Should You and Your S.O. Get a Room…mate?

The sun rises over the East River, flooding Erin Chung’s cozy two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn with light. Peering into the refrigerator, Erin, 25, calls out to her boyfriend.

“Why do we have so many eggs?”

“I bought a carton. I thought we ran out,” Danny Randerson, 35, says as he comes up behind her and wraps his arms around her waist.

“Oops…so did I,” says Michelle, 30, entering the kitchen with her husband, Ryan, 31. That’s right: two couples, one apartment…and 36 eggs.

Weird as it sounds, for Erin and her man, this crowded living situation makes financial sense. “Danny and I are just trying to get by right now, and splitting our rent four ways really helps,” she says. They’re not the only ones buddying up: The latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that 20 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds are currently not living alone, with their parents, or solely with their partner; and the Current Population Survey reports that the number of unmarried and married couples living in another person’s home has risen since 2007. (Roomies!)

And in the art-imitating-life department: This January, HBO debuts Togetherness, a dra-medy about the travails of two couples living under one roof. Clearly, more pairs are loosening their privacy settings at home—but should you and your guy? Before you dismiss the idea, here’s why it could be a very smart move.

Should You Take a Roommate?
Assuming you and your guy are on the same page about where your union is headed—and you agree cutting costs could get you there sooner—then have at it, says Elaine O’Connell, L.C.S.W., a psychotherapist in New York City, who notes that shared living arrangements can work well for couples who have a low combined income and are open to short-term housing arrangements. “I see this in my practice a lot,” says O’Connell. “Often, couples are striving to save toward a goal like a vacation, a wedding, or a place of their own.” Concrete aspirations like these may help keep your joint objective front and center—and if your shared living quarters are less than ideal, at least you know there’s a light at the end of the lease agreement.

“When we started looking at engagement rings, we knew it was time to say good-bye to our roommate,” says Melissa Mangan, 33, who, until recently, shared an apartment in Chicago with her now-husband Jason Koschnitzke, 35, and a male roommate, 27. Okay—the sound of video-game machine guns blasting out from under his door was further incentive. But these roomie annoyances can prove to be a helpful push to reach your goal even faster. “[They] made us realize that we were ready to live together on our own, and factoring in his exit date motivated us to actively save up for the ring,” says Melissa.

Times when you should never (like, ever) consider a third wheel? If you’re looking to put off serious relationship talks, or if you think you and your partner have differing opinions when it comes to the future. That can lead to many problems down the line—arguments about money, communication breakdowns, and “a burning resentment that your needs aren’t being met,” says Wendy Walsh, Ph.D., a relationship expert and author of The 30-Day Love Detox. Give a stranger or two a front-row seat to this drama and you’re asking for one unhappy, awkward home life.

For more on the financial benefits of taking on a roommate and how to make this kind of arrangement work (read: house rules!), check out the January/February issue of Women’s Health, on newsstands now. 

More from Women’s Health:
The Number One Thing Couples Wish They Had Discussed BEFORE Moving in Together
8 Things No One Ever Tells You About What It’s Like to Move In with Your Partner
The Best Ages to Move in Together, Get Married, and Have Babies