How to Combine Finances With Your Significant Other

Combining your finances with your hunny requires communication and a lot of it. Taking this big step together can be perceived as the next level of commitment, and should be taken seriously. Whether you are combining some of your accounts or all of them it’s important to lay all the cards on the table so that there are no surprises down the road.

Here are three tips to help you combine your finances with your loved one:

1. Lay it all out. Yes, that means everything from your savings account to your credit card debt. Both partners need to ensure they understand where the other is at financially. I’d recommend creating individual net worth calculations so it’s easy to see who owes/owns what. In addition, this would be a good time to talk about an agreement. If things don’t work out are both partners wanting to walk away with the amount they walked in with? Or are you both okay with splitting it down the middle.

2. Set financial goals together. Once you’ve laid it all out it’s’ important to get on the same page financially. What are you saving for? What are your spending priorities? Are there any debts to pay down? Make a list of your top three financial priorities and share them with your partner. If you both share at least one priority then you’re off to a good start. If you don’t share any priorities it’s important to sit down together and discuss why each f the priorities are important to the individual. Try to get on the same page financially as much as possible.

3. Create a spending plan. You need to decide where you will spend your money. Now that you know what’s important to each partner and where each partner stands financially you can start allocating your funds to saving, investing and paying down your debt. It’s important to also have a ‘fun’ category in your spending plan which can include shopping, eating out and entertainment.

4. Determine your process. At this point, it’s important to determine if you will be sharing absolutely everything, splitting it 50/50 or if it will be on a percentage of income basis. There isn’t one right way to combine your finances which is important to remember when deciding on your financial method. At the end of the day, it will come down to a comfort level between you and your hunny.

5. Have money chats. Check in with your partner and continually communicate so that no one is bottling up their financial fears or stresses. At the beginning you might want to check in on a weekly basis but as time passes and you become more familiar with the arrangement you might only need to check in monthly.