Relationship finances: How do couples split bills when one earns more than the other
By Emily Mee, news reporter
Openly discussing how you split your finances with your partner feels pretty taboo – even among friends.
As a consequence, it can be difficult to know how to approach these conversations with our partner or what is largely considered fair – especially if there’s a big imbalance salary-wise.
Research by Hargreaves Lansdown suggests in an average household with a couple, three-quarters of the income is earned by one person.
Even when there is a large disparity, some couples will want to pay the same amount on bills as they want to contribute equally.
But for others, one partner can feel resentful if they are spending all of their money on bills while the other has much more to spend and is living a different lifestyle as a result.
At what stage of the relationship can you talk about money?
“We’ve kind of formally agreed there is some point in a relationship you start talking about kids – there is no generally agreed time that we start talking about money,” says Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Some couples may never get around to mentioning it, leading to “lopsided finances”.
Ms Coles says if you want to keep on top of finances with your partner, you could set a specific date in the year that you go through it…
