Budgeting For Couples | How To Successfully Budget As A Couple!

How To Successfully Budget As A Couple! | A Step-By-Step Guide To Budgeting For Couples

This post may contain affiliate links; please read our Disclosure for more information.

Budgeting For Couples

Are you and your partner trying to figure out how to budget together? 

Or, are you looking for some inspiration to improve your current budget?

Early in our marriage, we made plenty of mistakes when budgeting together.

Over time we learnt the things that have worked for us.

Well, today we’re going to teach you 5 steps to setting up your budget together.

These are the steps we took to go from butting heads with our money to working together.

Plus, you’ll also learn the best way to successfully stick to your budget together.

Choose Your Budgeting Strategy

Before we get into the actual budget and the numbers, start with your strategy.

There are two things to consider regarding your budgeting strategy.

Your overall budgeting approach, and your budgeting tool.

There are a few money management approaches couples can take but we’ll touch on three.

First, you can split your expenses 50/50 each way.

Secondly, you can split your expenses based on income.

Third, you can adopt a joint money mindset where you put all things in one pot.

Your budgeting method as a couple will determine how you practically approach your overall budget.

It’s vital that you choose an approach that you both subscribe to otherwise it won’t be effective.

Next, you have to consider which budgeting tools match your method and money personality. 

You can budget using a range of tools such as a budgeting spreadsheet, an app or a notebook.

The key is to choose the tool that you’ll use and you’ll stick to.

List Your Joint Household Income 

The top line of every budget is listing the income you receive.

A budget is a plan for what you’re going to do with your money so, how much do you have?

We’d say to use the post-tax income that you actually get in your hands.

If you’re self-employed and pay tax separately then immediately put aside your taxes every payday.

If your income fluctuates, we’d say always budget your minimum expected amount.

How Your Budgeting Approach Impacts This

Your budgeting approach influences how you practically do this.

If you’ve chosen to combine your finances you can list your incomes in the same budget.

For instance, Income 1: £x, Income 2: £x. 

Then add the 2 (plus other income sources you both have) to get your total household income.

If you’re keeping your money separate then you may create a separate budget each.

List Your Joint And Sole Outgoings

We would start by answering the biggest question when it comes to your budget.

How much does it cost for you to live?

This is the amount that you need to survive and maintain the lifestyle you’ve built for yourself.

To calculate this we put our outgoings into two main categories.

Your living expenses and your lifestyle expenses.

The former includes your household bills, family care, food, transport and other financial commitments.

In essence, these are the things you have to pay for to live.

The latter includes your personal shopping, your socialising money and personal memberships.

These are the things you have but can live without if need be.

The next biggest question to answer is: are you spending more than you earn?

How Your Budgeting Approach Impact This

If you’re combining your finances, you would put all things in one budget.

You may still have personal allocations to each other but it’s reflected clearly in your budget.

If you keep your money separate then it may be best to have separate budgets.

Generally, you’d divide your living expenses between you whilst keeping lifestyle expenses separate.

You could split your living expenses equally down the middle and each contributes half to the bills account.

Or, you each take ownership of certain bills in each of your names.

Ultimately, you’d each only include the costs you’re paying for in your own budgets.

Discuss Your Future Goals

A budget is so much more than just ensuring your bills are paid.

It’s also a plan for how you’re going to reach your financial goals.

This step is about discussing what your money goals are as a couple.

Goals can vary from short term goals to long term goals.

Your goal may be to stop living in your overdraft or to save up for a holiday.

Once you know your money goals, the aim is to align your budget towards them.

You may need to make some adjustments to accomplish your goals.

For example, you may decide to lower your monthly food budget to make more room to save.

Aim to find a balance where you’re still enjoying the present whilst working towards your goals.

How Your Budgeting Approach Impact This 

If you have joint goals you may decide to pull equal weight towards those goals.

Such as you’ll each save £10,000 towards a £20,000 house deposit.

However, some goals will only be for one of you.

If your money is separate then you’d only add your joint goals on both your budgets.

Whereas with the joint budget, all things are under one umbrella. 

The Most Important Step! Money Dates

The most important step in successfully budgeting for couples is to have money dates.

Money dates are the glue to you sticking to your budget.

They are also the key to you both working together with your finances.

Money dates are effective whether you’re combining your money or keeping things separate.

Watch our YouTube video or listen to our podcast to learn more about the money dates!

Take Action

Download our FREE Budgeting For Couples Guide to successfully budget together as a team!

Share this post with others so they can also learn about budgeting for couples too.

Let us know how you’re getting along by getting in touch with us, we’d love to hear from you.

Knowledge is powerless without action.

So take action, and take care.

Thando & Lindie