Splitting it down the middle

Barbara

Whether in a dorm room, apartment, or house, it's likely you'll be sharing space with someone when you head back to school. And when you're sharing space, you're also sharing expenses.

Chances are that you have some type of relationship with your roommate, and to make sure you are still on speaking terms after living together, it's best to have a financial plan for your shared expenses. Some people even go so far as to put it in writing through a roommate contract .

Here are some things to think about as you plan for shared costs:

• What's in whose name? (I feel like Abbott and Costello .) Try to get as many of your roommates' names on each of the bills (especially the lease). This way each of you is equally liable for the cost. For those bills that you can't put in multiple names, distribute the responsibility among your roommates so each person's name is on the line for something. This will help each person build a good payment history as well.

• How will you split costs? Decide whether you're going to split equally or based on usage and space. Does the person with the biggest bedroom have to pay more? Is the person who doesn't watch cable still responsible for paying part of that bill?

• What about bigger items? For big ticket items, like furniture, try to have each person contribute something that will be theirs to take when you part ways. If everyone went in on a couch, it'd be hard to split that 3 or 4 ways!

• What about the things everyone uses? When it comes to shared household items like light bulbs and paper towels, many roommates set up a schedule to rotate when each roommate buys something. Of course, you have to be conscious of whether or not it's an item that is used more by certain roommates. For example some grocery items, like milk, may not be consumed in equal quantities.

• When — and how — will bills get paid? Develop a routine for paying your bills. Put them in a specific place or have a message center with your roommates so you can see what bills are coming up and who you owe money to. Are you planning to write checks? Pay with electronic transfers? Use cash? Figure it out before the bills start coming in.

• How will you deal with financial conflicts? Be sure to consider possibilities of conflict about financial responsibilities. Is it OK for one roommate's significant other to do laundry at the house? Does that person become responsible for more of the utility bills?

Anyone out there have advice on splitting costs with roommates?