Getting a roommate is a great way to make the cost of living in Chicago apartments much more affordable. This prospect, however, does come with a big need to settle some things in advance. One of the biggest concerns often lies in figuring out how best to split or at least share expenses.
There are a number of different ways to handle the bill split. Making sure the rules of the road are established in advance is just plain smart to ensure problems don’t crop up down the road. Some of the finer points to agree upon include:
Who will pay bills?
It is important to establish right away who will pay the bills out of their checking account. The other roommate can provide his or her share of funding before a due date for the electric bill, for example. Some roommates select one person to handle it all; others divvy up the bills with each person taking responsibility for one or two.
Which bills should be split or divvied up?
It is wise look closely at all the bills that come into a Chicago apartment and determine which ones are worthy of a split and which ones are not. Telephone, electric, water and rent, of course, should likely be spit to some degree. Making a roommate who doesn’t have Internet access in a room pay for the service wouldn’t be fair.
How will bills be split?
In some cases, roommates choose to split everything fifty-fifty. If one roommate has a much larger proportion of a Chicago apartment than another, a prorated amount might be in order. Talk this out carefully and agree upon the split for different bills. For a great way to split up the bills and keep track of who owes who, try using a site like Billmonk.com. It’s a free, hassle-free way to divvy up bills and hold roommates to deadlines.
Keeping Track of Due Dates
It’s not a bad idea to set aside a few minutes once or twice a month to go over bills, their due dates and the amounts expected from each roommate. This can help ensure that all bills get paid on time and that no one living in an apartment gets stiffed for the entire expense. This is also a great time to talk about money saving ideas to keep utility expenses reasonable. It might be that learning to keep the thermostat set to a certain temperature would save everyone involved a bundle.
Having a roommate is an excellent way to make the cost of living in Chicago apartments more manageable. To make sure that problems do not arise down the road, it is best for roommates to carefully consider all the bills, discuss arrangements, create a plan and stick with it. The more clear the agreement happens to be, the less likely it is disputes will arise.
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