Roommates: How Can We Share Some Common Expenses?

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If your roommate's a little loud late at night, you might learn to get used to the chatter. If she's sloppy, you might learn to look past the heaps of dirty laundry. If he has some friends you're not wild about, you might plan to visit the library while the buddies hang around.

But if your roommate won't pay his share of the phone bill, or eats three quarters of the food you've paid for, it's another matter. In college, being out $20 is no small deal. To make it up, you might have to work the better part of an afternoon stocking shelves, making lattes, or working the cash register. When roommates mismanage shared expenses, one of them pays for it with her own precious time.

Anisa Mohanty (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, ) offers blunt advice on avoiding these food fights: "Don't eat more than your half!"

Students take different approaches to food expenses, but they all have the same goal"keeping it fair. Below are three typical strategies:

• Each buys his own food and never touches the other's. The good part about this is that it eliminates squabbles over money. The downside is that it's not the ideal living arrangement. You share a tiny space; you should be able to share some essentials, such as a can of soda or some cookies, without stepping on each other's toes.
• Shop together, splitting the bill, and sharing the food. This might be the best arrangement, because you'll both talk things out as you shop and adjust your purchases accordingly. If you put a six-pack of Dr Pepper in the shopping cart and your roommate says "That's my favorite!" you'll know to pick up another and split the cost. This arrangement forces you to discuss what you want and what you eat before a misunderstanding occurs.
• Shop separately and share the food within reason. This might be the most common choice, because it's not always easy to line up your schedules and shop together. And rather than heading to a supermarket every week or two, each of you might be more inclined to stop at a convenience store on campus when you need to. If one person buys food for both of you one week, be sure the other understands it's her turn to return the favor next time.

Kristina Ihlenfeldt (Clemson University), favors the third option. "Figure out what you both use, and trade off buying it whenever it runs out," she says. "Make sure you use it equally so one person doesn't always end up using twice as much as the other."

One student, who's a member of American University's class of 2007, suggests planning purchases with your roommate. "One can buy some things; the other can buy other stuff. If schedules don't allow for shopping together, make a list together of common items and agree to split the bill. We did a lot of this and it worked out really well."