This money habit could make you happier in your relationship

The unfortunate truth about money and relationships — what we make, how we much we have stashed, and how we decide to spend it — can create power imbalances, which is one reason that many couples opt to keep separate bank accounts. If you’ve been on the fence about merging bank accounts with your boo, though, there’s some good news: Doing so could actually be good for your relationship and your overall happiness, according to a new study.

Researchers at Cornell pulled data from more than 38,000 people across six different studies and came to the conclusion that fusing finances led to “higher levels of satisfaction, harmony and commitment” in serious relationships and marriages, per EurekAlert. It also found that couples who merged bank accounts were less likely to break up. The researchers evaluated these relationships through the lens of Interdependence Theory, which is a framework that focuses on how decisions and interactions between people affect their behavior. Combining finances was especially good for low-income couples, who had less to lose and more to gain from doing so, per the study.

This shouldn’t be entirely surprising to anyone who has moved into a one bedroom apartment with a partner and saw their quality of life shoot up. But sharing space isn’t the same as keeping all your money in one place — more and more married couples have opted to keep their money separate, which can be a way of setting healthy boundaries and politely telling your partner to mind their business. For many people, it’s also a way of holding on to that last shred of autonomy, per The Atlantic. Even though having separate bank accounts is getting more common, it’s still fascinating how sharing can actually help couples feel closer to each other.

At the end of the day, everyone’s financial situation is different and in a country where gas prices are getting too damn high and rent ain’t getting cheaper either, affording anything as a single person in America is getting close to impossible. If I had a boo that I trusted, I’d be merging my bank account with them in a heartbeat. Essentially if you’re single, now is the time to shoot your shot.