![]() ![]() (There are numerous ways to do this, from old-fashioned cash to Venmo, Square, PayPal, Google Wallet, and the like.) Decide up front what will happen if a bill isn’t paid on time and a late fee is assessed. If that doesn’t happen, the bill payer has essentially made a loan, for free, to her deadbeat roommate. Once one of you has paid a bill, the other needs to fork over her share ASAP. Otherwise, the Internet bill could sit around unopened until your service is cut off. You should only consider buying wants once the needs items have been covered.įor each recurring expense, you need to designate one of you to be the “point person” who will pay that bill. ![]() Items that go under the wants column include HBO Now (yes, you can survive without this), any furnishings for the living room/kitchen that aren’t strictly necessary (like that life-size Yoda statue, or an espresso machine with all the bells and whistles). If you’re sharing an apartment, you’ll have a monthly rent payment as well as utility bills (electricity, heating or gas, Internet, etc.), and you’ll need to buy practical items like a shower curtain and a frying pan. If you’re in college and living on campus, you may decide that a dorm fridge, a fan, a couch, and a rug for the common area are must-haves. It’s important to present this as something the two of you are doing together, rather than a Mafia-style shakedown involving crowbars and kneecaps.įirst off, you and your roommate need to figure out what things you need to pay for, and what things would just be nice to have. Something as simple as, “Hey, when’s a good time for us to sit down and figure out how to pay our bills?” can work. To introduce the topic, be casual but direct. (“Just a friendly reminder: Tom’s of Maine cost me five bucks a tube.”) And chances are, your roommate is wondering how to bring up the subject himself. Keeping it to yourself gives resentment a chance to start festering, and pretty soon you’re pulling passive-aggressive stunts like taping your drugstore receipts to the medicine cabinet. But here’s the thing: If you’re living with someone else, you have to talk finances to keep the relationship healthy. Talking to a roommate? You may be thinking, “No way!” You’d rather write three term papers in one night. Talking money with your parents is tough enough. | Friends & Colleagues How do I talk to my roommate about sharing expenses? ![]()
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