Moving in with your partner?! Congratulations! Other than not stepping on each other’s toes when you first move in together, the most important thing to focus on is money. No matter how much you love your partner and trust them, you always have to be smart about your bank account and credit. Here are three things to lookout for —
Talk about money
Know how much you both can afford with it comes to rent and INCLUDE the expenses for utilities. Can you afford cable or will you only have enough for internet and stick to Netflix? Make sure that you both know what kind of prices you can handle and figure out if you should split the cost, or if someone is able to pay a little more. Get it in writing.
Keep your finances separate
A joint account may seem like the smart thing to do – BUT if heaven forbid you break up, that is one more thing to deal with. Keep your finances separate – or – get a joint account that is solely used for bills. You can each deposit the set amount that is owed each month without the hassle.
Put both of your names on the lease
Again, if you guys were to break up, it is better to have both names on the lease rather than one. You don’t want to leave the payments up to your partner if you are to move out – and vice versa. If it doesn’t work out, you’re both able go to the landlord and figure out next steps.
The Stratford 