Sharing is Caring

Savings potential: ~ $300-1000 per month, $3600-12000 per year

Time investment: lots of time saved through shared responsibilities, help and synergies 

Useful for: people new in town, people who want to build their social network (that should be everyone!)

This would be obvious if we lived in Japan where disposable space is a luxury and close to the most expensive status symbol you can pull off, especially in a city like Tokyo. But even in the vast US where space is abundant, rent can eat up a significant amount of your disposable funds (unless daddy handed you the keys to your condo - in that case, what are you doing here you lucky SOB?!) 

When strained for money you'd be crazy to live by yourself. It's the biggest money sink next to a car and food expenses. Instead of blowing away $600-2000 (depending on where you live it may be significantly more) each month, consider the advantages of having roommates:

• Rent gets split by the number of cohabitants
• Utilities, internet etc. get split
• Shared appliances mean you don’t need to tie down too much of your capital
• Due to the overall savings you can afford a bigger flat in a better neighborhood than you would alone
• Roommates can be friends and jumpstart your social network
• Roommates provide a variety of experiences thanks to different personalities and social circles
• You grow and become more social, even if you consider yourself to be an introverted person
• You learn how to deal with difficult situations, how to be a team player, and how to assert yourself
• You still have your own room and all the privacy you need

Overall I estimate the savings by living with roommates to be as high as 50% of what you would pay living by yourself, with a whole lot of additional benefits that are hard to put a number on. 

Sharing your flat is extremely common among young people and is becoming more normal for older adults, too. If you don't think so, you might want to consider moving in with your partner or significant other. But that's a different animal, and I wouldn’t jump the gun on that one. 

Also, moving back in with your parents can be a life saver - however, don't settle there for good. You need to harness outside energy to push you to new frontiers, and concerned parents who just want you to be happy might not give you the same stimulation as roomates-turned-friends could. 

If you really can't stand the thought of having someone else around your living quarters for most of the time, look into renting out your spare room, couch or camping spot on the internet on a day to day basis. 

If you don’t think you want to be a paid host, just invite couchsurfers to stay for free. Sound stupid? It's not, see my article on the benefits of couch surfing!

Sharing is caring and totally worth it. 

-Jimmy