Three Ways Falling in Love is Good For Your Budget
Jun 11th, 2008 by Carlos
I always thought that when M and I moved in together it would be harder to keep a joint budget then when I was on my own. And while it may be a little more complicated than having just one account and worrying about your own expenses, it turns out that having one budget makes things a lot cheaper. Economists call it “economies of shared living,” and it basically comes down to sharing everything. Instead of paying for everything yourself, now you’re splitting the cost and sharing it between the two of you. Whatever your living situation may be, it’s good to keep in mind how living with someone else (or being in love) can benefit your finances.
- Food: Before I moved in with M, I didn’t like to cook. When I got home, all I wanted to do was relax, watch the Cubs game, and maybe read a book. So cooking was last on my list, and ordering takeout was pretty common. I would buy one of those salads in a bag that has all the fixings and — gross as it may sound — I ate it straight out of the bag. It was mostly pasta and butter in those days for me — simple, quick meals that no one else in their right mind would eat. Now cooking isn’t just about food, it’s about spending time together and doing something as a couple. We pick out what we’ll be cooking for the week on Sunday and when we come home, we make it together. Now a salad is a simple bag of lettuce and we’ll buy stuff separately like feta cheese, olives, tomatoes, etc. Not only are we spending time together and winding down from work, we’re also saving money by not ordering out and having a much tastier, “adult” meal. On nights that we do decide to eat out (usually sushi, which we’ll be learning to make ourselves soon), we often catch ourselves trying to remember the last we ordered. And that’s a good thing for the wallet.
- Entertainment: We like to watch movies, so maybe this doesn’t apply to other couples. But we have a Netflix account and we belong to the Five Buck Club, which means when we go to the movies we only pay $5/ticket. So if we want something to do, we usually just stay home and watch a movie. If we don’t have a new one, we’ll watch TV or read. The idea I’m trying to get across (unsuccessfully, it feels like) is that we don’t need much else to entertain ourselves. As long as we’re together, we have a lot of fun doing whatever it is we’re doing. So even if the movie sucks or the TV show is terrible, we still have fun doing it together. We don’t need to spend $40 to “do something” outside of our apartment. When you’re alone things aren’t nearly as much fun when they suck.
- Going Out: It feels weird admitting this, but we don’t go out as much as we used to. By “going out” I mean hitting up the bars, eating at restaurants, and doing things like that. On an average week, we probably eat out once (either delivery or actually sitting somewhere) and maybe go out for breakfast (brunch) once on the weekends. Maybe to the movies once every couple weeks too. That’s about it. And for all you budgeteers out there, you know that’s a good thing. Staying home isn’t always the most exciting thing to do for a lot of people, but we have such a good time together at home (or with friends) that we don’t feel that urge to go out as much. When I was single, I couldn’t equate staying in with fun — I felt like a loser if I didn’t leave the apartment. It sounds terrible, like we’ve become semi-hermits or something, but it’s not at all like it sounds. Besides, a big reason why you leave your apartment in the first place (when you’re single) is to flirt/find someone to date, so once that’s checked off there’s less incentive to go out.
M and I spend a lot of our time together — we’re lucky that our jobs aren’t taking up excessive amounts of time. We can come home, see each other, do something fun (and frugal) like preparing a meal together, and not feel like we have to go out and spend money to hang out.
Did I miss any other “shared” benefits of being in a relationship?
I agree with you…falling in love has a way or grounding us, and in a good way. When I was single I was spending wildly on many of the same things you describe, but when I met my wife-to-be, and we had kids in the first couple years, it awakened me to the fact that I was no longer just being irresponsible with my own money, but with my kids’ future.
Probably the biggest budget home run for us is shared housing expenses. Neither of us would be able to afford what we both can together. It’s a great thing.
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I find that we also encourage each other to make better choices. My fiance’s credit card bill now goes down instead of up! And he helps me figure out how to manage a new car when the old one dies.
[...] that he’s moved in with “M,” he’s happy as a geoduck clam, and he’s found the financial benefits of coupledom. Food, entertainment and “going out” are all costing less. “Economists call it ‘economies of shared [...]
[...] a couple’s wants“. Check out other great articles including “Falling in love is good for the budget” by Writer’s Coin. I gotta say I think DH and I spend more going out because we just [...]
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