: He earns about 60% of what I do. \n\nEdit: added details about income\nEdit2: grammar."
  Self: "Definitely a relationship question. This is completely different for every couple and what works for some may not work for others. When me and my husband (then boyfriend) moved in together, we first opened a joint checking account, added up all our expenses (rent, utilities, groceries, etc.) and split it 50/50. Since the sum was about $2,000 for everything we both asked our employers to automatically deposit $500 in our joint account every paycheck, and the rest in our personal account. Since I made more money than he did at the time, I was able to save a bit more which we used for vacations and big expenses.\n\nThis worked perfectly fine but it was a bit hard to budget and save together since we had so much spare income in our personal accounts which was usually spent on random stuff rather than savings. It felt more like my money and your money rather than "our" money. \n\nOnce we got engaged and the relationship was more serious we just decided to just have all our money deposited into our joint account and since I'm really responsible and organized, i'm in charge of managing the account, paying bills, and deciding how much goes into savings, vacation, etc. each paycheck. I find that this has worked extremely well for us, and has helped us save a lot of money rather than spending it on random stuff.  \n\nEverything definitely depends on what works for your relationship, how well you trust each other, and how good you guys are at managing your budget and savings. Definitely sit down and make a plan that you both agree on."
  