How should couples split shared expenses fairly?

Option 1: Split everything 50/50

Each person pays half of every shared cost. It's easy to understand and track. It works best when incomes are similar. With a big income gap, the lower earner can end up with little left for themselves while the higher earner barely notices.

Option 2: Split in proportion to income

Each person pays the same percentage of their income. If one earns 60,000 and the other 40,000, shared costs are split 60/40. Both people keep a similar share of their pay for themselves, which tends to feel fairer when incomes differ.

Option 3: A shared pot

Both partners pay an agreed amount (equal or proportional) into a joint account each month, and every shared cost comes out of it. Whatever's left in personal accounts is each person's own. It means far less settling up, and works well for couples who live together long-term.

Agree what counts as shared

• Usually shared: rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries, household items, joint holidays.
• Usually personal: individual hobbies, clothes, personal subscriptions, gifts for each other.
• Decide in advance about the grey areas: eating out, pets, family costs, one person's debts.

Keep it from becoming a fight

• Review shared spending together once a month, not every time something is bought.
• Give each person some money that's theirs to spend without explaining it.
• Revisit the split when income changes, such as a new job, a career break or a baby.

Tracking it with Balance

Balance doesn't have shared accounts for couples yet, so each partner tracks their own spending on their own phone. A simple approach that works: each of you logs what you pay for shared costs under the same category, then compare the category totals at your monthly review and settle the difference.