When you’re sharing a Branson apartment with a roommate, you will find yourself facing many things to compromise on. Who’s going to take out the garbage? Who’s going to clean the dishes? You may even experience a few disadvantages to living with a roommate – smaller space, limited amenities, lack of privacy, and so on. When it comes to sharing the bills, it can become tricky and may even become a point of argument with your roommates. To avoid disputes of how to pay the bills, you should figure out the amount each roommate should pay,  and discuss the specifics early on, so that no one is put out when the bills are due. Here are some  easy ways to split your Branson apartment  bills with your roommates.

Establish the amount of rent everyone will pay

Some Branson apartments have different sized rooms and have various amenities in every room. For instance, a bigger room may have a walk-in closet and a private bathroom. That room is worth more money than a smaller room with a shared bathroom. In this situation, it’s understandable that the one occupying a bigger room is the one to pay more of the rent.

Determine the amenities that the apartment has

If you find out that the apartment you intend to rent in Branson has amenities, such as cable, internet, housekeepers, or gardening service, it will all add into the amount of your monthly rent. Discussing these additional amenities upfront, helps eliminate any surprises. Based on these extra amenities, you can decide to share the total cost amongst everyone equally.

Get Organized

If you have a lot of friends and company visiting the apartment that you are sharing with roommates, things can easily get misplaced in the hustle and bustle. When you share a space with roommates, it’s a good idea for everyone to become responsible for their essential things. And when it comes to taking care of the paper bills or emailed statements, there should be one person to take charge and keep them organized, to ensure all payments are made on time.

Communication is Key

Whether you’re keeping your payment schedule on a paper calendar, on the refrigerator or in a shared Google calendar, it's a good idea for everyone to know what expenses are due and when. Mark your calendar with all house expenses that are due, and make sure to remind the person who has been designated in charge of making the payment.

Download the Apps

You can make your apartment life much easier if you download apps like Venmo, PayPal or Splitwise. You can pay your landlord with ease if he has a PayPal or Venmo account. You can also send money for free using these apps, directly into your roommates account, without having to wait for cash. These apps allow you to request payment from your roommates or to pay them. Plus, with these apps, you’ll have a digital record of whom you paid and who has paid you.

Some Expenses Should Be Separate

Separate some of your expenses like the groceries, for example, as they can be extremely tricky to split. Some roommates prefer to buy certain brands at certain stores, while others prefer to purchase frozen items to stock. Perhaps you like to buy groceries on one trip to stock up for a month, but your roommates prefer to purchase groceries daily. In this situation, you will see potential cost disparities which is why this is one of the expenses that ought to be kept separate. While it is reasonable to share a refrigerator, don’t share the expenses on groceries.



Create a roommate agreement

One of the easy ways to help split expenses with a roommate is to create a roommate agreement. It is in addition to the rental contract you both signed with your landlord. This agreement will ensure that all financial and housing responsibilities are laid out. This agreement will address how to split living costs with your roommates and the cost of materials needed for cleaning chores, parking, and garbage disposal.

Splitting the expenses with a roommate doesn’t have to be complicated. Having an agreement about sharing expenditures on rent, groceries, and cleaning materials will prevent future headaches about money. Having open communication and being honest with one another can help make both of you enjoy a pleasant living experience.