When you first move out of the family home and decide to get a place of your own it can be quite a shock to realize just how much it costs to run a household. It could be more financially prudent of you if you share the accommodation with some friends instead of struggling on your own.

The thing to consider before actually doing this is whether or not your friends are as nice to live with as they are to hang about with.

If you do go ahead with asking friends to move in then you really should set up some rules of the house so that everybody knows what is and is not acceptable behavior in the house.

For example it is okay for somebody to live like a slob and leave things in a mess as long as it is only in their own room. Any part of the house that is shared by everybody must be cleaned up within a certain time frame.

This is more important when it comes to the bathroom as people do not want to use a bathroom with somebody else’s mess in it. The fairest way to sort this out would be for everybody in the house to go on a roster and each take their turns at cleaning.

The only other time that you lived with somebody else was when you were at home so some changes will have to be made on both sides. It may not be acceptable to others in the house for you to play your music all night long as it may disturb the others in the house.

The same applies to other people’s property. When you were at home you would just borrow things without asking. Doing this in shared accommodation with friends could lead to arguments. Nobody likes to sit down and make rules but it may save a lot of falling out in the long run.

When you are sharing the household it is everybody’s responsibility to pay their way so do not be frightened of discussing the finances with your housemates.

Trust is essential to living together and if you put one person in charge of paying the bills then you need to know that they will indeed pay them and not use the money for their own ends.

See more works created by this author covering things like utility cart wheels and static cling window decals.

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