<prompt> Human: My SO 28 and I 25 have been living together in an apartment for the past 2 years and have split the rent and bills evenly we have about the same income, give or take a bitShe recently bought a small and very affordably priced house that will need some cosmetic updates but is otherwise in great shape.Our plan right now is for me to contribute half the mortgage and bills, and for her to pay 100 of the cost of upgrades to the house since its an investment for her but not me. Im hoping for the best but also planning for the worst-- my SO and I already know we can live together and manage money together, and will hope to get married in a couple years. However, in the event that we break up, I dont want to be screwed financially. Im from out of state, so if that happened I likely wouldnt be staying in this city permanently. So I ask what is the smartest and fairest way to go about this?  <response>: Youre doing it pretty by-the-book here already. Essentially, youre not on the deed - youre just paying rent to your girlfriend, who is then paying the mortgage. Dont think of it as contributing half of the mortgage, but rather - your rent is this fixed amount which, as of now, is equal to half her mortgage payment.If she wants to upgrade things, she pays for it out of her pocket which as you mention she is doing alreadyIf you break up, you have zero interest or ownership rights in the house, its essentially as if your lease ended. 