What is a fair way to split household bills?
Splitting bills based on an income percentage breaks down when one partner saves their earnings for a nest egg while the other covers all living expenses. Without a concrete plan for dividing costs and preserving personal spending money, the bill-payer often feels unable to even bring the issue up. This financial divide feels especially unequal when the partner with less spending money is also managing unpaid childcare and household duties.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Working extensive overtime to cover monthly shortfallsDid this help you?
- 2Using tax returns to pay annual insurance policies in full to lower monthly billsDid this help you?
- 3Asking the spouse for temporary funds from their savings when rent cannot be metDid this help you?
- 4Trying to cut minor subscriptions like gym, Amazon Prime, and storage unitsDid this help you?
- 5Combining all income into a single pot and giving each partner an equal individual allowanceDid this help you?
- 6Starting a joint account for household and child expenses while keeping separate accounts for personal spendingDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“When she is here she works a lot too and usually saves all the money she makes for a nest egg while my dad is left with the expenses.”source ↗
“One thing my dad is concerned about is bringing his finances up to my step mom without a plan to tell her what to do.”source ↗
“Looking for advice on the best way to split bills and have own personal spending money.”source ↗
“Is it still fair to do the percentage calculation? He gets alot more than me in spending money but I feel like im still working full time looking after 2 kids and the household on my days off work.”source ↗
“I dont want to be unfair though, I dont mind him having more to spend but I cant help but feel like its abit unfair for me.”source ↗
Where this came up
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