What the workshop covers
A clear overview of every topic, tool, and output included in both sessions.
Building the monthly budget
The first session is entirely focused on numbers. You work through every category of household spending and produce a draft monthly budget based on real Croatian prices.
Rent and utilities
Reference prices for rental apartments in Zagreb and other Croatian cities. Electricity, gas, water, internet, and building maintenance fees. How to account for seasonal variation in utility costs.
- Zagreb rental market price ranges
- Utility cost estimation by apartment size
- HEP, Gradska plinara, water utility references
Groceries, eating out, and daily costs
Monthly food budget estimation for two people. Difference between cooking at home and eating out in Zagreb. Coffee, lunch, and incidental daily spending that often goes untracked.
- Supermarket vs. market cost comparison
- Realistic eating-out budget for Zagreb
- Tracking small daily expenses
Car costs, fuel, and public transport
Monthly fuel cost estimation based on Zagreb commute patterns. ZET monthly pass pricing. Car insurance, registration, and maintenance as monthly averages. Parking in Zagreb.
- Fuel cost estimation by distance
- ZET pass and occasional transport costs
- Car ownership monthly cost breakdown
Credit repayments and recurring costs
How to include existing loan repayments in the shared budget. Phone plans, streaming services, gym memberships, and other recurring monthly costs that are easy to overlook when adding them all up.
- Stambeni kredit and consumer loan repayment lines
- Subscription audit: what are you actually paying for?
- Emergency buffer line in the budget
Setting financial ground rules
The second session takes the budget you've built and turns it into a set of agreements. Who pays what. How the shared account works. What stays personal. How to revisit the rules.
Splitting costs: three common models
50/50 split, proportional split based on income, and the hybrid model where some costs are shared and others remain personal. Each model has different implications and works better for different couples.
The shared account question
Whether to use a joint account, separate accounts with transfers, or a shared expense app. The workshop covers the practical differences and helps each couple decide what fits their situation.
Personal financial autonomy
Deciding what each partner keeps fully personal and why that matters. Financial independence within a shared household is a topic many couples skip over and later wish they hadn't.
How to talk about money without arguing
A simple framework for raising financial topics constructively. When to have the conversation, how to frame it, and what to do when you don't agree. This is the part couples often find most useful.
What you take away from the workshop
Completed monthly budget
A realistic monthly budget for your specific household, built with real Croatian prices. Not a template, not an estimate. Your numbers, your categories, reviewed and adjusted over two sessions.
Written financial agreements
A simple written document capturing the household financial rules you've agreed on. Who pays what, how the shared money flows, what stays personal. Something you can refer back to when questions come up.
A process for revisiting both
A simple method for reviewing the budget and the rules when your situation changes. Income changes, moving to a bigger apartment, a new loan. The process applies regardless of what changes.
The workshop covers shared household budgeting and financial communication. It does not include investment advice, tax guidance, debt counselling, or any other area requiring professional financial licensing. Insight Flows is a group educational workshop, not a financial advisory service.
Register for the next available group
Send us a message to find out when the next session runs and how to reserve a spot for you and your partner.
Group educational workshop. No individual financial advice.