Whether you’re recently married or taking your relationship to the next level, your financial future with your partner is bound to be a topic of discussion.

If you’re living together and have the same financial goals, you’ll probably think about combining finances sooner or later.

When I got married, it was actually pretty tough to change my mindset from “mine” to “ours” when it came to money. I was already pretty independent and had my own process for saving and spending. My husband and I actually continued having separate finances until after a year of being married.

Looking back, combining finances was the best decision we could have made and there’s more than one way to make it for your relationship. Money is one of the leading causes of divorce according to the IDFA (Institute For Divorce Financial Analysts). 

Combining your finances will help you learn how to communicate about money with your partner better and get on the same page financially.

If you’re thinking about combining finances with your partner, here are a few tips to help you make a smooth transition.

Choose Your Approach For Combining Finances

If you feel like you’re ready to combine, there are a few different approaches you can consider using.

One Big Pot 

This approach is the most common when you think about sharing money with your partner and it’s also the easiest to track. You basically combine all your income into “one big pot” or bank account, and pay bills and save together.

Joint and Separate Accounts

Some couples like to keep track of their individual income but share most expenses in a joint account. So for example, if you and your partner bank together, you will each keep your individual checking account but you’ll also open a joint account and connect all three.

That way, you can pay bills and expenses out of the joint account and still view transactions and transfer money back and forth between your own accounts too. This is the method my husband and I use.

We like to keep our own checking accounts because we each budget to spend what we call an allowance each month on whatever we want. It’s a small amount but allows us to maintain some independence and make our own spending decisions for fun and leisure.

Live on One Income 

This is a great way to combine finances and meet your goals faster. If you have a lot of debt to pay off or want to start saving more, you can choose on live on one person’s income only.

With that one income, you’ll pay for all your living expenses in a shared account. Then, you can put the second person’s entire income toward debt and saving.

Come Up With Guidelines

Once you’ve chosen your approach, it’s important to come up with guidelines and a process that you and your partner can follow.

Decide if you’ll close certain bank accounts or open new ones. Does your partner have an external savings account? What will you do with the account once you combine finances? Set aside time to open and close accounts when you set up your new process.

How will you track your spending together? Coming up with a specific amount of “allowance money” for each of you to spend monthly on whatever you want is a good idea. That way, you can avoid worrying about explaining all the coffee runs you made to your partner at the end of the month. If you used your monthly allowance for it, it won’t really affect him or her.

Also, discuss who will manage certain aspects of your finances. My husband and I try to split tasks when it comes to paying bills. He generally takes care of making the rent payment and some of the utilities while I work out the grocery budget and map out the savings plan.

Communicate Regularly

Communication is key in a relationship, especially when it comes to managing your money. Now that you’re combining finances, you need to communicate clearly with your partner before you make huge purchases for example. Make it a habit to have regular finance dates to discuss your progress and any updates.

Whether you’re going after huge financial goals or not, having these regular meetings will help ensure you both stay on the same page.

Combining your finances with your partner is a huge step. I’d recommend couples only do it if they’re married since most aspects of your life will be combined by that point anyway.

Ultimately, doing so can help you get on the same page, manage money as a team, and meet some of your goals quicker.

Do you combine finances with your partner? Why or why not?