To some students – if they’ve not lived away from home before – bills can come as a shock. (The electricity bill would be an electric shock, Push guesses.)

When you’re living out, the bills that are likely to come dropping through the door are as follows:

• Mobile phones
• Landline phone and internet
• TV Licence
• Gas, electricity and other fuel
• Water rates
• Furniture
• Other bills
• Money-saving tips: bills

From the start, make an arrangement with your housemates to avoid future tension. A good safety net is to make a different person responsible for each bill and divide the costs equally between you from there. This is far better than putting all the bills in one person’s name and leaving that poor sod to sort out all the payments. Especially if 'that poor sod' is you.

Another option is to open a joint account, which is basically a shared bank account for two or more people. Agree to each put in a certain amount of money each month and use it to pay the bills and any other shared expenses (toilet paper, party booze, you name it) that take your fancy. There’s usually a limit to how many people can get in on the account and how many of them can have debit cards etc. – check with the banks for more details. Probably only worth doing if you trust the people you’re living with, however – remember that a bank account is a big deal and it’s not worth getting financially tangled up with someone you’re not sure about. It’s also worth getting an account with no overdraft facility to stop any of your dear housemates racking up debts when your back is turned.

Assuming you do split the bills fairly, they’re likely to cost each person about £50 a month.

Mobile phones , Landline phone and internet ,  TV Licence , Gas, electricity and other fuel , Water rates , Furniture , Other bills , Money-saving tips: bills

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