When Max was earning £70,000 a year in tech and Hannah was on a considerably lower salary in the charity sector, they still split everything 50/50. Now, after Max was made redundant last year, that equal split has become a lifeline – but only after drastic cuts.
Hannah and Max, who got married after two years together, have always pooled their incomes into a joint account. “We made a commitment to each other that what’s mine is yours, and vice versa,” says Max, 31. Their mortgage, bills, food, petrol, and other household costs are all paid from that account, and each month they transfer the same amount for personal spending – clothes, make-up, or a trip to the pub – “so we aren’t accountable to each other for those things,” Max adds.
“Couple split finances equally despite large income gap, then cut spending after redundancy.”
The couple came from very different money backgrounds: Hannah’s family discussed finances openly, whereas for Max “money was totally taboo”. He says he “was left without any knowledge of things like what’s a good salary or how to negotiate my pay”. Buying a home forced them to be honest. “As first-time buyers, there are costs you don’t think about, like stamp duty and solicitor fees, so it was important we both knew exactly how much money we had,” Hannah says.
Now they make money an everyday conversation. “Just this morning we were talking about what we can do to help improve our financial situation in the future,” Hannah says. That openness was tested when Max was made redundant. “There was shock and panic initially,” Hannah recalls. They had to rely on her salary – between £40,000 and £60,000 (she did not want to disclose her precise pay). The couple sat down and looked “through where we could cut things out”. They cancelled gym memberships and Sky TV, and made sure they could cover their mortgage and bills on a lower income.
The pair’s approach stands in contrast to broader trends. Research from wealth manager Quilter suggests almost half of couples do not share financial planning equally: 46% act alone in some way, and more than one in 10 leave one partner solely responsible. Relationship expert Karen Doherty has three pieces of advice for starting the conversation around financial planning. For Hannah and Max, the principle remains unchanged: “We’ve always wanted to do things 50/50,” Max says. “We made a commitment to each other that what’s mine is yours, and vice versa.”