My spouse and I are mid-30s and buying our first home together. Given the high rates of mortgages, we thought we'd do a cash deal. We can do this because I've got a small wad of cash because I profitably bought and sold a few homes, and I never had student loan debt. My spouse doesn't have nearly as much saved up, in part because they had to pay off loans. We're childless by choice and have our own bank accounts but contribute equally to a joint account we use for all household expenses.

I'm going to put in about 90 percent of the money for the purchase price while she puts in 10 percent. We'll be co-owners on the deed, but I want to draft an ownership agreement ensuring that if and when we sell, for whatever reason, we each take out what we put in. We'll split any profit above recouping the purchase price 50-50.

My spouse has not liked any of this, saying that my approach feels mercenary and cold-blooded. I've responded that I'm just trying to protect my nest egg, and that I'd invest the money somewhere else if they don't like the structure of this, giving us the option of taking out an expensive mortgage or renting. I just don't want to put in 90 percent of the money to get 50 percent of the proceeds if we sell because of a divorce or for any other reason.

Other couples may have similar fights over pre-nups, but we're post-nup, and this has been one of our first big conflicts over money.