Dealing with Housemates
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Moving House: Housemates
Housemates. You either love them or you hate them. No, hate is a strong word. You either
love them or put up with them. I have had my fair share of housemates and to be honest, I
have been very lucky. Some of my previous housemates are now my best friends. I have also
had housemates from hell. This article will help you navigate the ways of the difficult
housemate and help prevent conflict.
House Accounts
If you and your friends or new strangers are moving into a house together it is a great idea to
set up a house account. This is a current account that can be set up by one person in the
house and there should be no additional set up cost. Make sure to account for monthly fees
when making a monthly budget.
Some utility companies reduce their prices for people who pay by direct debit. And with all
your house funds in one place, it will make it so much easier to make payment. It can also be
handy when you are paying your landlord in one full payment.
Budgeting
You may ask, that sounds great but how are we to figure out how much we should put into
the account each month? Payments for rent and T
V/Internet are fixed from month to month.
Divide all fixed price bills out between all housemates. It is also important to budget for bank
fees. This should be no more than a couple of euro per person per month .
The most difficult bill to divide is the electricity and gas bill as this can vary depending on the
time of year. You can ask your provider for a monthly estimate over the phone. If the average
bill is €100 per month, for a household of 4 people, each person should put in €35 per month.
This is an overpayment of €10 per month and will accumulate in the house account. When
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the winter hits and you the electricity bill is more than it is in the summer, there will be
enough to pay the bill.
Avoiding ganging up mentality
When there is a group of people living in a house and one person is either not pulling their
weight or rubbing other housemates up the wrong way, it can be easy to fall into the us and
them routine. We are all guilty of this routine in one form or another. I would like to think that
a lot of us try our best not to give into it. It is difficult to avoid when you are living with
someone that annoys you and you need to get something off your chest.
To combat this, try to talk to your housemate and have a conversation about what is
annoying you. This can lead to one of two outcomes. They either consider your problems and
work towards resolving them. Or it may create conflict between you. For many, confronting
someone you live with can be scary and daunting because we always assume that the worst
outcome will happen. There is also the worry that if the worst does happen, that you will,
literally, have to live with the consequences. But think about this: your relationship with this
person is already having a negative effect so why not try and work through it? Unless your
housemate is an awful human being and does not have any consideration for anyone else,
the conversation cannot make the situation any worse.
Be aware that the person may also have issues with you. If they do, listen carefully and see
what you can change. Try to be clear about what you are willing to change. Sometimes you
may need to ask yourself if you are the problem and if you can solve the problem yourself
before confronting someone else.
Considering others feelings and space
For the most part, housemates are people that we just live with. Great friendships can be
established. At other times you may pass each other in the hallway like strangers in the night.
Either way, try to be considerate of others people's feelings and privacy. Previous housemates
have let themselves into my room in the middle of the night for a chat or have assumed they
could carpool with me. I would like to state that I am a very caring person. I will help anyone
that needs it and if you need a hand moving into a new place give me a shout. But I have
Link to Original Content: https://rebeccahhammond.com/2018/11/08/moving-house-housemates/
lived with people before who have assumed too much of me. This has made me feel taken
advantage of. This doesn’t feed well into your relationship as housemates.
You don’t have to be a psychologist to read a situation. Take a second to consider other
people's' feelings. It will help the overall feeling of the house and your relationships with your
housemates.
This article may sound like living with other people is difficult. You do learn more by living
people than you do by living on your own. That is, of course, unless they are banging down
your door in the middle of the night. In which case, it may be worth considering moving out.
Check out the moving house guide for more!
Photo Credit: Alexis Brown