What's the best way to deal with bills?
Answers:
the best way to make sure ALL the bills get paid on time is this:
Now that you know what your monthly bills are estimated to be, be sure and add the totals up and deduct that amount from your paycheck, before you do anything! Do not do any kind of shopping until you make sure your expenses are covered first.
AS far as your roommate goes - share the estimate and require that they do the exact same thing!
"Listen_______, now that we are living on our own ,we need to take this seriously otherwise, we could get into a bad situation here. I plan to deduct our rent and bills out of my paychecks each month before I do anything.I hope you do the same thing too. I really like being here with you, so lets make sure we take care of our priorities first...agreed"
Set up a calendar that both of you can see, and each month when the bills come in, write the amounts due on their respective due dates - that way, it will be a constant reminder of your obligation.
Other that that, you will just need to trust that you and your roommate will be responsible enough not go out an impulse buy stuff that could put you ability to pay these bills in jeopardy.
Good luck!
Here's what you do. At the start of each month make a prioritized list of all your expenses for the next few weeks. Your dollars go to the highest priority item first and then down the list. This guarantees that you won't be going out to the movies with electricity money or something like that. As to your roommate... I hope you got a good one so that the two of you can sit down and work through this process together. It will be an excellent practice to establish now and it just could make you a millionaire someday!
One thing to do, if you get paid twice a month or more frequently is to spread your bills out according to your pay schedule. So if you make say $500 every two weeks don't stack up all your bills on the first of the month so you have to pay out maybe $800. This just gets you in trouble because you have to plan out saving money for two weeks. It's best and easiest if you split your bills to say $400 on the first and $400 on the fifteenth that way you know you'll always have money to pay all your bills right off.
To make sure your roomate pays you just have to trust her to do so. But, just in case get everything in writing and keep records. Get her to sign whatever you agree too, split the bills or whatever and keep all your bills and copies of her checks or atleast a reciept for her payments. This way if she ever doesn't pay the bills you can always take it into small claims court to collect what she rightfully owes you.
I like to have my utility bills automatically debited from my checking account every month because that way I don't have to think about them. But you do have to be sure you'll have the money available when they debit your account.
Regarding your roommate: You should make a schedule of the approximate due dates of all your shared bills each month (gas, electric, phone, cable, etc.). Each bill will always be due at approximately the same time every month.
Let your roommate know you'll need her half of the bills at least a week before they're due and that you'll let her know her share as soon as the bill arrives so she can budget appropriately. If several bills are due around the same time each month, you could set up a date once or twice a month on which she'll pay you. If you set up a good schedule, there should be no misunderstandings.
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