Would You Pool Your Income With Your Roommates?

A group of people in Washington, DC is doing exactly that.

I’m sure many of us have had the “what if we just moved into a big house with all our friends?” idea at some point.

I’m not sure how many of us have followed it up with “and what if we shared all of our income, too?”

As The Atlantic reports, a group of people in Washington, DC are doing exactly that:

A Radical Idea: Four City-Dwellers Share All Their Money

The commune officially started in March of this year. Members pooled some of their existing money to pay for home renovations and other expenses, but mostly kept the assets they had before joining separate. Since March though, they have agreed to put 100 percent of their earnings into a joint bank account, which is used for everything from mortgage payments to clothing to happy-hour drinks to braces for one of Jenny’s kids. For purchases of more than $100, they consult with each other. For everything else, they use their own discretion.

Jenny is the woman who owns the home, which she and her children share with two friends, as well as a third who frequently visits and “is a member of the income commune; there just isn’t enough space for him to live here as well.”

Read The Atlantic’s article for the full story, but especially make sure you watch the accompanying video, which explains the home economics in detail. Then ask yourself one more time: do you want to move into a big house with your friends and pool your income?

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