The complete flatmate expense checklist (15 shared costs, ranked)

Moving into a shared flat for the first time, most people have a rough idea of what gets split: rent, electricity, maybe groceries. Then month two arrives with a gas cylinder renewal, a broken door latch repair, a society maintenance bill, and a conversation nobody planned for.

Here's every shared expense you're likely to encounter, what the standard split is, and where the arguments usually start.

The fixed monthly costs (always split, usually equally)

1. Rent Split by room size or equally, depending on room quality. Agree on this before moving in. Never revisit it mid-tenancy unless someone moves out.

2. Society maintenance This one's fixed per flat. Split equally, no debate needed. Set it as a recurring expense in your Barabar circle so it doesn't get forgotten.

3. WiFi Fixed monthly cost. Split equally. If one person works from home and uses significantly more bandwidth, a 60/40 split is reasonable but you have to agree on it upfront.

4. Gas cylinder ₹900-1000 per cylinder in most cities. Split equally. Whoever books it adds it to the circle. Simple.

5. Maid/housekeeping Always split equally. No one person benefits more from a clean house than another.

6. Cook (if applicable) Same as maid. Split equally.

The variable monthly costs (the ones that cause fights)

7. Electricity This is the one that gets complicated. Equal split is the default, but it breaks down if one person works from home and runs the AC six hours a day while another is barely home.

Options:

• Equal split and accept the minor unfairness
• Add a 15-20% "power user premium" for whoever uses significantly more. Has to be agreed upfront.
• Install a smart plug on the AC unit if you want to be precise. Most people don't want to be that precise.

8. Water/piped gas bills Usually small. Split equally.

9. Groceries This is where "everything splits equally" falls apart fast.

If you're buying and cooking together, split equally. If everyone buys their own food independently, don't share this at all. The messy middle is when some things are communal (oil, spices, rice) and some are personal (yogurt, specific snacks).

The cleanest approach: communal pantry staples split equally, personal items paid individually. Use a Barabar circle for the communal list and keep personal groceries separate.

10. Cleaning supplies Soap, detergent, trash bags, toilet paper. These are communal. Equal split. Don't calculate who uses more toilet paper. Please.

The irregular costs (the ones people forget to track)

11. Repairs and maintenance Light bulbs, a broken latch, a leaking tap. If it's a common area, split equally. If it's inside one person's room, they pay for it.

12. Pest control Comes up once or twice a year. Split equally.

13. Society events or parking fees If there's a fixed additional charge per resident, split equally.

14. OTT subscriptions (Netflix, Prime, etc.) This is a personal call. If everyone watches, everyone splits. If one person never uses it, they shouldn't be paying for it.

The right move: whoever pays adds it to the Barabar circle. Everyone who uses it is on the split. Takes 15 seconds.

15. Furniture and appliances (one-time purchases) If you're buying a shared item; a fridge, a washing machine, a dining table. Decide at the time of purchase how you're splitting it and what happens when someone moves out.

Most common approach: split the cost equally, and whoever leaves takes their proportional value (or the remaining flatmates buy them out). Write this down somewhere. A WhatsApp note is fine. Just don't leave it entirely verbal.

The setup that saves most of the headaches

Create a single Barabar circle for the flat. Everyone in the flat is in it.

Every shared expense goes in as it happens. Rent on the 1st. Maid on the 5th. Grocery run when you do the grocery run. Electricity when the bill arrives.

On the 1st of the next month, everyone opens the app, hits "Settle Up," pays via UPI, and that's it.

The circle shows everyone's running balance. Nobody has to ask "am I even?" Nobody has to compile a list of who paid what. The app does all of that.

What you're really building is a shared financial record that everyone can see. Transparency removes the suspicion that someone is getting a better deal, and it removes the cognitive load of tracking everything mentally.

Set it up in the first week. You'll stop thinking about it after that.