- A new survey commissioned by Moneyboat has revealed the UK’s attitudes to splitting the bills
- The survey has discovered how Brits most commonly split their bills, the factors they think should influence how much people pay and if they think it’s fair to split bills equally if someone in the home earns more
- Moneyboat have also revealed their best tips on how to split the bills with those you live with to avoid arguments.
Bills, an unavoidable part of the rental or homeownership experience, can often be a source of frustration and confusion, especially when it comes to splitting them among family, friends, roommates, or partners.
How you split and pay your bills can sometimes come down to who you live with; children living with parents may not pay nothing at all, whilst couples may opt for an income-based split, and friends may split it evenly. Other factors, such as who does what around the home, or room sizes can also influence bill-sharing decisions.
Some residents may also determine bills by who does what around the home – or even if someone has a bigger (or smaller room). Moneyboat have recently ran a survey across 1,500 people in the UK to discover how Brits are splitting the bills, and how they feel about the amount they do pay,
37% of Brits split their bills equally.
When asked how Brits currently split their bills, it was found that 37% of respondents split the bills equally with those they live with – whilst 34% said that they pay all the bills.
Those who live with friends or housemates are most likely to split the bills evenly (68%), followed by splitting them based on each individuals outcome (14%). Those who live with a romantic partner are also more likely to split the bills dependent on outcome (40%) whilst 30% said that there was one individual in the home paying all the bills.
However, it was those who live with dependent family were the most likely (40%) to have one person in the household paying all the bills.
82% of Brits are happy with the amount they pay towards the bills
They survey revealed that 82% of Brits are happy with how much they pay towards the bills – however, more men (19%) feel they pay too much towards the bills than women (14%).
It was younger brits that felt like they’re paying too much towards the bills, with a third (33%) of 18–24-year-olds feeling this way, whilst it was Brits who lived friends or roommates that were most likely to feel like they were paying too much towards the bills (39%) compared to those who lived with a partner, or their parents.
Income is the most important factor to Brits when it comes to deciding how to split the bills
Sometimes, it isn’t as easy as splitting bills straight down the middle – and people might want their contribution towards the bills to be determined by factors such as their income, employment situation – or even the size of their room, or if they use a specific billed service.
| Do you think any of the following factors should determine how much a person should contribute towards bills? Select all that apply. | % of answers |
| Their income | 45% |
| Current personal employment situation | 38% |
| Current personal financial situation (not including their income) | 33% |
| Who is using the billed service (e.g. Sky, high-speed broadband etc.) | 18% |
| No, I don’t think any of these should determine how much a person contributes towards bills | 18% |
| Roles around the home (e.g. if one person does a lot of cleaning compared to others etc.) | 16% |
| The size of room they have | 14% |
| If the room has an en-suite | 8% |
| Other (please specify) | 1% |
Income (45%) and current employment situation (38%) were the most popular factors that Brits thought should be considered when determining how the bills should be split, followed by their personal financial situation (33%).
16% of Brits believe that roles around the home – such as doing more cleaning than others, should be taken into consideration, whilst 14% of Brits believe that the size of the room, they have should determine what is paid towards the bills.
Those who live with friends and roommates believe that personal employment situation to be the most important thing to determine (59%) whilst those who live with partners believe income to be the most important factor (42%). Those who live with dependents (49%) and those living with parents (55%) also believe that income is the most important.
52% of Brits believe it’s fair to split the bills evenly, even is someone does earn more money
52% of respondents said they thought it was fair to split the bills evenly if someone earns more money, with more men (58%) than women (47%). 18-24 years olds are most likely to think it’s unfair (30%) – whilst 55 to 64 year olds are most likely to think it’s fair (51%).
How to split the bills fairly in your home
Whoever you’re sharing your home with – whether it’s family, friends or a significant other, no matter how you’re splitting the bills, it’s best to sort it from the very beginning. Moneyboat have provided their top tips on how to make splitting bills less of a hassle.
- A bill splitting service is great if you’re living in a student house, or a home with lots of roommates – these services take all of the organisation off your hands, and you only have to pay one monthly payment each for every bill you owe
- Calculate your combined bills payments for the last three months and pay this total into a joint account – this is great if you live with a partner or friend, because at the end of the month, if there is money left over, you can treat yourselves to a takeaway!
- New couples may find it awkward to set up a joint account together, so having one person pay and the other send them direct debit payments could work out smoother.
- Differentiate between rent and utilities – you all likely share the utilities equally, but some people may have a larger room, or an ensuite bathroom, or they might have work while another housemate does not. All these factors add up to mean that rent splits should be equal to the benefits that people have.
For more information on the survey, you can find the full blog post here: https://www.moneyboat.co.uk/blog/do-brits-split-their-bills-fairly/
