Moving into your new student house is stressful enough; sorting out whose room is whose, making your four walls look vaguely less prison-like, and learning how on earth the old ‘90s washing machine works. To top off the pressure, you’ll have your student energy bills at the end of the month to sort out. It’s a student’s absolute nightmare. Make sure you know exactly what to do when this time comes – it may save a lot of unnecessary tears.
There are two possibilities when it comes to renting student houses, bills will either be included with the rent or not. If you find yourself in the latter category, then you will have to get used to the domestic chore of bill splitting.
Don’t be scared to share household bills
It’s a tenuous and stressful process making sure that everyone has paid for their fair share, but student energy bills aren’t as costly as you might think. You are in charge of how much energy you burn through and you won’t be paying for more than you use (as you end up doing when you have bills included with your rent).
Delegate someone for bill splitting
Get someone reliable in your house to play accountant. Make a spreadsheet together that they can use, and then each month they’ll tell you how much you owe. This is often the easiest way to avoid those arguments that become all too common when you share household bills. However, you’ll need to have the right person to do the job if you want it to work well.
Try to avoid those arguments
It’s a natural part of living together – you’ll always end up disagreeing with something. But make sure it’s not because of something silly like your student energy bills. If you think someone is using too much water, then tell them directly and straight away; don’t leave it to fester.
Try to budget a little
Some will inevitably have more student loan than others, so make sure you’re using the correct amount of energy for everyone to be able to pay. Don’t be the person who leaves the heating on 24/7 when you share household bills – someone might not be able to afford it.
Save time and stay friends by getting packaged student energy bills
As Glide does for you, packaging your bills together will make the whole process much easier, it’s just like having bills included with the rent, but you’re still in control with how much you pay and use.
Bill splitting doesn’t have to be as stressful as it might seem. Make sure you keep on top with who is doing and paying what and you’ll notice that it’s much cheaper and easier to share household bills than what you originally thought.