How to Manage Bills With a Roommate
Pick the right roommate., Discuss every aspect of managing bills., Write up a contract.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Pick the right roommate.
Size up your roommate carefully before you decide to share a home with him or her.
Whether this person is a close friend or a perfect stranger, you should have an open conversation with him or her to make sure that your goals and values align and that the person will be financially responsible, as well as an ideal roommate.
Try to live with someone who is gainfully employed and isn't going through a life crisis or career change.
This will not only be stressful for you to deal with, but it may make it harder to split bills with the person.
If the person is a student, make sure he won't use that as excuse for not paying his share.
When deciding on a potential roommate, look for subtle or overt warning signs, such as frequent tales about hoped-for money in the future, spending ages looking for a job and refusing to take work that the person thinks is "beneath" him, or a person who is financially dependent on his parents, or has been living on the charity of his parents long after he has reached adulthood.
Try to find a person who is in a similar financial situation as you.
If you make five times more money than that person, then he may make you feel guilty for wanting to split everything equally.
If you know the person or are beginning to spend time with the person, notice whether or not he or she is a mooch or a cheapskate.
Does he avoid paying for drinks or meals, and does he conveniently never bring cash to cash-only places, forcing you to pay? If so, this is a sign that this behavior will continue if you live together.
Find out why the person is looking for a roommate.
If you hear that the person was avoiding "roommate drama" with a former roommate, this may be a problem if the person — and his free-loading ways — was the source of the drama. -
Step 2: Discuss every aspect of managing bills.
Once you've found the perfect roommate, or if you already have a great person to live with, then you should discuss every little aspect of living together before you make an agreement.
This may feel tedious, but communicating about everything up front will help you avoid conflict and unforeseen problems in the future.
Here are some things to keep in mind and discuss:
Establish everything from personal space to every possible aspect of finances, including discussing payment expectations with respect to the rent, utilities, shared (or otherwise) groceries, and potential maintenance fees.
Discuss how you will go about splitting cable costs, if you will have cable.
Will both of you be watching TV and will you agree to split the costs? If you don't watch TV but your roommate will, then she can pay for it, but this may be unfair because you could inevitably get lured in to watching TV and may look like a mooch.
Discuss how you will pay the utilities.
Does one of you love to turn up the hot or cold air, while the other person never touches the temperature? If one of you is running up the electricity costs, then he should be willing to pay more.
If one of you will be working from home, for example, then that person will be using more of the utilities.
Decide what you will do about house guests, or visitors.
If your boyfriend will be around 50% of the time, how will he chip in? If your roommate's significant other spends all of his time at your place, it's not fair if he doesn't pay a cent.
Discuss your expectations in this arena.
If you've signed up to live with just one other person and don't want someone else always floating around, say so from the beginning.
Decide what you will do if one of you goes on vacation.
If you go away for one or two months over the summer, will you be expected to pay rent and utilities? Will you be able to find a subletter? Figure this out now because your future roommate may not want you to find another stranger to take your place for a while.
Decide what you will do if one of you moves out early.
If you're signing a yearly lease, but your roommate moves out two months early, will she have to pay her share, or force someone to take her place? , Once you've decided all of the important aspects of living together, you should write a clear contract that states everything you decided upon.
Once both of you signed it, you have agreed how to split things right from the beginning.
That way, if one of you fails to pay up, the agreement will be there to show that you've been remiss in your roommate duties.
This will also keep your roommate from denying to have agreed to anything.
It will all be simple because it will be in writing.
Here's what to include in your agreement:
How much rent each person will pay per month.
If you're sharing the place evenly, it should be split 50/50, but if you have a much bigger room, or more space overall, you can decide if you should pay more.
What you will do about the security deposit.
Will each of you pay half of it? This is ideal.
You don't want to get stuck paying the whole thing and then lose all of your money.
How much each person will pay for the utilities.
Who will pay the bills.
Will you pay all the bills, while your roommate pays you her share? Will one of you be responsible for the utilities, while the other is responsible for the rent? What you will do if one roommate fails to pay.
Is there a forgiveness period of a few days, or will there be a small fee if your roommate can't pay on time? If your roommate repeatedly fails to pay, will you have the right to kick her out? If labor is part of the rent share, be specific about what tasks and hours count as part or all of the rent share.
It's possible for a high-income labor mooch to completely take advantage of a low-income roommate paying way under minimum wage for hours comparable to a full time job plus overtime.
Check the salary per hour for a professional doing those tasks and work out a schedule before entering the arrangement. -
Step 3: Write up a contract.
Detailed Guide
Size up your roommate carefully before you decide to share a home with him or her.
Whether this person is a close friend or a perfect stranger, you should have an open conversation with him or her to make sure that your goals and values align and that the person will be financially responsible, as well as an ideal roommate.
Try to live with someone who is gainfully employed and isn't going through a life crisis or career change.
This will not only be stressful for you to deal with, but it may make it harder to split bills with the person.
If the person is a student, make sure he won't use that as excuse for not paying his share.
When deciding on a potential roommate, look for subtle or overt warning signs, such as frequent tales about hoped-for money in the future, spending ages looking for a job and refusing to take work that the person thinks is "beneath" him, or a person who is financially dependent on his parents, or has been living on the charity of his parents long after he has reached adulthood.
Try to find a person who is in a similar financial situation as you.
If you make five times more money than that person, then he may make you feel guilty for wanting to split everything equally.
If you know the person or are beginning to spend time with the person, notice whether or not he or she is a mooch or a cheapskate.
Does he avoid paying for drinks or meals, and does he conveniently never bring cash to cash-only places, forcing you to pay? If so, this is a sign that this behavior will continue if you live together.
Find out why the person is looking for a roommate.
If you hear that the person was avoiding "roommate drama" with a former roommate, this may be a problem if the person — and his free-loading ways — was the source of the drama.
Once you've found the perfect roommate, or if you already have a great person to live with, then you should discuss every little aspect of living together before you make an agreement.
This may feel tedious, but communicating about everything up front will help you avoid conflict and unforeseen problems in the future.
Here are some things to keep in mind and discuss:
Establish everything from personal space to every possible aspect of finances, including discussing payment expectations with respect to the rent, utilities, shared (or otherwise) groceries, and potential maintenance fees.
Discuss how you will go about splitting cable costs, if you will have cable.
Will both of you be watching TV and will you agree to split the costs? If you don't watch TV but your roommate will, then she can pay for it, but this may be unfair because you could inevitably get lured in to watching TV and may look like a mooch.
Discuss how you will pay the utilities.
Does one of you love to turn up the hot or cold air, while the other person never touches the temperature? If one of you is running up the electricity costs, then he should be willing to pay more.
If one of you will be working from home, for example, then that person will be using more of the utilities.
Decide what you will do about house guests, or visitors.
If your boyfriend will be around 50% of the time, how will he chip in? If your roommate's significant other spends all of his time at your place, it's not fair if he doesn't pay a cent.
Discuss your expectations in this arena.
If you've signed up to live with just one other person and don't want someone else always floating around, say so from the beginning.
Decide what you will do if one of you goes on vacation.
If you go away for one or two months over the summer, will you be expected to pay rent and utilities? Will you be able to find a subletter? Figure this out now because your future roommate may not want you to find another stranger to take your place for a while.
Decide what you will do if one of you moves out early.
If you're signing a yearly lease, but your roommate moves out two months early, will she have to pay her share, or force someone to take her place? , Once you've decided all of the important aspects of living together, you should write a clear contract that states everything you decided upon.
Once both of you signed it, you have agreed how to split things right from the beginning.
That way, if one of you fails to pay up, the agreement will be there to show that you've been remiss in your roommate duties.
This will also keep your roommate from denying to have agreed to anything.
It will all be simple because it will be in writing.
Here's what to include in your agreement:
How much rent each person will pay per month.
If you're sharing the place evenly, it should be split 50/50, but if you have a much bigger room, or more space overall, you can decide if you should pay more.
What you will do about the security deposit.
Will each of you pay half of it? This is ideal.
You don't want to get stuck paying the whole thing and then lose all of your money.
How much each person will pay for the utilities.
Who will pay the bills.
Will you pay all the bills, while your roommate pays you her share? Will one of you be responsible for the utilities, while the other is responsible for the rent? What you will do if one roommate fails to pay.
Is there a forgiveness period of a few days, or will there be a small fee if your roommate can't pay on time? If your roommate repeatedly fails to pay, will you have the right to kick her out? If labor is part of the rent share, be specific about what tasks and hours count as part or all of the rent share.
It's possible for a high-income labor mooch to completely take advantage of a low-income roommate paying way under minimum wage for hours comparable to a full time job plus overtime.
Check the salary per hour for a professional doing those tasks and work out a schedule before entering the arrangement.
About the Author
Jack Stone
Writer and educator with a focus on practical DIY projects knowledge.
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