2 Pockets are Better Than 1

Think about it, you and your partner have been together for many a year now; she has her own place (it may be a little too girly for your liking and the shower may not be as high powered as yours, but hey... it's hers) and you have your own pad (a little too bachelor-esque for her to feel 100% at home)... so what's the next step?

Without the mention of the next step; this may sound like an ideal union for many blokes out there. However, speaking in more practical terms, this separate habitation could really be swallowing up a lot of cash that the two of you could be using for a better purpose.

Now before you call her up and suggest she start packing and head to your place or palace (depending on how you look at things...), it is imperative that you sit down and figure out if your relationship can actually cope with the two of you becoming one - matching nightwear and colour coded toothbrushes aside. It's all well and good putting an ad up on Gumtree for a tenant to reside in your girlfriend's place but unless the move has been properly thought out, you two lovebirds could find yourselves in more of a financial bind than before the cohabitation.

Ready to make that switch?

The credit crunch has had a negative effect on a lot of households; wages are dwindling faster than usual and first time buyers are finding it almost impossible to get even a little toe on the much sought after property ladder. It seems as if this financial crisis could be just what you were waiting for... making the right financial move could secure some extra cash in your wallet that could be used on that extra round of double jacks with coke. Seriously, what is the point of paying the rent or mortgage on two places when you can consolidated to just one?

Money Talks

An important factor to consider when approaching the tricky subject of cohabitation is the fact that more than two million couples break up every year due to financial worries. A way to absorb this pressure (and remember I said absorb and not erase) is not to shy away from financial discussions with your partner, remember that if your girlfriend is on first name basis with all the sales people on your local high-street, she may be a shopaholic - believe me, this is not going to change if the two of you move in together.

It is all too easy to push things under the carpet through the fear of not wanting to offend, however, when you are about to take such a major step as moving in together, way before the keys are exchanged is the ideal time to discuss one another's financial habits.

Realistically, cohabitation is not a move for the faint hearted and one thing that you can guarantee is that every day will NOT be a bed of roses, however, once you have thoroughly thought out the pros and cons and are still thinking of heading to the locksmith for another copy of your keys... half the battle has already been won.