Polyamory for the Practical

Practical Poly Issues

Handling Money in the Family: an alternative to the "common pot"
Poly families are an exercise in communal living, as many of us come to learn. Rather than reinvent the wheel, we would do well to take a few cues from intentional communities and people who have experience in group living arrangements. With this in mind, check out Catya Belfer-Shevett's article and what she's learned from years of living in her own intentional community.

Protecting Marriage
Marriage is a sacred union, and needs protection, right? Well, let's see what the Goddess of Giggle has to say on the subject!

No, we don't have more time
Step out of the Ivory Tower of Poly Theory and into my home.   A poly household does not automatically give you more free time just because there are more hands to do the chores.  

Poly Power Shopping
This article is not necessarily unique to poly families, though they do have a great benefit.   This is something that is good for monogamous people, too.   It's a basic outline of how we save money and time at OLQ by limiting shopping to once a month.

Property Sharing Contract
I recently found out that you can, indeed, write up a property sharing contract that will be enforced in a court of law.   You don't have to mention your relationship status or anything.   This article shows a sample wording and explains it.

Polyamory and Homeschooling
I know this is not going to be applicable to all poly families, but for those of you who do, here are some various articles on homeschooling and such.

Polyamory and economic velocity
A freak can be rich.   So why not your family?

Dealing with the Press
The PolyFamilies email list got into a discussion about an offer to one of its members to appear on a talk show.   A wonderful and sensible woman offered this advice -- based on her experience.   Do read it!

Drawbacks of Polyamory
Polyamory is not all wine and roses.   It has a great deal of advantages, but there are some serious disadvantages.   Please read this, so you will get a heads up.

Finding a House for the Poly Family
We had a bear of a time finding a place for all of us to live.   It's nerve-wracking and I hope this article will spare you at least some of our troubles.

Questionnaire for Cohabitation
Here's a great questionnaire to determine how you're all going to get along together while living in the same house.   It's a wonderful way to bring up issues and nip problems in the bud before they become really bad issues later on.   In fact, I would say that this would even be a good idea for monogamous couples planning to live together to fill out and discuss.   Thanks to Kai Laughing Wolf for allowing us to use this on OLQ.

Keep a Clean House
This is just a chore chart with a link to a great housekeeping site.   I do think that the mundane running of a house can contribute to the togetherness or separation of a family.   This is the method we use for keeping such things from becoming fights.

Budgeting and Poly Family Finance
While Marriage is made in Heaven, the bills must be paid on Earth.   Here are some money management ideas that might help your poly marriage become the support system a marriage should be.

Polyamory and How to Have the Legal Benefits of Marriage
Marriage as an institution is not only an emotional contract, but an economic and social one.   However, in the US, we are fortunate.   Here are some ideas about how to handle inheritance and medical care issues.




What does marriage actually mean?
A disucssion of what it means to be married, what the institution was intended to provide and what questions you should ask yourself before getting married.

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