cost sharing: single person with a couple

[Music Lover]

I was talking to co-worker "Bob" today who has a one hour commute and car pools with a married couple that live near him. Bob and the husband of the couple alternate driving a week at a time. That got me thinking...Bob is one person and the couple are two people, yet Bob drives half the time instead of a third of the time. Had the married couple not been married, each person would drive a third of the time. Is Bob getting ripped off or is it normal to consider a couple as "one" when it comes to cost splitting?

Another twist...suppose Bob and the married couple share a 2 bedroom vacation unit for a week. Bob uses one bedroom and the couple uses the other bedroom, but the three of them obviously share the common areas in the unit. Should Bob pay a third or half?

 

[haha]

I was talking to co-worker "Bob" today who has a one hour commute and car pools with a married couple that live near him. Bob and the husband of the couple alternate driving a week at a time. That got me thinking...Bob is one person and the couple are two people, yet Bob drives half the time instead of a third of the time. Had the married couple not been married, each person would drive a third of the time. Is Bob getting ripped off or is it normal to consider a couple as "one" when it comes to cost splitting?

Another twist...suppose Bob and the married couple share a 2 bedroom vacation unit for a week. Bob uses one bedroom and the couple uses the other bedroom, but the three of them obviously share the common areas in the unit. Should Bob pay a third or half?

I take it that you are Bob? If not, give it a rest.

Ha

 

[Music Lover]

I take it that you are Bob? If not, give it a rest.

Ha

I'm not Bob. I was simply curious how people view cost sharing when it's one person and a couple.

 

[Moemg]

Another twist...suppose Bob and the married couple share a 2 bedroom vacation unit for a week. Bob uses one bedroom and the couple uses the other bedroom, but the three of them obviously share the common areas in the unit. Should Bob pay a third or half?

Depends on whether they share the wife .

 

[haha]

Depends on whether they share the wife .

LBYM anyway.

Ha

 

[easysurfer]

I'm not Bob. I was simply curious how people view cost sharing when it's one person and a couple.

It's still one to one. Bob is one person and the couple is one unit.

This is not different than when you IM someone and the couple shares a email or screen name. No difference.

 

[Meadbh]

I don't think it matters too much how they split the cost as long as they all agree beforehand. Either way, they are all benefiting.

 

[easysurfer]

I don't think it matters too much how they split the cost as long as they all agree beforehand. Either way, they are all benefiting.

+1. To agree before hand is the key.

Similar of if a group of folks go out do dinner. Some single, others in a family. I did that recently in a family gathering. We decided to just split the number total bill by the number of people. That way, if a single person only pays his/her amount and the families can work things out amongst themselves on who pays what portion.

p.s. I was just joshing about the one unit with sharing emails/screen names.

 

[Sunset]

What if the married couple only have 1 car ? Do they each drive 1/2 a car for a week and then Bob drives his ??

For retaurants and even vacations I think per person is the way to split it, but for the car driving, its not worth it.

Bob is still saving 50% compared to if he drove himself all the time.

 

[Texas Proud]

On the OP question.... I would assume that since all are going in the same car, they are all going to the same place (or close)...

So, the couple would be going on their own... one car, two people....

Now Bob comes into the mix... it is not 3 people, but two vehicles that are doing the commute... so alternating is the right thing to do...


As far as the vacation rental, the same applies... two sleeping units, split it in half... now if Bob asks a few of his female friends along for company... then all can have a good time

 

[Mulligan]

On the OP question.... I would assume that since all are going in the same car, they are all going to the same place (or close)...

So, the couple would be going on their own... one car, two people....

Now Bob comes into the mix... it is not 3 people, but two vehicles that are doing the commute... so alternating is the right thing to do...


As far as the vacation rental, the same applies... two sleeping units, split it in half... now if Bob asks a few of his female friends along for company... then all can have a good time

I got ripped off then... Shared a vacation rental home with 2 couples who both had 2 children last summer. I paid 1/3 despite being one room, one person, and they used 4 rooms. But my friend probably didn't put much thought into the billing process and I wasn't bothered by it or I would have said something....or just not went.


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[target2019]

I got ripped off then... Shared a vacation rental home with 2 couples who both had 2 children last summer. I paid 1/3 despite being one room, one person, and they used 4 rooms. But my friend probably didn't put much thought into the billing process and I wasn't bothered by it or I would have said something....or just not went.

You could assess a kiddie tax!

 

[Sarah in SC]

We went on a weekend trip with another couple and a single friend years ago and they pulled this on her. She still brings up their "couple math" every now and again, and how unfair it was for her to pay a third of the rental!

As for the carpool, if he entered into the plan willingly, then it isn't probably a big deal. My single friend wasn't consulted ahead of time, just assessed her portion.

 

[Senator]

They should split 50/50, after all, it is "double occupancy required".

If I go on a cruise as a single, I pay a higher rate than a couple would pay on a per-person basis. A couple is no more expensive than a single in a car pool. At a restaurant, a couple is two meals, so it makes sense to split each one of them out.

It depends on what the situation is. In a two-bedroom vacation place, assuming equal size beds and bedrooms, a single and a couple would split 50/50. The single person could bring another person, or two, or change people every night, and the cost would be the same.

Just remember, a single person has the advantage as they can either be single, or not. The couple is stuck with each other. They have a built in penalty...

 

[HadEnuff]

I have actually lived this scenario. 40 years ago, in college, my wife and I shared a 2 bedroom apartment with a single guy. I felt like a 50-50 split would be fair, but he felt that since there were 2 of us and one of him, he should pay a third.

I didn't really agree with his line of thinking, but I did agree to his terms. We are close friends to this day.

 

[latexman]

"You get what you negotiate."

 

[Philliefan33]

My daughter rents a three-bedroom house with an unmarried couple. They split the cost three ways. They are happy with the arrangement-- it seems fair since the couple has the largest bedroom and the male half of the couple uses the third bedroom as his man cave.

 

[donheff]

It usually seems pretty easy to work out a sensible arrangement. Splitting days with a car between the two cars seems OK, splitting rentals between two similar rooms seems OK. Breaking a restaurant bill in two between two couples seems OK. In thirds between a single and a couple seems about right. I don't enjoy going out with the few people I know who insist on tracking every penny on a restaurant bill and splitting it up precisely. If you are that tight, don't eat out. Or maybe go to a restaurant that tracks orders and readily splits bills up individually.

 

[kcowan]

We shared a condo in Paris with another couple for a week and we took the master suite because we paid. Then in Nice, they paid and took the larger bedroom. Paris was more expensive than Nice but not by much.

 

[bingybear]

I don't enjoy going out with the few people I know who insist on tracking every penny on a restaurant bill and splitting it up precisely. If you are that tight, don't eat out. Or maybe go to a restaurant that tracks orders and readily splits bills up individually.

I think most restaurants will track bills the way you want if you ask up front. I don't care to track each penny. But I'm not real thrilled when most of the other's bills are 3 times or more what mine is individually. Between over eating (or ordering) and lots of alcohol it is easy to hit 3 X or more.

But then we don't eat out often... even when it is just us.

 

[easysurfer]

I think most restaurants will track bills the way you want if you ask up front. I don't care to track each penny. But I'm not real thrilled when most of the other's bills are 3 times or more what mine is individually. Between over eating (or ordering) and lots of alcohol it is easy to hit 3 X or more.

But then we don't eat out often... even when it is just us.

I remember back in the days of after w*rk happy hours. To protect against the imbalance of folks that consumed much, a co-w*rker would order a carry out. I suppose that was a way of making sure her stuff was billed separately if the group decided to just divide the other food and drinks.