Woman Moves In With Her Boyfriend. Then She Calculates Her Living Costs Before and After: ‘VERY Expensive Pets’

Popular opinion supports the idea that moving in with a significant other reduces your overall cost of living. One Australian woman argued that moving in with her boyfriend actually cost her significantly more.

In a viral TikTok video with over 1.7 million views, user Miki laid out her argument. She even provided a color-coded data chart to support it.

The clip was made in response to another video by a woman named Kristy Stewart (@its_kristystewart), who argued, “Men don’t compromise a single thing in 50/50 relationships.”

At first, Miki thought the video might be “man-hatery” rage bait.

However, it did inspire her to look into her own data before and after she moved in with her boyfriend.

The data was shocking.

How Much Did Moving In With Her Boyfriend Cost Her?

According to Miki, she regularly keeps detailed spreadsheets of her spending.

So after viewing Kristy’s video, she decided she would take a deep dive into her data.

She compared the data that tracked her spending while she was single, compared to when she moved in with her boyfriend.

The data sets were from only one year apart.

Based on her spreadsheet data, moving in with her boyfriend actually increased her cost of living in several categories.

For example, when she lived alone, she spent $2,180.11 on food, but when she lived with her boyfriend, she spent $4,865.

This represented a $2,684.89 increased price difference.

She also spent more on Uber, gadgets, gifts, and travel.

There were only three expense categories where she spent less money: hobbies, drugs/alcohol, and transport.

The woman was especially shocked that living with her boyfriend did not decrease the amount she spent on bills.

In fact, she spent pretty much the same amount on bills whether she lived alone or with her boyfriend.

Miki also noted that her boyfriend works away and is not home every other month.

So had he actually been home the entire time, her bills would have been even more costly.

Ultimately, she was shocked that her “expectations were all wrong.”

How Did Commenters Respond?

In the video’s comments section, many expressed negative sentiments about living with men.

“So even 50/50 still benefits them,” user Sunny wrote.

“Yup. they’re expensive pets of you want one,” another said.

“That’s why they love 50/50 because they know they use more than 50% of the material and emotional resources in a home so it’s a net positive for them!!” user CherriPit added.

Even some men were shocked by the findings.

“My woman’ll be moving in with me here shortly, god damn I guess I need to learn how to put all my shit into a spreadsheet. I don’t wanna do this to her lol, fuck dude,” user Hennessey commented.

@mikitothefuture thank you Kirsty for inspiring this statistical deep dive and spreadsheet sesh ?? always love me some fresh insights!! #5050 #relationship #finance #couple #spreadsheet @Kirsty Stewart ⭐️ ♬ original sound – Mikkerz

What Does The Data Say About Couples Moving In Together?

Finances certainly play a significant role in couples’ decisions to move in together.

A study released by Apartments.com found that about a quarter of couples moved in together within 6 months of dating.

33% of them reported they did so to save on the cost of rent.

A survey of 2,000 single adults conducted by the Kinsey Institute and DatingNews.com found that nearly one in four respondents would consider moving in with a romantic partner sooner than planned to ease financial pressures.

The trend was even more pronounced among Gen Z, with 38% saying rising inflation and the cost of living would push them to cohabitate earlier, potentially bypassing the traditional experience of living alone.

Interestingly, the same study also found that men are more likely to want to move in due to the economy than women (29% of men compared with 19% of women).

The Mary Sue reached out to Miki via TikTok direct message for comment.

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