When couples share their finances, find out how to divide costs, there may be one of the most difficult conversations. Should the accounts be divided in the middle, or should the income level play?
In her recently published Women & Money Podcast, Personal Finance Expert Suze Oman Explained a long -term point of confusion: couples should contribute to household costs at the same percentage, not the same dollar amounts.
The discussion began when she wrote a listener named Lisa, asked if she should pay half a month’s expense, even though she only earns a third of her husband’s salary. Lisa explained that her husband, a longtime follower of the Oman’s advice, requires a “honest” way to divide the accounts 50/50.
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Oman disagreed. “I never said if one of you earns $ 7,000 a month, the other earns $ 3,000 a month home – and your expenses, say, $ 3,000 a month – that you each put $ 1500,” she said. “The same percentage, not the same amount.”
To illustrate, Oman has interrupted mathematics: if the household costs are $ 3,000 in total and the couple’s total income is $ 10,000, then each person should contribute 30% of their salary.
For a higher example, it would be $ 2,100; $ 900 for a smaller earner. She says that accounts should be paid for in proportion to income, no matter the contributions to be fair without creating a financial tension partner who earns less.
But Lisa’s concern went beyond the money. She noted that, without work, she also owns most household duties – cooking, cleaning and care for children – and her husband contributes little at home. She questioned whether she was actually “honest” to cover what makes up for half of the household responsibility for lower income.
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Oman acknowledged that this dynamics are common. “When someone makes two thirds of money … Somehow people tend to … get the same: ‘Well, I make most of the money. I, of course, work harder. So yes, I deserve to sit and relax, ”she explained.