How to Split Costs With Roommates

Living expenses are on the rise everywhere. This is especially frustrating in a place like NYC, where rising costs can keep you from enjoying everything the city has to offer. 

Fortunately, coliving offers an option that will help you significantly cut your monthly costs. Here are a few ways you can work with your roommates to save money for everyone in the rental.

How to Split Rent: Join a Coliving Situation

Learning how to split costs with roommates is a little easier when you enter a living situation that has been previously arranged. By finding coliving apartments, you can discover rooms to rent in NYC in any area that appeals to you. 

Since the rental is already set up for coliving, you’ll enter the situation with full transparency. The property manager will predetermine your share of the rent and security deposits.

There are plenty of advantages to joining an existing coliving situation. Often, the apartments have larger living spaces since more people will be present in the unit. Established coliving apartments are usually in convenient locations, keeping you close to subway stops and other attractions.

Set and Review a Monthly Budget

Before you decide how to share expenses with your roommates, you should arrange an actionable household budget. Make sure to list every expense. This includes your personal leisure expenses, such as the cup of coffee you buy at the cafe every morning. 

This will help you and your roommates determine a fair and accurate way of dividing the monthly expenses.

Assign a Utility to Each Roommate

When sharing living costs with roommates, creating a fair method will keep everyone happy. This can be a problem with services that vary in cost, such as the electric bill. 

A good way to keep things fair is to assign a utility to each roommate. If you have more roommates or higher living expenses, find alternative methods that keep the costs fair for everyone.

When a monthly cost is higher than expected, discuss the issue with everyone in the household. You might decide to pitch in equal shares to cover the additional cost. Alternatively, you can rotate the bills to ensure everyone pays a different bill each month. 

Furnish the Space Together

When discussing how to split costs with roommates, consider the possibility of sharing more than the monthly expenses. 

Share your furnishings, appliances, and other items with everyone in the unit. This can spare each roommate from having to buy items for the apartment. Considering the high cost of furniture and electronics, sharing your belongings can add up to big savings.

Buy Products in Bulk

Knowing how roommates lower your living expenses can help you improve your own financial situation. For example, a common solution is to buy cleaning products, paper products, and some groceries in bulk. 

Often, the per-unit price on items is lower when you buy the item in larger quantities. Look for bulk or discounted prices on items you can comfortably share with your roommates.

When grocery shopping, agree that each roommate will pay for their own personal items, such as deodorant. Other products should go onto a shared grocery list, with each roommate contributing equally to the final cost. 

Plan to buy larger product sizes even when you’re not buying bulk items. This will ensure there’s enough for every person in the rental. 

Prepare Communal Meals

In addition to saving money on rent, you can reduce monthly costs by sharing meals with your roommates. Start by deciding which nights everyone will dine in. Assign a different roommate to prepare a communal meal on each of those nights. 

In addition to having large meals that might last more than one night, you’ll get to experience meals from a variety of cultures.

Set Firm Boundaries

In learning how to split rent, keep in mind that financial setbacks will happen from time to time. Create a plan that addresses this situation. Set firm rules for each roommate to contribute their fair share. It can help to set a policy requiring each roommate to pay their own late fees and penalties.

Avoid falling into a habit of loaning money or covering another roommate’s expenses. Loaning money one time might be a kind thing to do, but it can also lead to a recurring situation. It’s better to stand firm and avoid entering an uncomfortable financial situation with your roommates.

Contribute to Shared Subscription Services

Many coliving apartments offer free Wi-Fi and cable. If your rent doesn’t include these services, consider sharing the costs of those subscriptions. There might be other subscriptions that you can share with your roommates. Split the costs of gym memberships, streaming services, and other services that everyone can use.

Understanding how to share expenses when it comes to transportation can also help you cut costs. If you have a personal vehicle, consider commuting together. If no one has a vehicle, use a ridesharing app when you and your roommates are traveling to the same area.

Set a Cleaning Schedule

It might be convenient to have a maid come into the unit and clean once a week. There are two ways you can deal with the added cost of this service. The first method is to have each roommate pitch in an equal amount to cover the cost of the cleaning service. You’ll still enjoy professional cleaning but pay a fraction of the cost.

The second method is to skip the professional cleaning and split the chores among your roommates. Assign a room to each roommate or agree that every roommate will have a turn to clean the entire apartment. This option helps you save on costs without putting the burden of cleaning on a single person.

How to Split Costs With Roommates: Communication Is the Key to Frugal Living

In addressing the costs in a coliving situation, never underestimate the value of communication. You might find that your roommates share similar concerns. If you want to cancel the cable subscription or add a new service, discuss it ahead of time. 

Your roommates might be willing to work the change of expenses into the monthly budget. You won’t know until you ask.