If you do decide to stay, it’s time to create a financial plan with your partner. You will need this as you may eventually move in together, get married, have kids, buy a house, or combine finances in other ways. When you manage money together, it helps to be on the same page.
Some questions to ask yourself as you work toward a joint financial plan: who is now responsible for your partner’s debt? Will he be paying it off himself or will you be helping? Will you move in together to lower your living expenses? Will you open joint bank accounts to pay bills and save for your goals?
In my case, I told my husband that I’d help him pay off his debt because I wanted it gone as soon as possible. However, I also let him know that it was mostly his responsibility. With that, he contributed most of his income toward his debt repayment, while I contributed more toward our household bills. If I had leftover money, I then helped put some cash toward paying off his debt.
Pro tip: even if you don’t want to help your partner pay off debt or pool your money, you can still help him out with a budget to encompass his debt payments. You can then offer up financial encouragement and suggest combining funds as soon as he pays off his debt.
