Live With A Partner? Here's The Money Talk You Should Make Part Of Date Night

For many couples, talking about money can be tricky. But if you live together or share any finances, it's essential to have consistent check-ins about where you are dollar-wise to be sure you're on the same page. Being open about money with your sig-o will help your relationship—and it doesn't have to be that serious or scary.

If you live with your partner, it pays to formally discuss who is paying for what at least once. Write down all of your combined household expenses (rent, utilities, groceries, pet costs, etc.) using a shared Google doc or spreadsheet. Note all the combined expenses in one column, how much you spend on each per month in another column, and who pays for what in a third column (including what is a shared expense or comes out of a shared account).

Ideally, housing expenses shouldn't exceed 35 percent of your monthly income, whether you're living on one income or two. (On that note, I recommend reserving 70 percent of your individual take-home pay for your essentials like rent, food, etc.; 15 percent toward "end game" retirement and savings; and 15 percent toward fun stuff like shopping and nights out.) If your financial selfie reveals a higher percentage, it's a good time to discuss how that affects the rest of your budget. For example, is your housing pricey but located close to your job so you can save on transportation? If so, look at shifting some of the money budgeted for transportation into housing.

After you figure out who is responsible for what, you might want to consider starting a small joint account for household staples. Think of it like "What's mine is yours, what's yours is yours, and what's mine is mine." Here's how to break it down:

"Yours" will include your partner's personal discretionary expenditures (aka fun stuff, like workout classes, clothing, etc.) and personal debt, like credit card and student loans.

"Mine" will include your discretionary expenditures and personal debt, like credit card and student loans.

"Ours" will include all household expenditures, like rent, utilities, car maintenance, groceries, pet supplies, etc. It also includes shared debt, like a mortgage or a car loan.

This is an excellent time to discuss how much you'll each be contributing from your separate paychecks and who will take the lead on paying those bills. When deciding how much you're both putting into the "ours" account, remember that everything doesn't have to split 50/50 necessarily. If you're bringing home a bigger paycheck than your partner, but they're better about weekly cleaning and laundry, maybe it makes sense for you to be putting a little more toward rent since they're pulling their weight in other ways.

Making sure to stick to what's "yours and mine" will help the household run more efficiently as no one has to wonder why you're $40 short for pet food that month.