Ways to manage money when you move in with someone

Moving in with your partner is an exciting milestone in your relationship. From picking out furniture to deciding whose turn it is to do the dishes, there are plenty of new things you’ll learn to navigate together—and your finances should be at the top of that list.

Having a clear plan with honest expectations is really important. Here, we’ll go through the complete list of considerations, including income, existing debts, and financial goals, to help you build a plan for a financially happy household.

Decide on joint or separate accounts

Deciding on whether to rely on a joint account, separate accounts, or a combination of both is a good starting point for financial planning as a couple.

A joint account can make it easier to manage shared expenses, such as bill payments, groceries, meals out, and any other things that you both pay for.

Having separate current accounts can help you maintain your financial independence and keep your personal spending separate.

Often, it can be useful to open a joint account to manage your shared expenses and keep your personal account separate for individual spending.

As you work through your budget and figure out how to share expenses, consider both options and decide which makes the most sense for your situation.

Find a way to share expenses

Deciding how to share expenses will depend on your lifestyle, income, and personal preferences. Some couples choose to split expenses equally, while others may pay different amounts based on their individual incomes.

There may also be some household expenses that you or your partner are solely responsible for paying, while others may be divided.

However you choose to pay for shared expenses, clearly define each partner’s financial responsibility. This will help you to avoid confusion or misunderstandings, while making sure that you are paying for things in a way that feels fair and fits your household budget. If you share responsibility for items and are unsure how to split payments, consider seeking independent legal advice for help.

Set financial goals together

As well as working out how you will pay for your existing financial responsibilities, consider any future goals you might have as a couple.

Perhaps you want to pay off a student loan or other form of debt. You might want to save for a short-term goal, such as a holiday or a new piece of furniture. Or, you may have a long-term goal, such as buying a house or a car.

Whatever your goals look like, work together to create a plan for how you’re going to get there. This might involve starting a joint savings account and agreeing to pay a certain amount of money into it each month.

If one person already owns a property or has a mortgage on it and someone else is moving in, it’s a good idea to look into protecting rights to the property and seek advice on how to do so.

Bear in mind that the mortgage provider may need to know another adult is living in the property, so it's worth reaching out to them to check.

Be sure that you’re both clear on your role in this plan and committed to it. Then you can enjoy the process of accomplishing it together!

Create a budget for household expenses

Creating a budget is a great way to understand your household expenses and figure out your role in paying for them. Take some time to understand:

• Income from you and your partner, including monthly income, benefits, and any other money that you regularly get each month.
• Outgoings for your household, such as rent or mortgage payments, bills, groceries, and any other regular shared monthly expenses.
• Outgoings for you as individuals, such as recreational spending, gym memberships, car payments, or anything that you might spend on your personal account.

Once you have mapped out your income and outgoings, you can work together to create a plan for managing your household finances.

This includes deciding who is responsible for paying bills and setting up a Direct Debit to make sure they’re paid on time.

You may also need to talk about monthly spending limits, to make sure you’re both sticking to the budget that you create.

This is also a good time to look at your outgoings and find areas where you can cut back and save money. Take a look at our tips on how to save money on your bills and how to save energy at home. 

Snugg helps you create a tailored energy efficiency plan based on your location and home size. You can get practical advice to optimise your habits and potentially unlock government funding and grants.

Start saving today - enter your postcode for a free energy assessment, and explore more simple tips to reduce your bills.

Give yourself a safety net

Having a savings account for an emergency fund can be useful if something unexpected happens, such as a broken appliance or a change to your monthly income.

It’s worth thinking about how you can build an emergency fund for your shared expenses as well as your individual ones, so that you’re covered in case anything happens that might affect your expenses.

As part of your household planning, be sure to include a financial safety net in your budget. This could be a joint account that you both pay into each month or money that you set aside in your separate accounts in case you need to use it in the future.

Learn more about how to build your savings.

Address existing debt

As well as working out how to pay for your household expenses and save for future goals, don’t forget to address any existing debt. This could be money that you owe, your partner owes, or that you both owe together.

Decide which of you is responsible for the debt or if it’s a shared balance. From there, you can work out how to build a repayment plan into your household budget. This might involve both of you making regular repayments or changing your budget to accommodate each other’s repayment plans.

Being clear, open, and honest is the key to finding the right balance. Get in touch with our friendly team for guidance on how you can work together to pay off debt while keeping on top of your other expenses. There’s the option to chat via a face-to face video call, too.

Plan for the long term

Planning for your future will look different depending on where you’re at in your relationship and what your long-term goals are. Be sure to talk about the things you hope to achieve both together and individually, and how these plans fit in with your current financial situation. Opening a savings account can help with future planning. Whatever type of saver you are, we can help.

This might be something you choose to do together, such as buying a house, or something you might want to do on your own, such as buying a car. Either way, talk about your goals and check that you are both comfortable with how these plans might affect your current budget and savings plan.

Prepare for relationship changes

Just as with anything in life, relationships will change over time. This could include changes to your joint household income, your outgoings, or your partnership in general.

While nobody wants to think about a relationship ending for any reason, it’s also important to have an open and honest conversation about how you might split joint assets and responsibilities should the unthinkable happen. This might be a difficult and uncomfortable conversation, but it is important.

For more advice on setting up a banking solution that works for you, check out our FAQs or set up a chat with our team to learn more about ways to bank today.

You can use the TSB Mobile Banking App to get help with any questions 24/7. You can also call us – our lines are open 8am to 8pm Monday to Sunday. Our Money Confidence Experts are also available for video appointments 7 days a week.