Finances
Arriving at Member Contributions
As a household, we have a relatively fixed set of expenses each month: rent, groceries, & utilities. Each member contributes towards that total in accordance with their financial capacity.
The goal is for each member’s total contributions (rent+utilities+food) is to be one recurring monthly payment to a shared house bank account. This process of one bulk payment removes a lot of the overhead of tracking expenses (ie. nobody has to venmo request 6 different people each time they go grocery shopping).
How to think about a monthly total contribution:
Step 1: Let’s take an example house. Sam, Ash, Logan, and Robin are our example Swampers. Their collective rent is $4,000 a month. The four swampers sit around and discuss how much they each are able to contribute to the $4,000 rent on a consistent basis as a recurring, sustainable payment. They agree on the following numbers:
| Expenses | Rent |
|---|---|
| Sam | $1,400 |
| Ash | $1,000 |
| Logan | $1,000 |
| Robin | $600 |
| House Total | $4,000 |
Step 2: Next, they sit down and figure out what their non-rent costs will be. They estimate $400 a month for utilities (internet, gas, electricity, etc). They also estimate $400 will be spent on groceries.
Rather than dividing these expenses evenly between each member, we have decided to share the expense in the same percentage share as rent payments to maintain the socialized cost-sharing structure. That looks something like this:
| Expenses | Rent | ➡️ | % Share | ➡️ | Groceries | Utilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam | $1,400 | ➡️ | 35% | ➡️ | $140 | $140 |
| Ash | $1,000 | ➡️ | 25% | ➡️ | $100 | $100 |
| Logan | $1,000 | ➡️ | 25% | ➡️ | $100 | $100 |
| Robin | $600 | ➡️ | 15% | ➡️ | $60 | $60 |
| House Total | $4,000 | ➡️ | 100% | ➡️ | $400 | $400 |
Step 3: Check that each person’s total contribution is still within their means. If not, re-evaluate.
| Expenses | Rent | Groceries | Utilities | Individual Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam | $1,400 | $140 | $140 | $1,680 |
| Ash | $1,000 | $100 | $100 | $1,200 |
| Logan | $1,000 | $100 | $100 | $1,200 |
| Robin | $600 | $60 | $60 | $720 |
| House Total | $4,000 | $400 | $400 | $4,800 |
If yes, now each house member can make one recurring monthly payment which will cover all their living expenses within the community.
How do I make my monthly contributions?
Once the process above is completed and you know how much you will be paying into the house coffers on a monthly basis, you can do so via one of two methods. Whichever method you choose, be sure to make an entry recording it into Splitwise:
- Zelle your contribution to howebenhowe@gmail.com This is the email account linked to the share house bank account, out of which bills are paid
- Check deposit. You can write a good old check, and deposit it directly to the Santander account. You can do so by logging into the account directly on your personal device (password is in the house Bitwarden account) or by using the house iPad which is usually in the Library.
House Accounting
How does money get spent out of this share house bank account?
It is different for different expenses:
- For rent, we pay directly via an online portal (currently responsibility of the Accounting Wizard™️)
- For utility bills we pay directly online (currently responsibility of the Bill Monster™️)
- For groceries, the house credit card is automatically paid off via this account each month
I spent money on the house, in addition to my monthly contribution. How do I get credit?
Receipt stack! Write your initials on the receipt and put it atop the receipt stack. The receipt stack is processed every month (okay, every two okay three months) by the person currently in the Accounting Wizard™️ house role and recorded onto splitwise
Splitwise: How is all of this tracked?
Splitwise! You will only ever need to interact with Splitwise when you make your monthly contributions. Exceptions are community members with specific roles (bill-payer, rent-payer, Accounting Wizard™️).
How to log your monthly contribution:
- Go to Splitwise.com. if you’re not set up on there, please reach out to Accounting Wizard™️
- To record your contribution:
- “Add an Expense”
- With you and “Swamp D.”
- [Enter Description] -> “[Your Name] Fed the Dog”
- [$] -> Enter your contribution amount
- Paid By -> [you]
and split - click on “equally”. Unclick the check mark next to your own name
- Set the date to match the date of the transaction
- ‘Save’
- See the below screenshot for an example of what this looks like
