They have jobs where they make good money for a college students, but we have just enough money to get by and pay bills (we're both going to med and phar. school, so we don't work a lot because our classes are so hard.) (They are art majors) We buy a lot of groceries and have noticed that, they have not bought any real food since August, when we moved in. I think between the both of us that we have spent close to 1,000 dollars over this three month period. We lived without them by ourselves before and maybe spent thirty dollars ($400.00 over 2-3 months) a week on food for the house. I think this is nuts, but I don't know how to approach them without making them mad. Help me
2006-10-06 07:55:45 · 18 answers · asked by ximxca 3 in Business & Finance ➔ Personal Finance
Ask them to pay up, or get out. They will walk on you to the extent that you let them. In the alternative, stop buying groceries, and eat out until they get hungry and start buying food.
2006-10-06 07:58:53 · answer #1 · answered by morlock825 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Instead of just the two of you buying groceries..call a mandatory meeting with all roommates. Have your topic ready.GROCERIES. Okay folks we are hard up for groceries and i think it is only fair if we take turns buying or we all pitch in and buy together.Which would u prefer. I like buying together anybody else care to give an opinion? If you buy together, u can get a certain amount of money from each individual. Discuss which is best and why. But make it a group thing. After all that is what roommates are for. U just have to learn together.
2006-10-06 08:10:12 · answer #2 · answered by Me 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
you have to suck it up and just tell them straight forward how you feel! they might not even know that this is bothering you, just sit them or one of them down and say that you understand their situation (that they are working a lot or whatever) but with the stress of your classes you cant work very much and therefore these not much money coming in on your side and you would love it if they could start helping out with groceries, cause you have noticed that you are your boyfriend are bringing most of it in but rarely are you the ones to eat it.
Just make sure you don't constantly put either one of them down cause this will cause them to go on the defensive! and in turn get upset thinking that you are attacking them. Just be kind and understanding...... oh and you might not wanna bring up the whole part about "we're both going to med and phar. school, so we don't work a lot because our classes are so hard. They are art major!" that is kinda rude to put them down for their choices in life.
2006-10-06 08:21:20 · answer #3 · answered by Jeremysmom05 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Loading up the refrigerator and pantry with disgusting things in food containers sounds like a good plan to me.
Next time you go grocery shopping ask them if they want to go in on groceries or whether you should just shop yourself.
A little roommate story:
When I was in college my roommate would go home for the weekend, stay home for the whole week and come back 9 days later. He came back after one of those 9-day weekends and yelled at me for not watering his dozens of houseplants. He insisted that water be put into containers and then sit around (to get rid of the chlorine or something) before the water was put on the plants. After the yelling I started adding salt to the water containers so the more he watered the plants the more wilted they got. It was great watching him wonder out loud what was wrong with the plants and what the white residue was that began forming on top of the soil.
The first time your roomies pour themselves a glass of apple juice and it tastes like urine they will get the message loud and clear.
2006-10-06 15:43:57 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You should not worry about them getting mad. They are the ones who are basically stealing your food. The best solution for you would be to sit down and openly discuss the situation. Confrontation is never fun, but is a much better alternative to harboring resentment. Also, there is the possibilty that your roomates do not realize the burden they are putting on you and they might be glad that you spoke up. If the do get mad I would suggest you get new roomates. I hope that was helpful.
2006-10-06 08:08:34 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I had a similar problem so I decided to get my own mini-fridge which was about 36 inches tall and 18 inches wide. This was sufficient to keep a week's worth of food in my room so that nobody else could access it. I also built shelving so that I could store my boxed goods and non-perishables and I got a small microwave that fit perfectly on top of the fridge so that I could cook without my roommates even knowing what I had.
Unfortunately some people don't understand how food just "magically" appears in the kitchen and it is even more amazing how people don't realize how much they eat when they aren't buying the food or contributing to the costs financially. One of my roommates decided that he would just "nibble" off of the leftovers, which I never had a problem with.. but he would sometimes make full course meals for himself and his friends with my food- Sometimes it got so bad that he would anticipate me bringing food home. I once came home with a bunch of plastic bags from shopping at the mall, he came running out of his room like a hungry cat hearing the can opener. As I walked down the hallway to my room I could hear him rummaging through the cabinets and refrigerator in search for whatever I brought home. Another time I had a spiral sliced ham in the fridge that I had planned to take to a party.. I had cut off some of the slices so that the host could start serving it immediately when I arrived. When I prepared to take it to the party a few days later, it seemed like some of the slices were gone but I didn't think much of it because I was rushing out the door. When I came home later that evening my "nibbling" roommate asked, "Hey Joe! What happened to that ham that we had?" Excuse me?? You are asking me about food that "WE" had? Food that you didn't contribute to?
Over time I had done some dirty tricks like putting exlax in chocolate chip cookies or injecting tobasco sauce into hotdogs(you can get large needle syringes from your local drug store) or my favorite - Baking a cake with very hot chili peppers. Metamucil in jello is always interesting too.. And after you have told your roommates not to touch any of your food, make your special recipies and wait for your food to get stolen. DO NOT offer them the food or entice them eat it or otherwise make it tempting for them to steal it. That would be cruel and you could possibly get sued. HOWEVER, if you stored your food normally in the main refrigerator and you made it clear that you do not want any food to be eaten, then it is a level playing field and all is fair.
2006-10-06 08:33:59 · answer #6 · answered by Joe K 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well, I have roommates in the past and we are frank and to the point and have our own food and maybe you just need to come out and say that. However, if they like the food you purchase, maybe suggest a small donation to the shopper every week, like maybe $20 or $30 to go towards some food, but for them to just take it without helping out, be honest, upfront and let them know your feelings. Having excellent communication with roommates is ideal!
2006-10-06 08:04:53 · answer #7 · answered by ? 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Ask them to give you money for groceries...instead of leaving the responsibility of them using money for groceries vs. other crap....that way their paying for some of the groceries and you don't have to ask them to buy any food-just give you money to do it. It makes you look like the good guy for "offering to do the grocery shopping(doing more work)" but your alterier motive would be to get them to contribute to groceries. OR you can purchase a separate fridge and put a padlock on it.
2006-10-06 08:06:09 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
talk with them saying, as with other shared expenses in the house it has been noted that grocery expenses need to be in that shared expense in fairness to all in the house.....
leave open for all involved to make a list of items desired/needed - combine this list - with understanding that grocery items will be purchased once every week, every two weeks or once a month - then after first purchase after this agreement , with receipt in hand - reveal what each share will be.....
if this does not ring home the message - make it known if you did not buy it - do not eat/drink it.....that is purely selfishness after that.
best wishes on this one!
2006-10-06 08:07:54 · answer #9 · answered by Marsha 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You are going to have to bite the bullet and speak your mind. Either that, or just buy for the two of you and stash it somewhere. You need to make clear to them that all parties involved should be considerate of the others who live there.
2006-10-06 07:58:56 · answer #10 · answered by theanswerman 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋