Calling all co-habiting couples: how do you split and manage your finances?

sharondingle

Hi there,
My name is Sharon and I'm writing an article for The Irish Examiner about how different couples manage their finances. Money is a major source of stress these days and what we're looking at is how this financial stress puts extra pressure on couples and how best they should deal with it.
You don't need to be identified. All we'll need is your ages, professions and ages of children (if any) as well as an overview of your financial arrangements:
- what was the arrangement when you first moved in together? Joint bank accounts, separate accounts or both? A 50/50 split of household costs or another arrangement?
- were there financial issues that caused problems? One person spending too much on clothes or nights out for example? How did you sort these out?
- how did things change once you had children? When one started earning more than the other? When childcare costs had to be factored in? When one parent had to take time off work? Etc
Money can be a big source of conflict in a relationship and I'd love to hear how a selection of different couples are managing to deal with it (or not succeeding in doing so, as the case may be).
If you'd be interested in talking to me, you can PM me or email me at sharondingle@yahoo.com.
Looking forward to hearing from you

sharondingle

I'm still looking for contributors to this article. I've spoken to two couples so far and really need two more.
Don't worry about being identified. You won't be named in the piece. I'll just need some information to give your story some context and then I'll need to chat to you about how you and your partner have worked out the various issues around money. What way did you share costs at the beginning of your relationship? How has that changed? What pressures (if any) does money put on your relationship?

PM me or email me at sharondingle@yahoo.com. I promise to be nice!