Living in a Share House.

A perforated Penny Red with letters in four corners and plate 148, therefore printed 1871 or later. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Before I was married I spent many years sharing accommodation with many people in many places.  Some of this was a nightmare but most of it was great.
The nightmarish bits were usually attributed to unpaid bills and squabbles over the financials of the house.

It was at this point that I decided to get pro-active with my housemates and make some adjustments that were fair to everyone and that were open and transparent and so there was a less likelihood of the funds being used for the wrong purpose to which they were deemed.

In those days we did not have all of the agencies we have today. There was no help offered from government either. 

To avoid household dramas I researched payment methods and found that I could pay my household utilities with postage stamps.   This was a joy to find.  I dutifully collected a few dollars change from each member of the household for these stamps.  The stamps were stuck into a stamp book and were seen as legal tender and therefore could be used to pay bills with.  I would present the stamps to the retailer who would stamp them with a rubber stamp and pay the bill.

The utilities were not the expense they are today, if anything they were seen as a very very minor expense to the household.   This is far different today where the utilities costs to a house can render the family into financial ruin.   Families choose between electricity / gas  or food.  This is how serious it has become.

A share house today then is a serious situation to embark upon and it needs to be sorted who is paying for what at the onset of the agreement to avoid the pitfalls that can ruin lives financially speaking.

Centrepay is offered by Centrelink to help those who are on benefits and if there are people who are sharing your house on benefits they can use Centrepay to help contribute fairly and consistently to the household utility expenses and eliminating the issue that can cause problems amongst housemates.

Living in a share house  (from EWON)

When you open an account in your name, you take responsibility for all future bills. If the account is in more than one name, each person can be held responsible. If you are living in share accommodation, make sure the account holder details are kept up-to-date. You should ensure that everyone in your household agrees on who will be responsible for paying the bills.

Images @ Eminpee Fotography