Be Careful With Your Name

Unless you live someplace where the utilities are included in the rent, the utilities will have to be put into someone's name. It's ok to put one or all of them in your name as long as you are personally responsible for making sure those bills are paid in a timely manner. When bills are paid late, that looks bad on your credit report. Don't assume your roommate is as aware of this as you are. I once had a roommate spend our combined gas bill money on a video game that just came out. When I confronted him, he said, "Oh, it's ok. I get paid in a week and half, I'll pay the whole thing then. It will only be two weeks late." Sure, no big deal to him, but the gas was in my name and therefore late payments reflected on my credit. I know it sounds vicious, but you should never trust anyone where your credit is concerned. What seems to work out for the best is to split the utilities between your names, for example, I'd have gas and cable in my name and my roommate would have electric and phone in their name. When rent came due we would compare bills and work out who had paid how much and balance it out in how much each of us paid in rent.