<prompt> Human: My girlfriend of 2 years and I are moving in together in a month. I wanted to get rPFs opinion on how to handle finances. We have a combined income of 250k. Rent is 2500month. Neither of us have debt, shes even more disciplined than I am with spending. We have open discussions about money, how we save, etc, so theres no elephants in the room. I just want to put together a plan on how well be spending, saving, etc. It costs me 4k a month all in to live by myself. That will go down by 500 once we move in. Our plan will be to keep renting for another 2-3 years and then buy a house. Whats the best way to go about managing things like rent, utilities, shared household costs, food, etc? Neither of us have lived with a significant other before and Im all about planning up front and setting expectations. Id love some specific and general advice on how manage this.Thanks!  <response>: Split ProportionallyYou said the two of you have a combined yearly income of 250k. You did not say the income is split evenly both earning 125k. One of you could be earning 90k and the other 160k or other variations. Contribute proportionally to shared expenses based on income.If one of you is taking home 90kyear, that person should contribute toward 36 of shared costs. 90250 0.36 Agree on a Monthly BudgetThis budget should include shared fixed items rent, cable, internet, etc., a utilities estimate, and agreed upon estimates for variable shared items: groceries, entertainment, eating out together, etc. Lets say your shared monthly budget comes out to 6k. If one of you is taking home 90kyear, that person would contribute 2,160 36 of 6k each month toward shared expenses.Each month, both of you can put your proportional share into a joint account -OR- one of you can pay the other your share. Some people will want to wait until they are engaged or married to have a joint account. It depends on what the two of you are comfortable with.Both Names Should be on Shared AccountsLease agreement, utilities, cableinternet, shared cell phone account - both of your names should be listed on these accounts for various reasons. This way, both of you will have access to these accounts, and if one of you were to pass away unexpectedly, having both your names on the accounts could make transitioning much easier. Hold Off on Combining Funds for Future Financial GoalsYou said that neither of you have lived with a SO before. The two of you have been dating for two years. Although you might be deeply in love right now and have wonderful plans for the future, it is entirely possible that the two of you might break up. If you are thinking about buying a house in a couple of years, regardless of whether or not the two of you stay together - great! Start setting aside money for that goal on your own. Your SO can also start setting aside money for that goal on her own. Do not combine money for future goals at this time.If after living together for 2 or 3 years, you still love each other and want to buy a house together - great! You can combine your house savings at that time. On the other hand, if you break up, youll probably be thankful for not having to sit down with your now ex and to figure out how much each of you contributed to your Future House Fund. Similarly, I would echo ubuckets_of_ducats suggestion of not making purchases of physical items like furniture, cars, or even pets together. Following this rule can make breakups a lot easier.Tl;dr Contribute proportionally to shared expenses based on income. Agree on a monthly budget and contribute each month based on your proportion. Put both of your names on all shared accounts lease, utilities, internetcable, shared phone account, etc. Do not combine funds that youre setting aside for future financial goals like buying a house at this time. Edit: word choice for clarity 