Not if one partner earns substantially more. They should each pay according to their respective incomes, to be fair to both.

Yes, fair is fair. Marriage is not slavery.

no. if one partner works while the other stays at home taking care of the children, the cost of childcare should be factored into the equation. also, if one partner earns more than the other, that person should chip in more ~ its most equitable when the percentages of income contributed towards expenses for each person are the same. for example, a person earning $6K a month should contribute 25% of income towards expenses ($1500) and their partner earning $2K a months should also contribute 25% towards expenses ($500). make sense?

that would be ideal, wouldnt it? but, it doesnt always work that way...how do my wife and I do it? we put everything together in one account and consider her money mine, my money hers. with the acception of a few buck to go hang with friends on our own personal time. We balance the checkbooks daily and it works out pretty well...but you are certainly going to get different views on this one...some people cant get over the whole "thats mine" thing....which ultimately in the end, turns out to be a problem....ive seen it.

Yes, everybody should pull their own weight in a marriage.

How about it is a 100/100, it is a partnership that you work on together as a couple, who cares who makes more money, it belongs to both, no matter who makes it.

marrage is all about 50 / 50 you have to compramise and share the load in order for things to work!

Everything should be shared.

Yes. One of them can't afford to pay 50% he or she is living above their means. They need to speak up before committing to a house or apartment payment.

these things need to be discussed and agreed to before one begins co-habitating. what did the roomie agree to before they moved in? was the agreement to 50/50? then yes, it should be adhered to. HOWEVER, i also think every one should contribute, say, 30% of their income toward shared household expenses in addition to 100% of their own personal expenses, just so that no one bears an unfair burden of supporting the household. but again, these things should be made clear prior to moving in together.

Marriage is a partnership and a lot of people dont seem to get it hence the reason for a lot of divorces. I cant believe some people live like room mates. What happens when 1 of you cant pay your total 50%? Do you write an IOU ? What if 1 of you has more money left over than the other? Hey honey I was planning on doing dinner and a movie but seeing you only have $5.00 left over you should stay home cuz you cant cover your half of the bill. Money should be pooled together as husband and wife, pay the bills accordingly, then whats left over is saved/spent for fun or whatever. I can go on and on with this but I guess whatever works for 1 doesnt always work for the other. I just see a lot af arguements transpiring when you 1/2 on everything. EDITED to say, as far as the chores go. Theres nothing wrong with him helping you keep the house clean. My hubby helps me all the time. We always say thank you to each other too. We are both team players and believe it doesnt matter who does what as long as the job gets done. We work together at everything and help each other when we can. Although he wont let me near the vehicles when repairing. I WONDER WHY THAT IS. I have a spatular and a fork LMAO!!!!

I may be the sole bread winner in my home but my wife is definitely not my servant or slave. I'm perfectly capable of doing laundry, the dishes, cleaning, sweeping and mopping, cooking, or whatever. I have too much pride to just park my backside on my couch or at my desk and let her do all the work that needs to be done while I'm there. Besides, she has to deal with our son all day. WHEW!!!! What a total pain in the backside!!!!! hehe

It depends on what you both decide to do. I think that it should be split down the middle but you both have to come to some sort of idea about who is going to pay for what. It's only fair to divide things.

If you're married, expenses are 50/50, providing you pool your funds. Otherwise the division would be a percentage according to earnings.

depending on the income of both parties, yes. It should be an equal percentage of each parties pay. If one makes $10 per hour, and the other $20 per hour, then the amounts would be different, but the hours spent working away from home would be the same.

You didn't say if this was a marriage or not but I guess as to my reply it matters little. Life is not 50 - 50 and if you expect it so you may want to look into a business contract. On the other hand there should be a mutal respect between the parties and while not everything would ever be evenly split a comprimse should be easy to reach.

ha, I hate it when I comment in the wrong box!