Roomate problems

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I 100% second “house rules”, even (especially?) in a dorm room situation. As an RA, I asked my residents to fill out roommate contracts during orientation. It seems uncomfortable when you’re first meeting someone, or you may be tempted to assume you and your friend are on the same page, but you’ll be thanking yourself when it gets you out of awkward situations later on. You can probably find a template online that includes things you may not even anticipate running into—the one I used had everything from sharing food/clothes/shampoo to overnight guests to drinking in the room to music/lights at night.
 
piii said:
lol why is that? Are you also upset that women and men get to apply for the same jobs and take the same classes together?
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No because culturally men should not be in the house of women because it increases the likelihood of premarital sex.
 
SmallyBells said:
I live with 3 other roommates, all of which have girlfriends, and I do not. I'm taking a full course load and working full time to pay rent, and am the only person in the apartment that actually pays their own rent, opposed to their parents.

Since the beginning of the school year, one of my roommates gf has stayed there literally every night. She has her own apt on campus, pays about 800/mo in tuition to live on campus, but stays with her bf in our apt. Another roommate's gf stays there about 4-5 nights a week, and has her own apartment off campus. Both use our shower/kitchen/bathroom etc, but do not chip in for rent.

I've confronted both about changing the way we pay rent, but they dismissed the idea. I do understand that they pay their own bills, but at some level, I'm paying for them to use our shower, kitchen, bathroom, etc, but my roommates made it seem unreasonable to charge them to stay.

Am I off-basis here? If I stayed > 5 nights at someone else's apt, I would try to supply some kind of compensation, whether its food, money, etc. How would you approach this? Is it worth confrontation?
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Logic doesn’t matter in this situation. They won’t change their ways. I agree with you that their parasitic girlfriends should be chipping in their share.

Your only option is to move out. That’s what I would do. Not worth the b/s. Sorry, bro.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
The military spends $10 a day per Sailor to feed us, and the food is terrible. I have no idea what kind of food you’re eating for dollar a day.
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It would be hard to get down to $1/day, but you can eat on very little money. Cheap carbohydrates like potatoes and pasta, eggs in bulk, less "choice" meat like liver and so forth, there have been a handful of weeks where I probably eat at around $2-3/day. It's not fun or sustainable long run but it's possible.
 
bananafish94 said:
It would be hard to get down to $1/day, but you can eat on very little money. Cheap carbohydrates like potatoes and pasta, eggs in bulk, less "choice" meat like liver and so forth, there have been a handful of weeks where I probably eat at around $2-3/day. It's not fun or sustainable long run but it's possible.
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I can see 2/3 dollars if you buy things in bulk and cook but $1???
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
The military spends $10 a day per Sailor to feed us, and the food is terrible. I have no idea what kind of food you’re eating for dollar a day.
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sb247 said:
Tasty tasty lies
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I usually only eat one meal a day.

Decided to actually calculate for giggles.

My dinners consist of:
2 pb+j sandwiches: Loaf of bread - 89c. Jar of peanut butter - $2.50. Jar of jelly - $1.50. 20 slices per loaf, 2 slices per sandwich = 8.9c of bread per sandwich. Pb and jelly usually lasts ~ 2 loafs = 20c per sandwich. Total sandwich cost = 28.9c x2 = $0.58

Pasta: bag of pasta - $1. Jar of marinara/alfredo - $1.20. Usually use half the bag per meal, sauce lasts whole bag = $1.10 per meal.

Fried rice: 3 lb bag of rice - $1.75. Have soy sauce/salt that doesnt run out for a while, so wont be factored in. Eggs - 70 c per dozen. 1 cup serving of rice + 2 eggs per meal = 29c per meal + random veggies on sale/roommates leftovers that they don't eat = ~ 1 dollar

If I'm still hungry, I eat Ramen (sometimes with leftover marinara lol) which comes out to 10c. I also get 1 free meal at work, so ~3 free meals per week.
 
Seems like $30 does alleviate OP's financial burdens. I normally would never think choosing $$ over peace/friendship/healthy relationship is a worthy thing to do, but under extraneous life conditions, you gatta do what you gotta do. Getting into an awkward discussion/confrontation with roommate(s) is probably worth it in this particular situation. Plz be strategic in your approach tho OP, b/c you don't want to completely ruin your friendship and make enemies.
 
OP you need to decide if asking for $30/month is worth it for friendship/hostility at home.

But should you decide to ask for a 6 way split, ask in a way that focuses on "I" statements (I am having financial difficulties and $30 a month would make a big difference) and avoid "you" statements (Your parents pay). Because otherwise it is pretty easy to come off as someone who is bitter about financial situations, relationship status, etc...
 
mscandy said:
I normally would never think choosing $$ over peace/friendship/healthy relationship is a worthy thing to do, but under extraneous life conditions, you gatta do what you gotta do.
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You sound like every villain in a Disney Movie.
 
SmallyBells said:
I usually only eat one meal a day.

Decided to actually calculate for giggles.

My dinners consist of:
2 pb+j sandwiches: Loaf of bread - 89c. Jar of peanut butter - $2.50. Jar of jelly - $1.50. 20 slices per loaf, 2 slices per sandwich = 8.9c of bread per sandwich. Pb and jelly usually lasts ~ 2 loafs = 20c per sandwich. Total sandwich cost = 28.9c x2 = $0.58

Pasta: bag of pasta - $1. Jar of marinara/alfredo - $1.20. Usually use half the bag per meal, sauce lasts whole bag = $1.10 per meal.

Fried rice: 3 lb bag of rice - $1.75. Have soy sauce/salt that doesnt run out for a while, so wont be factored in. Eggs - 70 c per dozen. 1 cup serving of rice + 2 eggs per meal = 29c per meal + random veggies on sale/roommates leftovers that they don't eat = ~ 1 dollar

If I'm still hungry, I eat Ramen (sometimes with leftover marinara lol) which comes out to 10c. I also get 1 free meal at work, so ~3 free meals per week.
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Asking for that $30, can double the number of meals you have, you should ask for it and kindly let them know your eating situation. Eating one meal a day sounds like it will come back and hunt you down the road
 
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