There are two types of friendships: those that calculate the $7.50 sparkling water into your share of the bill and those that split down the centre regardless of your order.
Of course, everyone has their own financial circumstances and neither camp is an indicator of your value as a friend.
However, for housemates and best friends Caitlin Emiko and Tahlia Edwards, picking up the tab became a lot easier after making the decision to share their salaries.
After meeting at work over two and a half years ago (Caitlin was Emily’s manager at the time), the Melbourne-pair relocated to New York City and decided to combine their incomes.
“People think it’s so strange that my best friend get’s half my salary,” Emiko says in a now viral TikTok video. “I don’t do the finances, so I have no idea how much is in our accounts, how much we get paid or when we get paid.”
What Does Sharing Your Salaries Involve?
Speaking to the Everyone Has A Secret podcast, Edwards revealed that the pair earn similar salaries and both do freelance work (Edward’s does project work through her marketing role and Emiko picks up content creation and influencing work).
All forms of income are then pooled into a joint bank account, where a portion is then transferred into a seperate account and split between them.
“Any the money I earn, Caitlin has access to and all the money she earns I have access to,” she explains of the unconviential set up. “We share everything. Caitlin owns a house with her ex boyfriend, so if they were to sell her portion, that money would go into the joint account.”
Does It Actually Work?
What might seem like a financial disaster, has infact resulted in a smooth money merger. A year after making the call to combine their incomes, the pair admit they haven’t looked back.
“The reason why shared finances work for us is because we have a similar mindset towards money. We would always be the first to shout our friends. We like to spend our money, especially if it’s on people around us,” says Edwards.
“Having our arrangement means we can lean on each other financially and that we both have a sense of security within one another. We spend most of our time together anyway so it just made sense.”
Changing Your Money Mindset
While friendship and finances aren’t always a wise mix, the opportunity to create friends with benefits can certainly pay dividends in the long run, especially if you’re willing to shift your mindset.
“If we started tracking who spends more that would be the detriment. Our mindset is that everything works out in the wash. So if I start calculating that Emily’s had more coffees than me this week, then it comes back to that pettiness and that’s when you build anger internally.”
Are There Limitations On Purchases?
Turning down a loan from the bank of mum and dad might feel like a step towards independence, but before you turn your pals into your personal payroll, it’s important to establish some boundaries.
Like entering any business decision with a friend, ongoing communication and setting expectations is essential. For Edwards, having access to larger pool of money for bigger purchases was certainly a big draw card behind their decision to combine finances, although, the pair agreed they would give one and other a heads up before doing so.
“I am currently back home in Australia getting a boob job,” says Edwards. “My best friend has now helped me pay for a boob job as I used a portion of our shared earnings to pay off the surgery. If Caitlin wanted to do something for herself she was also have the option to do so.”
Why Is Sharing Money With Your Friend Taboo?
While many of us have opened joint bank accounts with romantic partners that have barely exceeded the expiry of milk, the idea of sharing money with a mate still feels taboo.
However, as women wise up about building and protecting their own financial autonomy and our relationships grow ever fluid, perhaps there has never been a better time to rethink our financial strategy.
And according to girl math there’s no better investment than sharing (or is it shares?).
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