There’s so much freedom that comes with living away from home, but there’s also a lot of responsibilities. Managing expenses, food, and household tasks can be tricky, especially if you have to coordinate with other people, but it doesn’t have to be a big stress. Here are some tips and tricks for managing money and other responsibilities in a share house.
Shared vs individual expenses
A crucial first step is to clearly establish what expenses are expected to be shared and what expenses are expected to be yours alone. Examples of the former are rent, power, water, and gas and the latter might include food and internet.
You’ll also need to establish how you’re going to share the expenses, and whether it’s a fixed amount (e.g. $150/week rent, $20/month power) or a fixed proportion (e.g. 25% of power bill). A fixed proportion can sometimes mean that you could be paying for the excess water or power that your roommate uses, so make sure you agree on a plan that works for both. Ultimately, it’s up to you and your roommates to decide how you are going to split expenses, based on each person’s needs.
Learn More: How to be a Great Housemate
Managing expenses in a share house
Keeping track of expenses is also an important part of living with roommates. If you or your roommates are struggling with tracking and splitting up the bills or getting them paid on time, consider using Osko by BPAY, which allows you to send and receive money in under a minute. Osko payments are available inside your internet or online banking app. Using an online bill payment system like BPAY makes it super easy to pay bills securely. You can even schedule payments* so you don’t have to stress about payment due dates.
It’s also good to set up a budget. Managing your money and splitting the bills are a lot easier when you can keep track of all your expenses. Make sure you set aside a little bit of money for emergencies. If something does happen, you don’t want to have to dip into the money you usually spend on rent and bills.
Managing groceries in a share house
Deciding whether you want to split groceries and other household items really depend on you and your roommates. Before committing you could start a roster for getting weekly “essential” groceries with a view to split the bill for necessary items. Buying other, non-essential items, is really up to personal preference. If you keep having to buy the cereal that you don’t like, but your roommate does, then maybe suggest another way of splitting up the groceries. Apps like Our Groceries help you and your housemates keep track of who is buying what groceries. They also let you share lists, so you always know what your roommates are getting at the shops.
Managing chores in a share house
Everyone living in a share house should contribute to the upkeep of the house. Make sure to decide what chores you need to do, and what everyone’s views and expectations of a clean house are. You may also need to decide what chores to do daily, weekly, or monthly, and who needs to do them. Our Home, while technically made for kids, is a great app for listing the chores you need to do and keeping track of who has completed them. It’s also a good idea to decide if communal areas of your house (eg. kitchen, living room) are to be cleaned as a group or by the person on the roster. Regardless, make sure to clean up any mess you have made in a communal area; it will not only keep your roommates happy but keep the house running smoothly.
With BPAY you can pay your bills from the comfort of your home all within your secure online or mobile banking. BPAY, Australia’s way to bill pay.
® Registered to BPAY Pty Ltd (ABN 69 079 137 518). The BPAY Scheme is managed by BPAY Pty Ltd. When you use BPAY payment products the BPAY Scheme is paid fees relating to processing costs and BPAY Scheme membership. Contact your financial institution to see if it offers BPAY payment products and to get the Product Disclosure Statement. Any financial product advice provided by BPAY Pty Ltd is general advice only and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on such advice, you should review the Product Disclosure Statement and consider whether BPAY payment products are appropriate for your personal circumstances.
*Scheduled payments are subject to systems and funds availability.
^BPAY is accessible anywhere and anytime you have access to your online, mobile or phone banking.
