Author: Nellie Hughes

Are People Born Fair?

Are humans born with a sense of fairness built in from birth?

Originally it was thought that children go through three big developmental stages. Young kids (2 to 4 years old) are purely selfish, while older children (5 or 6) will follow a strict equality rule. When children become older (7 or 8) they start to consider the individual contributions of others. The thought being older children are more aware of their surroundings and less impulse driven.

A recent study finds that children will start to evaluate these contributions earlier than expected. Patricia Kanngiesser from the University of Bristol led and published a study about fairness starting in children at the age of three. She said:

“It seems to be intuitive, People have found that even by 18 months of age, children have expectations about how things should be shared fairly.”

Continue reading Are People Born Fair?

The Driverless Future is Now! (Kind of)

Cool Glasses

Here at Splitwise we talk a lot about roommates, money and fairness. While that is fun and all we don’t spend our entire lives thinking about these 3 things. We also like other stuff, like science and technology. This week California’s governor Jerry Brown signed the SB1298 bill into effect. This bill states that driverless cars can now operate on California’s state roads legally.

Continue reading The Driverless Future is Now! (Kind of)

Keeping Your Place Warm On the Cheap

Here in New England the fall is upon us, which means for the next couple of months heating bills will be through the roof. It’s also the time of year where I ask myself why I left California in the first place. From every October to March my usual $30.00 monthly gas bill rockets up to $250.00, and I’m lucky enough to have a gas furnace and not oil like many of my friends and neighbors. I have one friend who pays $300.00 a month all year round to heat his house with oil in the winter. That’s $3600.00 a year for heating their house for measly 4 months!

For those in rentals and apartments, the choice of heating system isn’t usually in your hands. You’re stuck with what’s there, and depending when it was installed or the age of the building you live in can effect the cost of heat dramatically. If you live in an place with older/non-maintained windows and doors you can practically see the money floating through those cracks whenever your heat turns on.

Continue reading Keeping Your Place Warm On the Cheap

Splitwise Halloween Contest: A Quest for the Best Roommate Horror Story

Have you ever lived with someone so terrible that you couldn’t ever forget the horror that ensued? I sure have, and I’m sure many of you have too. Here at Splitwise we get some pretty good stories about the insanity that goes on behind closed doors, and it gave us a great idea. Since Halloween is coming up, we wanted to have a contest of who has had the most horrific roommate experience.

Now obviously this isn’t a Postsecret situation, and I don’t want any stories that cross the line of legality too much. It can be about anything: money, personal hygiene, bad habits, theft, ect.

Send me an email at ask@splitwise.com with your tale of woe about that insane roommate situation you’ve lived through. I’ll post the top 3 on October 30th, anonymity is completely up to you.

Sodaless in the City

Last week, New York City approved a ban on large sugary drinks being sold at certain vendors around the city that will start in March of 2013.

NYC businesses that get inspected and graded by the health department will no longer be able to sell sugary drinks over 16oz. If the restaurant has a self serving beverage dispenser then they can’t even give out cups over 16 oz in their establishment (refills are allowed though). There will still be locations within NYC that aren’t effected by this 16oz rule though. Convenience stores, newsstands and vending machines can sell any drink, whatever size. Time has a great breakdown on what is allowed and what is not.

Continue reading Sodaless in the City

Living With the Same Sex – Is It Even Possible?

I read a wonderful blog post from Lisa DeCanio last week on why she couldn’t live with a co-ed roommate. It got me thinking about my past living situations, and I realized that I’ve never actually had a successful female roommate experience yet. They’ve all started off well enough, but usually ended up with someone setting the other persons worldly possessions on fire or a fist fight.

Is it me? Am I that much of a nightmare to live with that I should just live alone? (Hint: most likely) I’ve lived with plenty of men, and none of those situations ended with a police escort on moving out day. It must be something about my personal tastes clashing with the same sex.

Continue reading Living With the Same Sex – Is It Even Possible?

Yahoo! Turning a Bad Customer Service Experience Around

Last week I wrote a blog post about a terrible customer service experience I had dealing with Yahoo! Answers.

On Friday I received an email in my Yahoo mailbox telling me my Yahoo! Answers account had been re-activated. I then received a call from a woman named Melinda, who wanted to talk about what happened with my Answers account and the blog post I wrote. Turns out that an executive read my post, and asked someone to reach out to me. He also personally wrote me to apologize about the appeals never getting responded to. Continue reading Yahoo! Turning a Bad Customer Service Experience Around

Yahoo Answers! – A Tale of Terrible Customer Service

Here at Splitwise we’re a small start up, which means that we don’t spend a ton of money on marketing and advertising. It’s something that we do ourselves through various outlets; one being answering questions on Yahoo! Answers when people ask about rental advice. It’s a good way to get our name out there, and get some visibility on our sweet rent calculator.

Well, it was a good way until last week. On Wednesday I woke up to my Yahoo mailbox looking like this:

Continue reading Yahoo Answers! – A Tale of Terrible Customer Service

Window Issues

When it comes to living spaces windows can be both a blessing and a curse. You’ve either got no light, too much light or noise when it comes to some window pains (pun intended). 

Dear Splitwise,

I have a room in a 3 bedroom apartment that doesn’t have any normal windows but has a skylight. The other two rooms have large windows but face a fairly loud street. What do you think the the rent differential for this would be?

Painful Windows

Continue reading Window Issues

Pinching Pennies When You’re a New Parent

If you’re like me, you never believed your mom or dad when they complained about how expensive kids were. I always thought they were just looking for yet another thing to complain about. As soon as I figured out I was about to have one, I hit the internet to find out how much my mini-me was going to cost. My eyes almost started bleeding when Bloomberg told me I’d be spending $234,900.00 before my kid even hit college!

Continue reading Pinching Pennies When You’re a New Parent

Shelling Out for Dish Duty

Ever have one of those roommates that just can’t seem to ever do their share when it comes to chores around the house? Today we discuss that person who don’t get the importance of cleaning up after themselves while leaving appliances on 24/7.

Dear Splitwise,

I think maybe you guys should make a calculator for roommates who leave appliances on. Sorry, but I’m not paying for you to leave 2 fans and a scentsy on all day. Maybe even one for doing all your dishes all the time since you love to cook and use every dish in the house. There are flies and I’m not waiting for you to do them. Charge them.

Drowning in Dishes

Continue reading Shelling Out for Dish Duty

Back to School: How to Save Yourself Some Cash While At College.

My little brother Tucker is going away to college today. It’s a defining moment for our family – my mom will finally have a child free house for the first time in 32 years. This child-free luxury livin’ doesn’t come cheap though. Being a parent myself, hearing how much my mom has had to (and will continue to have to) shell out for having a kid in college made me break out in a sweat. I’ve already informed my 5 year old he better get good at writing scholarship essays sooner rather than later.

I then realized that Tucker, like many college students, will have to sustain living on his own with little to no money. In a world where 20 bucks needs to last you an entire month, there has to be some serious personal money management that has to happen… and I’m here to help!

Continue reading Back to School: How to Save Yourself Some Cash While At College.

Everything is Bigger in Texas (Including the Closets)

Today we’ll be talking about how to split up room cost between roommates when it comes to fancy Texan livin’ and their huge closet spaces.

Dear Splitwise,

I am currently in the process of moving into an apartment for the first time with 3 very dear friends of mine. It’s all really exciting but we are having some problems figuring out exactly how much everyone needs to pay a month. Two people will be sharing the master bedroom, while the other 2 will get their own rooms.  Continue reading Everything is Bigger in Texas (Including the Closets)

Bittner vs Hughes – Nerdtastic Restaurant Bill Splitting

Splitting restaurant bills is an awkward business. In the US and many other countries, most restaurants are unwilling to create a separate check for each guest.  As a result, many a lovely night of dining out ends with an awkward fairness problem.

One appealing solution is to just “split the bill,” because the math is easy and everyone contributes. Here the awkwardness is for people living on a tight budget. No one wants to start a fight about a spare change, but a dinner out often crosses the line into real money. If you’re being spendthrift and go out with less thrifty friends, splitting a check can torpedo your spending cash for the week. It’s hardly fair for someone who is broke and orders an appetizer to split with someone who had a few drinks and a main course.

Continue reading Bittner vs Hughes – Nerdtastic Restaurant Bill Splitting

Chick-fil-a – The Pros and Cons of Business Fairness

People are pretty worked up about Chick-fil-a’s president Dan Cathy’s stance on marriage. He was recently asked about his support of traditional marriage being between a man and a woman in an interview for the Baptist Press. He was quoted:

“Well, guilty as charged,” said Cathy when asked about the company’s position.

“We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.

This of course turned into a political crapstorm. Both sides of the fence jumped on these comments and reacted strongly. Many people screamed boycott, the Henson Company pulled their Muppet toys from Chick-fil-a children’s meals. The mayor of Boston went so far as to write a letter to the company informing them they aren’t welcome in his city. Other cities like Chicago and San Francisco followed in line, telling them to take their business elsewhere.

Continue reading Chick-fil-a – The Pros and Cons of Business Fairness

Latrines’ Galore

Today we’re talking about some sweet unconventional housing, hardwood floors, and figuring out how much rent each housemate should pay.

Dear Splitwise,

I am trying to arbitrate a living situation for my daughter and want to share some Outhouses Galorethoughts. Your “Splitwise” rent calculator is ingenious! However it may not work as well with unconventional housing. One thing missing from the calculation is the number of bathrooms. This is a drawback as a typical 4 bedroom house might have only two bathrooms so the MBR rent would be much higher due to the exclusive use of the MBR bath. All other tenants and house guests would use the single remaining bath… much less desirable.

Continue reading Latrines’ Galore

Marketplace Fairness Act – Who Really Wins?

There is a bill going through the Senate right now called the Marketplace Fairness Act. It’s a bill that will force online companies like eBay and Amazon to collect taxes on all purchases, regardless which state they are shipping to. Currently Amazon only collects taxes from 5 states in the country.

I can hear you asking – “A new tax?! Don’t we already have enough taxes to pay? Why are both sides of the political fence backing this bill.. has the sky really fallen?!” Turns out, legally you’re supposed to be paying those taxes for your online purchases at the end of the year when you file your tax return. Surprisingly enough, Americans aren’t always so voluntary and forthcoming with that sort of information when tax time comes around. State and Federal Tax bureaus also haven’t been the best when it comes to enforcing it either.

Continue reading Marketplace Fairness Act – Who Really Wins?

Saving the World, One Microwave at a Time

In today’s Dear Splitwise, we consider the troubles of a super-intense treehugger who lives off-campus with his roommates (and their girlfriends).

Dear Splitwise,Unplug that Microwave!

I live in an student-style apartment with 3 roommates, and we all have separate leases. The only thing not separate is the electricity, and there are a couple issues splitting it based on usage and our guests. Also, I’m an environmentalist, and every month, they hand me a $180 electric bill and asking me to pay for a third of it. To me, this is like saying, “Hey I need you to give me some of your money for something I need that you will not be using that will cause your friends to die, can I get that on the 20th?”

Continue reading Saving the World, One Microwave at a Time

Fridge Overlord

Shelf OverlordDear Splitwise returns this week to settle the issue of shelf space in a fridge that is owned by a roommate. This is common in places like Europe, where household appliances being included with a rental isn’t necessarily the norm.

Hi Splitwise,

I live with three other people in a four-bedroom share house. One of my housemates owns a 400L fridge. She uses between 40-60% of the fridge space, depending on how much food she has at the time. She also claims sole use of the largest and most convenient shelf (there are only three shelves, so no-one else can have their own shelf) and says that this is fair because it is her fridge. If we wanted to have unfettered fridge access, then we should supply our own fridge.

The problem with this – aside from the logistical issues with placing multiple fridges in an average-sized, inner-suburban house – is that the kitchen of a shared house is shared space. We all rent that space. If a housemate wants to carve out a fridge empire or own other large ungainly objects that others can’t freely use, they should do so in their bedroom and leave the common areas to be used equally by all housemates.

What do you think?

Yours Truly,
Shelfless

Continue reading Fridge Overlord

Nellie Hughes – The Splitwise Blog