Calculators: move-in cash, shared costs and chore time
Three arithmetic tools for the household's own numbers: the cash a move needs, a shared bill split by three methods, and the minutes the chores take each week. Pre-filled from your setup where it can.
All three do arithmetic on numbers you type. None of them says what a move should cost, which split is fair or how clean a home should be; those are the household's decisions. Nothing you type leaves this browser, and nothing is saved when you leave the page: copy any result you want to keep into the sheet named under each tool.
Move-in cash
Adds up the cash a move asks for before the first month is over (Essentials in phases). Type the amounts from your lease, the providers and the total at the bottom of your essentials list.
Assumptions behind the numbers
- Every amount is your own, from the lease, the providers and your essentials list. This manual gives no typical figures.
- The deposit is shown separately because it is returnable under the lease's terms and your state's rules; whether and when it comes back is not settled by this tool (Lease and move-in record).
- Per person is an equal division. A household that splits costs another way uses the shared-cost calculator below.
Dani's studio (fictional amounts, for the arithmetic only): first month's rent $1,150, no last month's rent, security deposit $1,150, application fee $45, no electricity deposit and a $50 internet installation. Total $2,395 for one person before essentials, of which $1,150 is the deposit. Dani's essentials list still has blank costs, so its total is marked incomplete and is not added yet; the move-in cash grows by whatever those rows come to.
Shared costs: three ways to split
Splits one monthly amount (the rent, or one bill) among two to six people by one of three methods (Sharing a home). Run at least two and compare. The household chooses one and writes it, with the date, in the household agreement.
| Person | Bedroom area (sq ft) | Extra weight (percent, for a private bath or parking) | Income (same period for everyone) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Person 1 | |||
| Person 2 | |||
| Person 3 | |||
| Person 4 | |||
| Person 5 | |||
| Person 6 |
How each method works
- Equal shares: the amount divided by the number of people. It assumes everyone gets equal use of the home and the bill.
- Weighted by bedroom area: a common share of the amount (you set it; this manual starts at 50 percent, its own default and not a figure from any source) is split equally, for the kitchen, bathroom and living space everyone uses. The rest is split in proportion to each bedroom's area, raised by any extra weight (10 percent for a private half bath, say), and scaled so the shares add up to the amount.
- Proportional to income: each person pays the amount times their income divided by the household's total income. Some couples choose it. It assumes the household agreed that earnings set shares; use the same period, before or after tax, for everyone.
Priya, Sam and Theo (fictional) rent a house for $2,400 a month. Bedrooms are 150, 110 and 100 sq ft, and Priya's has its own half bath, which they weight at 10 percent. Equal shares: $800 each. Weighted by area with a 50 percent common share: $1,200 is split $400 each; the other $1,200 goes by weights of 165 (150 plus 10 percent), 110 and 100, a total of 375, so Priya $528, Sam $352 and Theo $320. Totals: Priya $928, Sam $752, Theo $720. They chose the weighted split and wrote it in their agreement with the date. The calculator above starts with their numbers.
Weekly chore time
Adds up the minutes the household's chores take in a week and divides them evenly, as a check on how the work is shared (Weekly routines and Sharing a home). Times per week can be a fraction: 0.5 for every two weeks, 0.25 for about monthly. If your routine sheet has tasks, its first twelve replace the rows below when the page loads.
| Chore | Minutes each time | Times per week |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen reset after meals | ||
| Trash and recycling out | ||
| Fridge clear-out | ||
| Bathroom | ||
| Floors | ||
| Shared laundry (towels, cloths) | ||
| Sheets | ||
| High-touch surfaces | ||
| Grocery shopping | ||
| Cooking | ||
| Mail and bills | ||
| Tidy shared space |
Assumptions behind the numbers
- The starting minutes and frequencies are this manual's illustration, not a standard; your own times are the ones that count.
- An even share is arithmetic. A household may divide chores unevenly on purpose (one person cooks, another cleans); the comparison shows the minutes, and the agreement says who does what.
- The reference line comes from the American Time Use Survey, 2025 annual averages (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Table 1): average hours per day for people 15 and over, everyone counted, including people who did none that day. It describes the population; it is not a target for any household.
These tools add, divide and weight. They do not say what a move should cost, what is fair, or what anyone owes under a lease. A disagreement about money goes to the household agreement and, if it cannot be settled there, to the landlord, mediation, legal aid or small-claims court.