This Millennial Couple Is Going Viral For Sharing Their Honest “Money” Tips, And I’m Taking Notes

Being in a long-term relationship with a partner you trust and love can be amazing — but it can also be hard on your wallet. Having a constant companion creates more excuses to go out to eat, see movies, plan dates, travel, etc., and your bank account can take quite the hit.

An empty wallet

So, as many of us transition into adulthood and aspire toward homes, cars, vacations, and other expensive price tags, learning how you and your partner can help each other reach these goals is essential.

Courtneyk / Getty Images/iStockphoto

When it comes to money, one of the best ways to find a useful money-saving (or spending) method is by seeing how others do it. So, for those who are thinking of merging their finances with their partner, supply chain planner Arushi Hariani shared how she and her husband, Akshay Hariani, get it done:

"Here are a few things that my husband and I did that worked best for us," she introduced to over 365,000 viewers. "Firstly, we opened a joint checking account with both of us as co-owners. We actually did this before the wedding so that we could use it for wedding expenses instead of having to Venmo each other."

Arushi Hariani

"Second, we added each other as authorized users to our credit cards," Arushi said. "So now, each individual person has their own credit card, but it's linked to the same account."

Arushi Hariani

"Lastly, we created a combined budget with both of our incomes and expected expenses for the year so that we were on the same page about our finances," Arushi concluded.

Arushi Hariani

Through her transparency, Arushi's viewers have grown comfortable with asking money questions they may not otherwise find candid, first-person answers for. Some wonder about the pros and cons of keeping couple's accounts almost completely separate:

TikTok comment stating, "I love hearing about marriage $ are there any cons to keeping all finances separate & transferring a "living expenses" budget to a joint account?"
TikTok: @arushihariani / Via tiktok.com

Others ask for tips on how to avoid micromanaging their partner, who may be a bit more frivolous with their money:

TikTok comment stating, "How do you handle not micromanaging expenses? I am a bigger saver and my fiance is a big spender."
TikTok: @arushihariani / Via tiktok.com

Or they simply find relief in finding accessible tips they never had access to before:

TikTok comment stating, "Thank you for this! My parents were bad with money so I really want to be prepared with my fiancee." Arushi Hariani responds, "Of course! you got this :)"
TikTok: @arushihariani / Via tiktok.com

To get more insight into how the couple makes their finances work for them, BuzzFeed reached out to Arushi, who shared that she and Akshay started their money talks early on in their relationship. "Even while we were dating, we were pretty transparent with each other about our financial goals and how we like to handle our money," she said. "It was natural to talk about how we wanted to manage our finances once we got married."

"A year before getting engaged, we started having conversations about how much money we wanted to set aside for a wedding in the future, which led us to have candid conversations about our budgeting, spending habits, and long-term financial goals," the 25-year-old continued. "Having these conversations early on ensured that we were on the same page to start a married life together and to manage a very expensive year together with a wedding, house, and car."

A stack of quarters with an arrow pointing upward on a graph.
Smshoot / Getty Images/iStockphoto

When deciding how much of their money would go into each account, Arushi said: "We had two goals. A) We wanted to be able to have a holistic view of our combined expenses, income, and net worth. Instead of having to keep up with multiple accounts to do this, we wanted to minimize the number of accounts to keep track of."

With this in mind, "We listed out all of our incomes, expenses, and loans. We started by allocating the fixed expenses such as our mortgage, student loans, and car payment. Then, we set aside how much we wanted to save and invest. With the remaining money, we allocated it amongst our remaining expenses. We decided the categories and allocation for these expenses based on our previous spending habits. We continue to check in every few months and adjust the budget as necessary."

Different spreadsheets with figures and money amounts.

Though this process is ideal for them, both Arushi and Akshay know every couple is different. "While this arrangement works best for us, it may not be the same case for other couples," Arushi said. "For example, couples may want to split expenses differently based on their individual incomes and situations. Also, partners may have different long-term financial goals and may want to track their expenses differently than we do. While all couples are bound to have different arrangements that work best for them, we do find it useful to at least have a combined budget to increase awareness of your finances together!"

Regardless of the way couples split their money, though, Arushi says that talking openly about finances is important for all partners: "We most definitely encourage couples to speak candidly about their finances. ... While a lot of these financial tips may come naturally to some people, we learned that many people struggle to have candid conversations about money and have different relationships with their personal finances, so we just wanted to share our experience and hope it helps others!"

To keep up with the couple, you can follow them on TikTok. And if you'd like to use Arushi and Akshay's budgeting template, click here.