I move in to my dorm in a little over two weeks (18 days!) and I’m struggling to navigate shared items with my roommate. We’ve only spoken once and while we both expressed interest in getting a fridge, we haven’t actually discussed logistics (payment) and the deadline order a rental is Sunday. The cost of the rental is $150, which is not bad at all, but I’d prefer to the split the cost since we’ll both be using it. I don’t, however, want to put her in an awkward position or automatically assume she cover the cost. How can I bring this up?
How about an email or text along the lines of
Hi Kate!
I just realized that the fridge ordering deadline is tomorrow. I’m guessing we should share it? Have you already put down a deposit, or do you want me to do it?
I like the above suggestion about the e-mail or text. What we did because I think splitting cost can be a hassle is my d is paying for the fridge rental, her roommate will pay for another shared item(s). It might not work out to be an even split but each one has different wants. My D is not a big coffee drinker but her roommate is bringing a Keurig and my D will use it to heat water for tea. So in the end, things should balance out or be close.
$150 rental for fridge sounds like a lot. Probably not a bad idea to buy a small dorm room fridge for that much, which you can even buy from nearby Target or Walmart when you move into the dorm. And it will be your own fridge that you wouldn’t need to share.
I don’t recommend that each of you buy or rent your own fridge. Space will likely be at a premium, as well as outlets. Also, moving a fridge back home next summer or storing it may be a hassle. Finally, it seems offputting to me (this is MY fridge, get your own).
I’d stick with replies #1 and #2.
How about:
Are you willing to pay for half of the rental of a fridge? If yes, let me know and I will order one.
If she won’t then she doesn’t get to use the fridge.
@justverycurious My biggest concern is storage and moving the fridge back and forth at the end of the year, and if i decide I don’t really need one I’m not stuck with and expensive appliance. Also, I do think it’s a little off-putting for the roommate considering that we can only have one.
@bopper I think this a little harsh, no? On one hand I want her to pay for her half of the fridge, but I’d feel cruel for never allowing her to use the fridge
My d and her roommate halved the cost of the rental. It’s peanuts in the long run. Just say, “I am planning on renting the fridge. Is that okay? We each owe $75. You can pay me when school starts. I will do it when I hear from you. Thanks.”
Use the email suggested by @bjkmom. ^^^^
My daughter bought her own fridge at Target (~$80) and shared it.
She told the roommate, “I have to refrigerate my meds, so do you mind if I pay for the fridge and we can share it?”
It wasn’t that big, because the students weren’t allowed to have the larger fridge (4ft) They kept sodas, leftover food and water in it. It wasn’t that big a deal.
Her school had summer storage.
@dcolosi A fridge is pretty much the only thing we’re really allowed to have in our rooms (we can’t have a microwave and TV is just a hassle) so there’s really nothing else to split. I’m bringing a electric tea kettle, which I plan on sharing, but in no way is the cost comparable to that of the fridge. In terms of easy payment, I’ll just have her Venmo or Paypal the money to me
@“aunt bea” I’ll definitely use @bjkmom 's letter format. Buying a fridge is pretty much out of the question, since my school doesn’t offer any summer storage.
I think that you do need to coordinate this with your room mate. For one thing, you don’t want to both get a fridge – there probably won’t be room for two of them. Email her today unless you have a phone number and can call.
Yeah, if the fridge is the only big ticket item you can have then that does make it a bit difficult to even things out. When I was in school, I owned my own fridge and microwave, so I brought them and just let my roommate use them. At the end of the day, I wasn’t that big of a deal. Honestly, it was nice to have but we didn’t use them as much as i thought since we both had meal plans. It came more in handy the next semester when I moved into the Fraternity house, don’t recall if any food ever made it inside but it worked well at keeping beverages cold.
Good luck on working it out with your roommate.
Pretty cut and dried: tell your roommate you want to get a fridge. If she wants to use it, her 1/2 is $75.00 ($150/year is pretty standard, actually). If she’s not interested, she doesn’t get to use it. If she tries using it anyway when she hasn’t paid her 1/2, you’ll have to either get her to pay her share or make her take her stuff out (or tell her she has X time to remove it before you do). Unless you have a convenient way to store it over the summer, I’d rent vs. buy.
Really, don’t start off your new rooming situation with “issues” because you do have to live with each other.
This is a trivial thing and if you are on a limited budget, you need to be honest and say so:
You are not being a jerk – you are being a grown up, but it can be difficult, and it is not always well received. I think @undercrackers response is a little blunt, but is basically correct and is the undertone of @bjkmom 's suggestion even if her wording was less direct. It is hard having the conversation with young adults about sharing costs for shared items…and frankly some aren’t ready to take responsibility and will respond as if you are being a jerk for forcing the conversation. Just be kind, clear, and generous but not a push-over. The friends and roommates you want to have will be right there with you.
If you want the fridge, get it and pay for it. If the only thing you can do is rent through the school, do that. The $75 might be a big deal to your roommate. You can ask her to split the cost, but don’t put her on the spot.
When my son was in college, his dorm room was literally the size of a king size bed plus a twin bed, which he had to share with a roommate. So two twin beds, two desks, two dresser, barely enough room to move around. But each had a fridge the small 2x2x2 fridge he put on top of the dresser, plenty of space in the fridge for drinks and necessary snacks. Fridge cost only $59, and if you don’t want to take it home, then you can probably sell it very easily, but even if you decide to discard it, it is cheaper than renting for 150. https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/d9398b9a-5142-4fc1-aa9a-a6f9be737218_1.cea27435c280f4866323aa2b0bb0c24d.jpeg?odnHeight=450&odnWidth=450&odnBg=FFFFFF
Update: Apparently she received a mini fridge as a gift and is bringing that? Which is totally fine (no money spent) but that brings up the whole “MY fridge” thing.