Day to day finances

There are several ways to split the ordinary everyday costs of living. Your decision should be based on the financial realities of how much money you have to work with.

If both you and your spouse are earning income and you’re okay with sharing everything, you may want to pool your money in a joint account and budget together what goes for common expenses, what you’re going to save or invest, and what each of you can spend in personal expenses.

Or you could each keep your own bank accounts and decide who pays for what — for example, you might take on the rent and your spouse might take on the utilities and groceries.

Or you could each keep your own accounts for personal expenses, but both contribute to a joint account for common expenses.

When one person is the breadwinner

Big differences in income change the picture somewhat. Say you earn 50% more than your spouse. You may agree that you contribute 50% more toward household expenses. And if one of you isn’t working at all, you’ll have to figure out how the spouse who’s not earning money participates in making financial decisions and has money to spend.

If things get tricky and you can’t seem to work out a solution on your own, you might want to meet with a professional financial planner who can help you find ways to manage your money in a way that suits your life together.