SINGAPORE: Interested in financial strategies used by couples, a man recently turned to social media to inquire how Singaporeans typically divide and handle finances at home.
Specifically, he asked if couples tend to use a joint account for shared expenses such as mortgage or rent while maintaining separate personal finances or if they opt to mix everything together.
“What about spending? What if both halves of the couple make a similar amount but one spends way more, and the saving contributions from one partner is much lower? Are these things issues?” the man wrote on r/singaporefi on Saturday (Mar 16)
“I’m especially interested in couples where there is a large asymmetry in how much each person makes. What’s the expectation if say one half of the couple makes like 10x what the spouse makes. E.g. Husband makes 15K and the wife makes 2.5K.”
He went on to ask whether the higher earner typically pays all the costs if they are required to give an allowance to the low earner and if the low earner is expected to contribute financially.
“You need to work as a team rather than being calculative”
In the comments section, the man received different answers. A few Singaporean Redditors shared that calculating ‘percentage or ratio-based financial contributions’ is unnecessary as long as both partners contribute to bills and loans.
“There isn’t a clear separation of how much I should pay, how much you should pay. Whatever we earn belongs to both of us,” one individual added.
Some, however, disagreed with this approach and stressed the importance of clearly understanding each person’s financial responsibilities.
A woman who earned 2.5 times more than her husband emphasized the importance of teamwork in a marriage. She stated:
“You are husband and wife. There is no “I”. You need to work as a team rather than being calculative. Your spouse needs to be on the same page too.”
She added that they do not have a joint account; instead, they have opted to assign each other what bills to pay and have the same monthly allowance, with the remainder of their monthly incomes going toward the investments she manages.
She claims that for transparency, she shows her spouse the Excel tracker she uses for their finances.
A man who made four times as much as his wife joined the conversation. He said that a ‘set percentage of their take-home income’ is transferred to a joint account and used to pay for shared expenditures such as mortgage, children’s bills, travel, helper’s wages, groceries, etc.
“We feel this is an equitable distribution as we are contributing an equal proportion of our salaries,” the man said.
Another woman shared that in the past, her husband used to pay for all their expenses, including housing, utilities, dining out, and travel.
In contrast, she only used her money for personal indulgences like new clothes, handbags, hobbies, and her parents’ retirement fund, which was substantial.
However, this dynamic shifted when she noticed that her trade income was increasing. Recently, she has also started contributing to their grocery expenses.
After reading all the responses in the comments section, another man concluded that there isn’t a clear-cut “right or wrong way” for managing finances in relationships.
Nevertheless, he stressed the importance of agreeing and being on the same page about finances and expenses.
Read also: Girlfriend asks, “Would it be weird to give my boyfriend S$250/month allowance?”