Does your flatmate come attached to an annoyingly regular "guest" who cooks in your kitchen, lounges on your sofa and takes long, hot showers? If so, finance expert Ed McKnight has devised a solution. The Flat Guest Cost-O-Meter allows you to calculate exactly how much your flatmate's amore costs you, and to email your flatmate a (polite) invoice. He talks to 1News about how his calculator works and why Kiwis are so awkward about asking for money.
Your invention of the Cost-O-Meter feels like it might stem from a bad personal experience, does it?
When I moved to Auckland back in 2015 I ended up in a flat with people I didn’t know. Not long after I moved in, one of my female flatmates got a boyfriend. He would stay over ALL of the time. He’d shower at the house, do laundry, and cook in the kitchen. I distinctly remember how they'd cook this South American seafood stew and there would be fish heads lying on the chopping board.
And when money is tight (like it often is when you flat), you do think “is this person really paying their fair share?”
How does the Cost-O-Meter work?
You tell the calculator how many nights and weeks your flatmate’s "friend" has been staying over. And also some of the things they do, like washing, cooking, showers, and even if your hot water is gas or electric.
You can even add in a "petty tax". That helps lighten the mood, before you email an invoice to your flatmate.
It uses that level of detail because you don’t want your flatmate saying “but our water is gas, so that’s cheaper than electricity".
Or, “But we buy our groceries separately”. Because all of those potential “But what about?” questions have been included.
Awkwardness around asking for money occurs in many kinds of situations. Do you think that's a Kiwi trait?
We Kiwis are overly polite. We don’t want to be seen to be greedy or embarrass anyone.
That’s why when you catch up with friends, you often talk about “How do I bring up [insert sensitive topic here] with, Bruce?”
We often spend more time talking with others about how to bring up a sensitive topic than just bringing it up with the person in question.
But, while we struggle with awkward conversations, we Kiwis do have a wicked sense of humour.
Which is why when you use the Flat Guest Cost-o-Meter, you can send an invoice to your flatmate and choose a pre-set message. You might choose “love may be free. But hot water isn’t” or “the mathematics of love have been calculated! Your romantic retreat cost the flat $101.92”.
That helps break the ice. So I see the calculator as a conversation starter.
Sure, you can send an invoice to your flatmate. But, that’s more to break through the awkwardness and raise the issue, rather than actually asking to be paid that specific amount.
Money aside, what do you think some other considerations for those boyfriend/girlfriend flat "extras" might be?
It’s not just about the cost of charging your phone, or taking a shower. It’s the extra space the person takes up. So in the flat I mentioned before, there were five bedrooms, but the main living space was pretty small.
So if they’re having a romantic night watching a movie on the couch and I feel awkward being in there (so I stay in my room), am I really getting what I’m paying for? Which is the use of the whole house.
That’s one of the reasons why you'll often see that if a couple is sharing a room in a flat, they'll pay more per week for the room than if it was rented by one person.
So a couple might pay $340 a week for a room. Whereas, a single person might pay $290 for the same room.
Because while flats often divide up the rent on a “per room” basis, you’re not just renting the room, you get use of the whole house.
Do you think people underestimate the expense of spending the night at someone else's place?
I think people overestimate some costs and underestimate others.
I was raised to think “you never use the clothes dryer. It’s expensive.” It turns out that each time you use the dryer it costs about $1 an hour in summer and $1.50 in winter.
But before Chat GPT it was hard to figure out what the costs were. And so I got into arguments with my old flatmates about why they shouldn’t use it. (Sorry, not sorry).
Similarly, your flatmate's beau charging their phone at night costs barely anything. But showers, cooking and laundry can start to add up.
That’s what the calculator is for, to actually calculate that extra cost.
Ed McKnight is an Auckland-based economist and director at property investment platform Opes Partners. You can check out his Flat Guest Cost-O-Meter here.
This information is general in nature and should not be taken as personalised financial advice.
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