This piece is part of my 2016–2026 archive migration. Some original formatting, content, and external links may be missing, changed, or not be optimized.
Living With Someone Could Be Your Financial Detriment If You’re Not Careful
If you can decrease your living expenses, you can increase your investments.
However, realistically, people are looking for a discount and putting that extra money they could save into entertainment or non-essential expenditures that don’t provide much value.
When you live with someone, you almost forget what it’s like to live alone.
You forget what rent 1-person rent costs, you forget what unsplit groceries costs, you forget what 1-person subscriptions costs, you forget what 1-person utilities costs, and you forget how a 1-person budget works. You forget that you should need to be saving for retirement and your financial future, so you don’t have to live with someone forever in the first place – unless you want to, of course. You might even forget how to manage your finances if you’ve been dependent on the person or people you live with to manage the operations of your household.
Living with people can be financially debilitating – especially if one person manages the household budget; this puts you at a disadvantage because you’re not making any financial decisions, which means you’re not exercising your personal finance muscles, which can lead to ignorance and lack of preparation.
7 Actions To Take With Your Money If You’re Not Solo
Create and manage your budget. This is the best way to manage your money and ensure you never spend more than you bring in.
Stay actively involved with the household expenses. Even if someone else handles most of the money, stick with them when they’re paying bills or buying things for the household. Stay enlightened and 100% aware of how your household finances are being managed.
Know exactly how much money you’re spending each month. Keep track of what you spend by automating the documentation of your transactions or manually entering them in your budget app or spreadsheet.
Build your emergency fund. Always be prepared in case you lose your job or have an unexpected expense. You don’t want to be a bum roommate that has to ask their roommate(s) to cover their portion for the month, and if you live alone, you’re sh*t out of luck. Who can you turn to? What you turn to should be your emergency fund.
Practice consistent and long-term investing. Find a way to live off 75% or less of your income, and invest the rest.
What would be your plan if you had to find your own place tomorrow and support yourself 100%? Have the answer and detailed plan. You never want to be stuck living somewhere because you don’t have the resources to make a move.
Whatever amount of money you’re saving by living with someone (or others), put that extra money away in investments so that you can accelerate your savings rate. Most people spend the money they save by living with people. Instead of doing what most people do, be an outlier. It will get you closer to financial independence at an expedited rate.
This content is for informational purposes only — not professional advice. Consult a qualified professional before making any major decisions.