Moving in with a New Boyfriend/Girlfriend: What Items Should You Combine?

Congratulations on taking your relationship to the next level and moving in with your boyfriend or girlfriend. Before you start calling movers you will have to decide whether or not to combine certain items to your new apartment or home.

The first and most important thing to consider is money and bills. Before you sign a lease together, you need to sit down and have a calm and logical discussion about it.  Who is going to be responsible for paying what? Will one of you be in charge of bill-paying, and if so, how will the money be split? You should also consider who will be paying for the groceries or whether that will be split. A good discussion about money can help avoid fights down the line.  

Always consider the fact that your partner could lose their job sometime in the future (as could you) and each of you needs to be aware of this. Can either one of you afford to pay all the bills if it ever needs to be done?  And if one of you makes a lot more money than the other one, perhaps a 50/50 split of the bills won’t be fair.  What will happen to that lease you sign for the apartment if you need to go your separate ways?  What happens if you decide to get on the same cell phone plan and then break up? 

What about furniture and household items? Most likely, you won't need two TVs or two coffee tables. Once you decide whose items will stay in your new apartment, you can consider temporarily placing them in a storage facility. If you are both attached to your furniture, then some compromises are going to have to be made.

It may not be the most romantic discussion, but talking about the details related to moving and packing will help alleviate any tension before you both move in together.