Moving in with your partner is a natural next step in committed relationships. The love is strong, and you want to continue to grow as a couple. It’s an exciting and scary experience that you shouldn’t go into lightly. Couples need to seriously plan and think over this next step. Check out these helpful tips for moving in with your partner.
Discuss Finances
The money topic is unavoidable when you’re in a relationship. Finances will come up eventually, and they appear even faster when you live together. You both must be honest and transparent about your current finances.
Be aware of where you stand before moving in. Discuss savings, salary, investments, and any debt either of you may have accumulated. Now, you can easily decide who will pay what and what you’ll split evenly. Having this discussion now also allows you to decide what type of home and lifestyle you can afford together.
Choose a Spot
Decide if you want to find a new home together or move into one of each other’s homes. Maybe you want a fresh start; a new apartment, condo, or house can give you that. Or one of you might already own property and it makes more sense for the other to move in and assist.
After choosing a spot, you need to decide what comes and what stays. Don’t bring everything with you because you’ll end up with two of everything. You may need to store some items away if they’re still valuable. Be cautious with storing fragile items because you’ll want to retrieve them in good condition.
Establish “Me Time”
Living together doesn’t mean you need to do everything together. Everyone needs “me time.” It’s healthy and allows you to recenter yourself. In the beginning, you probably will want to spend a lot of time together.
That annoyance won’t kick in immediately, but it will eventually. No relationship is perfect. Tell your partner what days you’ll need for yourself. The same way couples establish a date night together—establish an individual date night for yourself. You’ll keep the magic alive when you reconvene, and you’ll have new things to talk about.
Plan for the “What If”
No one wants to have that talk, but it’s necessary. Every couple living together needs to have a contingency plan. Be realistic and smart with every decision. Move into a location that the two of you can afford individually in case of a breakup.
But being financially smart is about more than a breakup. If one of you loses your job for a little while, the other will need to handle the finances until new employment comes along. Talk about all the “what if’s” that can happen and set a plan for them. Don’t settle for, “We’ll cross that bridge if we get there,” it’s not good enough. It never hurts to take some relationship advice or have a few tips in your back pocket, especially when it comes to moving in with your partner.
