My roommates would rather pay 4x more for household items than just pay me back.
By @maeactually · Money
I buy all our shared stuff (toilet paper, soap, paper towels) in bulk to save us all money. They complain about the upfront cost and are now buying their own single items for way more, leaving me stuck with the bill.
The full story
ok idk if i’m being dramatic but this is driving me insane. there are four of us living in an off-campus apartment this year. i'm the only one with a car and my parents got me a costco membership, so i offered to be the one to do the shopping for all our shared household stuff. a big 30-pack of toilet paper is like $25, vs the campus market which sells single rolls for like $3. you do the math. same with paper towels, dish soap, hand soap, trash bags, all of it. for the first month, it was fine. i'd go, get everything, upload the receipt to splitwise, and everyone would pay their $20-$30. easy. but for the last two months, two of my roommates have been being so weird about it. they'll let the request sit there for weeks and when i bring it up they're like "omg sorry i'm so broke rn" but i see them getting starbucks every day so??? the worst one, my roommate 'A', told me last week that she just can't afford to pay for things in bulk upfront. she said from now on, she's just going to buy her own stuff. i was like, okay kinda weird but whatever. then i come home yesterday and the shared toilet paper is gone from the bathroom, and in its place is a single, sad, ridiculously expensive roll from the campus store. she had taken the shared pack that i bought and put it in her room. and then this morning, she literally took her roll of toilet paper out of the bathroom and brought it back to her room, so when i went to go use the bathroom there was just.... nothing. i tried talking to her, saying this is inefficient and super awkward. her response was that it's her money and she feels more comfortable buying one roll at a time when she needs it. now my other roommate is starting to do it too. am i the crazy one here? i feel like i'm being punished for trying to make our lives easier and cheaper. we're going to have four different sets of cleaning supplies and four personal toilet paper rolls hidden in our rooms. this feels like a prison show. what do i even do?
How people voted
- OP Is Right — 31% (24 votes)
- Both Messy — 41% (32 votes)
- OP Is Wrong — 28% (22 votes)
Readers are split: “Both Messy” leads with 41% — 78 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@jettyy — toilet paper prison show is so funny let them do it
@quinnyy — A hand shake and cash in hand is the only way to do business with people you live with.
@remysorta — This is so real, my last roommate used my laundry detergent that I bought and then tried to charge me for using her 'premium' Brita filter.
@paigeok2 — I would take all the stuff YOU bought and lock it in your room. See how they like having absolutely nothing when they need it.
@rose — You are not the crazy one here. You were trying to be thoughtful and practical, and your roommates are being childish.
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