The bills are due today.
You reminded your roommates about the due date over a week ago, but they still haven’t coughed up their share of the cash. And this isn’t the first time either. Last month it took over 2 weeks for you to get all the rent money back, and they only paid you after you asked over a million times.
It’s just not fair.
You can’t keep talking all the responsibility for the bills. It’s obviously not fair that all of the money comes out of your pocket first. What will happen if they forget (or decide not) to pay you back one month. You can’t keep putting the money down and waiting for them to get around to paying you back.
-Make them Aware of the Money Issue
If you haven’t already, you need to address the situation directly. Your roommates probably think that you don’t care that they’re paying you a few days late. (Ok, so it’s actually a few weeks. What does an extra day or two matter?) You must clarify the situation. You have to explain to them that it’s not working for you, or else they might never realize something is wrong.
-Create a Visual Reminder
Your roommates need to know that they are accountable for their share of the rent. They need to know that someone is keeping track of how much money has been paid and how much money they owe. So create a shared Google document to keep track of the bills and each roommate’s payments or start using a website like billmonk.com, which makes it easy to keep track of every nickel and dime that’s exchanged hands between you and your roommates.
-Check on their Situation
Is there a reason you’re roommates can’t pay you by the first of the month? Are they waiting on a paycheck or something? Talk to your roommates and find out. You may be able to adjust the due date to a day when your roommates will have the funds available.
-Contact the Landlord
If your roommates continue to delay paying you, you may have to shift the responsibility. Let them know that you will contact the landlord and change the payment method so that you all have to individually pay your own portion of the rent. That way you won’t be responsible for anything but your own portion of the rent payment.
Image: Fabulous and Frugal
