Making It Work

The practical and personal side

Financial calculators can tell you if the numbers work. These guides help you work out if everything else does — and what to do at every stage, from the first conversation to the hard ones.

Is it right for us?The honest checklist — the questions to answer before the finances even matter.Read →How to raise the conversationWhoever goes first risks being misread. How families open the topic without closing it.Read →Setting boundaries that holdDoors, meals, childcare, money edges — and the boring monthly habit that keeps small frictions small.Read →Privacy by designThe five physical features — entrances, bathrooms, kitchenettes, acoustics, neutral ground — that make sharing work.Read →The one-off costs nobody budgets forCombining households costs $15,000–$50,000 / £12,000–£40,000 before any construction. What to budget and who pays.Read →Rent it out, or move family in?Rent is a visible number; family benefits are costs that quietly stop happening. Comparing them honestly.Read →Selling two homes to buy oneA three-way timing problem. Transaction costs, the three sequencing options, and what to agree before listing.Read →Mortgages for buying togetherJoint mortgages, joint-borrower-sole-proprietor, guarantor and older-borrower products — and their risks.Read →When a parent starts to need careProximity is not a care plan. The conversations, paperwork and funding questions to settle early.Read →Inheritance and sibling fairnessWhen a parent pools wealth with one child, siblings notice. Structuring it so it's fair — and visibly fair.Read →When it isn't workingWarning signs, structured repair — and how to unwind without burning the family down.Read →