How to Manage Expenses in Your Flatshare

So you’ve found a room for rent and people to live with. As you settle into your new home, one of the most important things to figure out is how you will manage finances with your flatmates.

In order to answer this question, Roomgo has teamed up with Splittable, a free app that lets you track and split expenses in a shared home.

Following these 3 tips can help you achieve a financially happy flatshare:

1. Strong communication between flatmates.

Similar to texting your mom when you make it home safely after a long trip, strong communication with your roommates about household finances can save you a lot of heartache in the future. When you begin your flatshare is the best time to make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to your houses expenses.

The most important topics to discuss are:

Rent

Best questions to ask:

How much does each person need to pay and when is it due?
Who will you be paying your portion of the rent to?
How would this person like to receive the money?As the largest household expense, it is important that it is clear how rent payments will be managed. In many flatshares everyone in the flat sends their portion of the rent to one flatmate who then sends the monthly rent to the landlord. Make sure you know what day the rent is due so that you do not risk any late payment fees.

Bills

Best questions to ask:

Are you bills managed individually or by the landlord?
How are going to manage the bills in your flatshare?

Does one person manage all of the bills or do you split them up?From utilities, Council Tax to Internet, bills make up the second largest expense in the home. It is important to know who is responsible for paying what bill so that you never have to experience the lights going out in the middle of the shower – or worse, no Wi-Fi on the same day the latest Game of Thrones episode is released!

Groceries/Other small household items

Best question to ask:

Will your flatshare be sharing groceries or will everyone be buying items separately?
What items are communal and what items can you not touch?
What will you do about cleaning supplies etc?Knowing what items are communal and which ones will be paid separately is essential to maintaining a happy flatshare. For some people- everything in the fridge is up for grabs while in other settings if you so much as touch their milk you risk a full on flatmate blowup. Similar problems can be said for who is contributing to buying communal items such as toilet paper or sponges.

2. Track who is spending money on household expenses.

Keeping track of who is spending what on items for the house is one of the best ways to prevent arguments. With a strong tracking system in place, everyone in the flatshare can be confident that expenses are being tracked and split in a fair manner.The easiest way to track and split household costs is through downloading a free app that helps you track and split your household costs. An app like Splittable can be used when living with flatmates to keep track of who is spending what for household items. Through this kind of tool, each flatmate can clearly enter both individual and recurring household costs and indicate how they would like them to be split between their flat mates. For people living in the UK, you can even send to your flatmates directly through the app instead of doing a bank transfer.

Alternatively you can also track household spending through creating a shared excel document between the people you live with. Other options include a household kitty where everyone contributes £10 per month for communal expenses or a running tally on a piece of paper by the fridge.

3. Settle up & pay it forward on household expenses

The final step in managing household finances is paying back your flatmates. When large items like rent or Council Tax are due, make sure you pay your housemates back for them in a quick and orderly manner.

Don’t make your flatmate have to repeatedly ask for your portion of the utility bill.For smaller items thinking in the ‘pay it forward’ mentality can keep everyone happy. If your flatmate bought last weeks toilet paper, you could buy this weeks new sponges and dish soap.

Following these three tips can make a big difference for you having a financially happy flatshare. When you don’t want have to worry about household finances you can eliminate that awkward money tension between with the people you live with. When you have your finances under control- you can then focus on other aspects of shared living like communal flatmate dinners or hosting your own party.