Starting out as a student at uni is incredibly exciting – new friends, new freedom, new city – but it can be a bit daunting, too. You’ve got to stand on your own two feet, and that means dealing with one of life’s more mundane realities… paying the bills.
Now the ‘Bank of Mum & Dad’ has no doubt sorted all that in the past, but if you’re not living in halls of residence and are renting privately, you’re likely to have to deal with utility providers and shared bills. Gas, electricity, water, broadband, phone and even TV licence – they don’t sort themselves.
So, here are our top tips to help simplify student bill splitting!
In an ideal world, you’d have unlimited heat, hot water, and the fastest broadband on the planet.
Unfortunately, to survive life as a student, you must make compromises and be careful with your money. That means budgeting. Not simply plucking figures from the air and making vague promises of keeping within a loose monthly budget. You’ll need to be incredibly disciplined to avoid financial trouble that can affect your future credit rating.
Work out what you can collectively afford each month and stick to it like superglue. It’s not easy, but being savvy and budget-conscious will allow you to spend elsewhere guilt-free.
Discover ten ways to save a tenner for more tips!
Don’t wait until you’ve moved in to set up your household bills. Some services, like broadband, can take weeks to set up. If you don’t act quickly, you might be spending the first few weeks in your new house rationing your phone data because there’s no WiFi!
It’s also a great idea to sort things out with your future housemates as soon as possible. Get everyone together for some drinks and discuss how you’ll tackle splitting the household bills. You want everyone to be on the same page about how to pay bills in a shared house – it’s just one strong way to get along!
People are different. Some of us prefer a quick shower, whereas others like a leisurely soak in the bath. If you end up paying for someone’s inability to turn the lights off, resentment can easily set in, especially when unexpectedly hefty bills arrive.
The unexpected bill is the enemy of budgeting. The other thing is that you can be as careful and consistent as you like, but if you’re on a tariff which isn’t fixed, then you’re also at the mercy of fluctuating energy prices.
If you know that you and your housemates aren’t going to remember to turn the lights and radiators off, consider opting for an uncapped energy package (subject to our Responsible Use Policy). That way, you shouldn’t have to worry about an over-usage bill.
Ensure you read through all your contracts thoroughly – you don’t want to incur any surprise extra charges!
Some companies charge installation fees or hike up your fees halfway through the contract. Check exactly what’s included and if there are any extra charges you’ll have to pay BEFORE you sign anything.
Split bill calculators or money-splitting apps are usually free to use. These can be a great tool to ensure all your housemates pay their share!
You can use these apps to request payment for group expenses, such as bills or even takeout. These apps will automatically work out who owes whom and how much.
Splitting bills can get confusing pretty quickly, especially if different people are in charge of different bills. An app will handle all the calculations for you and make it easy to see who’s in the red and who’s in the clear.
There are different ways of going about setting your bills up. You can sometimes find one housemate who’s confident enough and willing to set up and deal with multiple utility suppliers.
However, it’s best to share the responsibility. If you’re the main bill-payer, each housemate could create a standing order to pay one monthly utility bill from their bank account to yours – but this strategy comes with some downsides. As you’ll be relying on housemates to pay you their share, if they don’t pay you, or they don’t transfer you the money on time, you could find yourself constantly chasing them.
Alternatively, you can open a joint account between all of you. But this means you’ll risk all your housemates’ credit scores, and if one person doesn’t pay, it can have dire consequences for the entire house!
There must be a simpler and more straightforward way to do things…
Student life should be fun. You probably want to be out and about, enjoying student life with your mates. Getting to know your new surroundings. Chilling out. Clubbing. Getting in shape at the gym. Eating and enjoying the odd drink, or seven.
The last thing you need is to spend an afternoon trawling the web for the best electricity deal – or spend hours talking to customer service about getting your water sorted, only to end up on hold for the third time!
If you want to make sorting all your utility bills as easy as possible, check out Split the Bills.
Using a bill-splitting service can completely simplify household bills, giving you more time to focus on the more important stuff!
At Split the Bills, we do the hard work of setting up accounts and direct debits. You choose the services you want to be included in your package, including gas, electricity, water, and even your TV licence. The bills are split equally across all housemates, so you just need to pay one neat monthly bill, and each person pays directly from their own account. Best of all, we offer an unlimited energy plan, meaning you can budget with confidence.
If you want a hassle-free way to pay shared household bills, you can find out more about what we do or get in touch with our team!
If you want to explore different practical ways to make sorting all your utility bills as easy as possible in 2020, visit Split The Bills, or learn more about us below.
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