Splitting expenses with your partner can be a great way to manage your finances together, and it's a natural step in most relationships.
However, without Smoov keeping track of shared expenses can be challenging, especially if you have multiple bills and expenses to manage and you're paying for those from multiple cards.
Here are the mind-numbing ways couples used to track their expenses before Smoov.
Create a Budget
Creating a budget is an excellent way to track shared expenses. Start by listing all the shared expenses that you and your partner have, such as rent, utilities, groceries, and entertainment. Then, allocate a budget for each category and make sure to stick to it. A budget can help you track your spending, avoid overspending, and ensure that both partners contribute fairly. Even if you use Smoov this is still a great idea to implement. The biggest challenge with making a budget is oftentimes they're rooted in wishful thinking and sticking to them can be challenging, especially as a couple.
Use a Spreadsheet
Another way to track shared expenses is to use a spreadsheet. You can create a spreadsheet to list all your shared expenses, track payments, and monitor your spending. This was the old way and takes up too much time that you would rather spend doing something you both enjoy.
Divide Expenses Equally
Dividing expenses equally can simplify expense tracking. You can agree to split all shared expenses 50/50 and keep a record of who paid for what. This method works best when both partners have similar incomes and expenses. But the challenge without Smoov is that even if you agree to share things 50/50, who's doing the math every time an expense comes up? Who's requesting the money? Who's paying? How long is too long to wait until requesting? How fast is too fast?
Use Payment Apps
Payment apps like Venmo or PayPal were a great way to share expenses. These apps are great to use with friends to who you send money every so often but can become quite annoying when you have to constantly send money to the same person. When you enter a certain phase of your relationship, where you're splitting rent or a car payment or groceries every two weeks. Manually tracking and sending money through payment apps is annoying and cumbersome.
Keep Receipts
Keeping receipts is another way to track shared expenses. Each time you make a payment for a shared expense, make sure to keep the receipt. I don’t know about you but I can’t remember the last time I kept a receipt - save a tree!
In summary, tracking shared expenses can be challenging, but it's essential for managing your finances as a couple and getting on the same page.
No matter what method you use, just remember, the key to successful expense tracking is open communication and transparency about your finances. By working together and finding a method that works for both partners, you can create a balanced and fair approach to managing your shared expenses.
Smoov's purpose is to improve on all of the above strategies so if you're doing any of the above today, check us out.
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