Splitting Bills with Roommates
One benefit of having a roommate is the ability to rent a large space and share responsibilities like rent, cooking and cleaning. But what do you do when challenges that involve money come in? Splitting bills with roommates can be a sketchy process but finding the best way to do it can surely help.
Spitting bills can be a source of conflict between roommates, especially if one person is trying to avoid paying their part of the bill. Splitting bills without antagonizing someone can be difficult.
To help you maintain peace with your roommate, here’s how to split the bills.
Pick roommates wisely
Because you want to live with someone who will pay their share of bills comfortably, it is important to choose your roommates carefully. Conduct a thorough roommate screening and if possible, check their credit scores to determine their ability to pay bills.
Establish rules and guidelines
Sit down with you roommate and work out some ground rules that will guide you on how to split the rules. Make sure you discuss and agree on what expenses you will be sharing as wells the ones you will be footing individually. You can agree to keep some purchases such as furniture, electronics or groceries separate.
Establish the cost
Create a spreadsheet highlighting the amount you and your roommate will pay for every expense. Put in details such as the due dates, the amount owed and person responsible for paying. This ensures that everyone knows what is expected of them so they can make arrangements to pay early enough.
Use apps
You can rely on bills splitting apps to help you split bills of large expenses such as rent and utilities. These apps allow you to request roommates to send money from debit accounts by letting them know when the money is due. Some apps even let roommates track bills, tally who paid and send reminders so you’re never late.