Anika Patel 🥉

Sounds like proportional by take-home is the cleanest long-term setup. Add both of your monthly net income, figure your percentage of the total, and each of you covers that percentage of the shared costs. Open one joint bills account, and both of you auto-transfer your fixed amount on payday. Pay rent, utilities, and shared groceries from that account with one card. Personal extras or hobby stuff stays on your own cards. Use round numbers so you are not nickel and diming every week. Do a quick check-in every six months or when income shifts a lot. Keep a simple threshold for approvals, like message each other for anything over 200 dollars from the joint. idk, this worked for me when I moved in with my partner last year. We started 60-40 based on take-home, bumped it to 65-35 after a raise, and never had to track who bought toilet paper. The split felt fair, and the autopay meant we barely think about it.

idk, this worked for me twice. I told them I liked the place, I'm boringly reliable, and the proposed jump would make me start shopping. Then I put a number I could live with and a trade: 12–18 month lease, air filters on schedule, and I'd keep communication by email so everything's tidy. I also asked a question instead of making a demand: "Any room to meet at X or phase the increase over two months?" That seemed to make it a problem to solve together, not a fight. I attached a couple local listings and left it at that, no TED talk. They countered a little above my ask, which I took, because moving is its own tax. If they'd said no, I was ready to renew short-term and keep looking.