A commenter yesterday asked how my girlfriend deals with my lack of spending. My reply started to become rather lengthy so I am posting on the subject as well.
My GF is relatively frugal when compared to how most people spend their money. Compared to me she is not that frugal. I realize that my level of frugality is not what most people are accustomed to. I’m not going to change my frugal ways though. At least not much. In any relationship you have to compromise some and we have both made some compromises. She has become slightly more frugal and I have loosened up on my spending a little. Money hasn’t been a problem so far because we keep our money separate. It could become an issue eventually depending on what happens with our relationship.
Since I am now living with my GF money is more of an issue than when we were just dating. I pay her an amount roughly the same as I was paying for my apartment towards our household expenses and she pays all the bills. I suppose some could question whether this is a fair arrangement since I’m paying less than half the household bills. I do pay more than what my living with my GF is costing her though. We are both happy with this arrangement and that is what counts.
I don’t think there is a standard formula for dealing with money for couples. Couples just need to discuss the subject and come up with their own solution.
I have some experience with money and couples. You don’t want to be like me and not figure it all out in your fifties. I’m on my 3rd wife and she is the first to share the same money values. I can tell you this: if you don’t share the same values you will be unhappy to the core. By the way, if she is paying ALL the bills your credit score may suffer if that matters to you. Good luck…a good marriage can warp basic arithmetic. 1 + 1 = 3