(I liked your article btw. Sorry I didn't say that up front before) Not that weird, my wife and I keep some things in separate accounts and other things in joi

(I liked your article btw. Sorry I didn't say that up front before) Not that weird, my wife and I keep some things in separate accounts and other things in joint. My point was that without knowing the ratios, knowing your numbers doesn't really answer the original question except in the most literal sense of "what does it cost you to live there?" If your share of the living expenses are, say 1500eur and your wife's are, say 1000eur, then why not just say "2500"? In my opinion, when $friend asks me "How much does it cost to live in New York?" What they are really asking is either "How much would it cost $friend to live there" or "What are the comparative costs against some baseline, e.g. {$friend}'s home area"