Hey Fincher,

It’s with a heavy heart that we’re announcing the closure of Finch App today.

After two and a half years dedicated to making your financial life easier (and more fun! ?), it’s time for this little birdy to fly the coop and explore new horizons.

We are grateful to you, our loyal Finchers, for your support every step of the way ??. It has been the greatest privilege bringing this product to life, and thankfully this is not where we say goodbye for good ?. 

The next stage of Finch will be behind the scenes, powering experiences for companies looking to improve their services at scale, as FinchXP ?.

So continue getting behind the fintechs daring to take on the fight of delivering you the experiences you deserve. The ones that do it from a place of driving change, and not from fear of irrelevance.

There is no shortage of amazing fintech apps out there, here are some of our favourites:

• Pay K  
• Splitwise
• Up Banking 

Trust us, you won’t be disappointed?. 

What to expect

Four weeks from today, the app will no longer be available. So settle up your IOUs and cash out your wallet balance by March 26.

So what does the timeline look like?

• March 5 – the app will be taken down from the stores
• March 12 – payments will be turned off (but don’t worry, you can still cash out!)
• March 26 – your account will be closed 

If you have any issues withdrawing, head over to our new FAQs here or reach out via support@finchme.com.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

Shahirah, Toby and Team Finch

What does the future of finance look like? Artificial intelligence powering experiences that customers want, and efficiencies businesses need to impact their bottom line.

Over the last two to three years, AI has been changing the game in finance. AI engines are now able to combine billions of transaction, behavioural and social data to generate valuable intelligence that will power the banking experiences of tomorrow.

Below are the top four use cases we’re seeing in financial applications of AI.

In Australia alone, over 600 million card transactions are not recognised by customers each year due to poor quality data. Some 15 million of these sorts of transactions are formally queried with financial institutions. By cleansing transactional data and providing accurate and recognisable merchant names, not only is the customer experience improved, but customer service operational costs are significantly reduced.

Data enrichment provides companies with clear and identifiable:

• Merchant Name
• Category
• Location
• Address
• Phone Number
• Website
• Email
• ABN

Data-driven personalisation and digital banking go hand in hand.

The better the data, the better you can deliver personalised products and services to help customers achieve their goals.

Customers now have their expectations set based on their last, best experience. Take Netflix for example, as you open your dashboard, every single TV or movie is uniquely recommended for you based on your previous viewing. 

Amazon is another great example. Did you know that 35% of Amazon’s revenue is generated from its recommendation engine? In both cases, AI and machine learning are being used to analyse billions of data points and construct customer profiles to target, retarget, and then leverage these insights for further product and business development.

Despite advancements in banking and AI, 94% of financial services will fail to deliver on the personalisation promise. What could you do with a 360 degree view of your customer?

When the merchant name, location and category of a transaction are detected in real time, algorithms can be trained to detect key patterns and anomalies in transaction activity to proactively identify and detect fraudulent behaviours.

Services such as card controls are already empowering customers to set limits that reduce fraudulent transactions. 

Take for example, a customer has lost their card and someone else is trying to make transactions outside of the locations, times or amounts set within the ‘controls’. 

Financial service providers can use the AI controls to automatically detect suspicious activity and place a hold on the card while instantly notifying the customer via a text to approve the transaction and prevent any further fraudulent activity from occurring. 

Not only is full control now back with the customer, it can reduce fraud costs by 60%.

Powered by the rise in computer processing power and individual data, artificial intelligence can find patterns that predict behavior and help lenders detect customers likely to default.

As an example, imagine AI analysis of borrower records show that people who frequently purchase from a food delivery provider after 10pm at night default at a higher rate than others. 

A company called Lenddo has done this across Africa and Asia through developing an algorithm that is a reliable predictor of creditworthiness for the “so-called underbanked” customers who lack formal credit histories.

“In many ways, personalisation at scale is a 21st-century approach to delivering what the banking industry lost many years ago: the ability to truly know customers, anticipate their needs, engage in a rich dialogue about their financial lives, and, as a consequence, foster loyalty that can last a lifetime.” BCG Digital Ventures.

Customers in today’s digital age compare every brand interaction to their last best experience. If you think of the last time you logged in to Netflix, every show was uniquely recommended just for you. Or how about Spotify, who most recently shared your ‘Streaming Wrapped’ for the last decade, with easy links to share with friends? Whether you’re being entertained or opening a bank account, personalisation is no longer a nice-to-have, it defines the entire customer experience.

So what does this level of personalisation look like in personal finance today? And what will it look like tomorrow?

Open banking will herald a new era of competition in financial services. The availability and accessibility of customer data will significantly level the playing field for banks and fintechs alike, with nimble startups already ahead of the game. Around the world, we’re seeing a dramatic shift across banking and personal finance experiences, putting the customer back at the centre of the customer experience, with personalisation, simplicity and convenience at its core. 

Take 86,400 and Revolut’s onboarding for example, enabling customers to complete their entire account set up from within a mobile app. No need to visit to a branch or chat with a customer representative. Yes. Why isn’t opening a bank account just as easy as everything else?  

Then there’s Up and Raiz’s Round Ups feature enabling customers to instantly round up spare change at the time they purchase, with the round-ups automatically appearing on the same transaction receipt as the purchase. Having trouble saving? Not anymore. These finance companies are redefining what saving looks like.  

And apps like Money Brilliant and Finch’s Finchsights help you manage your finances on the go, understand your spending habits, and find better deals for financial products.

The key to delivering these personalised experiences of course, lies in data. Good data. Quality data. The kind of data that can accurately and reliably tell us about a customer’s spending habits and financial behaviours, so we can deliver on the personalisation promise.

But the way we handle customer data hasn’t changed in decades. 

Despite advancements in AI, the finance industry is still using old methods of benchmarking, data collation, and written applications, to deliver on an ever increasing demand for personalisation.

While open banking will open the floodgates to data accessibility, it won’t solve the problem of data accuracy. For those expecting to harness transaction data to better understand their customers, and in turn, deliver a more personalised experience, ensuring the data is of highest quality to begin with is paramount.

With over 30% of transactions miscategorised, data accuracy will be the number one barrier to understanding your customer’s financial behaviours in order to help them achieve their goals. Something as simple as card controls to block transactions or prevent fraudulent activity requires instant and accurate merchant identification. 

Savings apps that send category nudges to curb UberEats require accurate categorisation.

What could your business achieve with accurate data? 

Could you provide a better loan for a customer under responsible lending obligations?

Could you help customers make better investment decisions based on their actual financial and risk profile?

Or could you share personalised shopping offers or loyalty discounts based on location?

To achieve this, it all starts with quality data.

Australian fintech leader, Finch, has been selected as 1 of 20 top global startups by Money20/20 to pitch in Las Vegas next week!

Since the launch of FinchXP, the company has been recognised for its suite of fintech APIs providing businesses, banks and financial services with market leading data intelligence, card controls, payments and personalisation. 

Finch Co-Founder Shahirah Gardner said, “Money20/20 is the largest finance conference in the world, and we’re absolutely over the moon to have been recognised for the work we’re doing globally.”

“One of the biggest issues with AI based products for financial institutions is bad data; the garbage in, garbage out problem means that customers can’t benefit from personalised offerings that help them achieve their financial goals. That’s why we clean, enrich and categorise data and more importantly, combine it with AI-powered, real-time insights to deliver personalised experiences.”

The company will be pitching their business to leading VCs and fintech experts in front of an audience of thousands, using the platform as an opportunity to expand into retail and financial services clients in both the USA and APAC. 

“At Money 2020 we look forward to announcing an exciting data intelligence partnership that will showcase our market leading accuracy that will unlock enormous value for merchant and customer insights. Watch this space.” Gardner said.

Today we’ve unveiled FinchXP, Australia’s first financial technology platform. The platform helps businesses and financial services enhance the digital banking and payment experience for consumers through advanced personalisation with the following products and APIs:

• FinchPay: 
  • A seamless payment solution for businesses in the shared economy
• Data enrichment: 
  • An end-to-end data enrichment solution that cleans, enriches, categorises data, and combines it with AI-powered, real-time insights 
• Card controls – coming soon
• Personal finance management – coming soon

After twenty four months testing and modelling customer journeys, data intelligence, and financial products in their consumer app, FinchXP will offer its proprietary machine learning technology to banks and financial services to provide “advanced personalisation”, which it believes will be the key differentiator of the future for both challenger and traditional banks.

Finch, CEO Toby Gardner, said that consumers are increasingly expecting the same kind of customer experience and personalisation in finance, as they do from social media and the Googles of the world.

“When we first came up with the concept of Finch (short for financial channel) we stopped looking at fintech and financial services for inspiration and asked ourselves: what would Google do? If Google or Apple was founded in finance, how would they build a user experience, how would they think about customer data? This became the foundation of our vision to reimagine the consumer finance experience by combining data intelligence and behavioural science.”

Toby said that while “advanced personalisation” is the key to improved financial health and increased customer engagement, many banks and financial services won’t be able to do it on their own.

The first of FinchXP’s integrated digital banking solutions to launch today, is FinchPay, a seamless payment solution for businesses in the shared economy.

EatClub, the world’s first dynamic pricing platform that helps restaurants instantly fill empty tables by sending out last-minute deals, announced it will be the first company to rollout FinchPay to support the launch of their in-app ordering and payments for takeaway deals.

Developed in response to the growing popularity of the shared economy, FinchPay handles the complexity of shared payments across business and peer networks. Business can accept and split payments with merchants and allow customers to split the transaction too.

EatClub, who has raised a total of $4.1m for international expansion, will use FinchPay as an end-to-end payment solution for restaurants and their customers. Customers will be able to order in-app, pay and split with friends, faster than traditional payment platforms. 

FinchPay will allow EatClub to:

• Accept payments in app via credit or debit card, or the customer’s Finch balance
• Easily split the payment with multiple merchants and suppliers. FinchPay’s proprietary rules engine can define logic for every type of transaction, based on % discount, time, or day
• Receive data intelligence from the FinchXP platform around the latest merchant trends and industry insights

FinchPay will allow EatClub customers to:

• Pay for their online orders via a credit or debit card, or their Finch balance
• Easily split the cost immediately, or later, with friends and family in Finch App

EatClub co-founder and famed restaurateur, Marco Pierre White said:

“EatClub is changing the way Australians dine in and takeout. We’re passionate about delivering amazing value to our customers, which is why we’ve partnered with Finch to make the experience even better. Customers can now pay for their takeaway orders in our app, and have a convenient and fun way to split the experience with friends.”

EatClub CEO, Pan Koutlakis said:

“As a marketplace platform, FinchPay solves our problem of distributing payments across our restaurant network. This, paired with Finch’s proven group payments functionality for customers, makes this an innovative solution we’re proud to adopt. We’re excited to work with another Aussie startup who appreciate the customer experience as much as we do.”

Finch CEO, Toby Gardner said:

“Adding FinchPay within EatClub furthers our mission to provide seamless customer experiences through advancements in financial technology. But more uniquely, we’re helping businesses in the shared economy handle payments in a way that adds value to both their bottom line and customer experience.”

EatClub recently hit their biggest milestone yet – seating over 1 million customers in restaurant seas that may have otherwise gone empty.

Author: Shahirah Gardner, Cofounder

It was a balmy 1 degree this morning heading to the gym. 

Not going to lie, winter workouts are rough, but when you’re escaping winter for a summer holiday and haven’t worn shorts in a few months, you’re going hard on the squats and deadlifts.

I’m not obsessed with the gym, but I’ve always enjoyed training. I don’t diet, I don’t count calories, I pretty much exercise so I can eat what I like, when I like, which is important because I like to eat lunch for breakfast. (I mean, why eat eggs when you can have burgers or barramundi for brekkie?) Hence the workout, and so on.

I try to do what a lot of healthy people do: swap the smoothie for a toastie at lunch and make up for it with a bucketload of veges at dinner. Or skip the gym and make up for it with a nice long hike on the weekend. We make all sorts of ‘swaps’ throughout the day, and I’d say the average person regardless of fitness level, could do it with confidence thanks to the drilling we got as kids on the importance of healthy eating and exercise. 

There’s a lot of talk about tracking our finances the way we track our fitness goals: personalised, responsive and engaging. But even a fitness tracker assumes you’ve got the fundamentals down.

So how can we be financially fit if we’re not equipped with the basics?

But first, financial literacy

Over 50% of the Australian population are financially illiterate.

Let that sink in.

I discussed the topic of financial literacy on a panel at the Australian Banking Summit last month. We debated the fact that we wouldn’t accept this level of education in any other area of critical importance, so why have we neglected to teach the one skill people use everyday, all the time, for their entire lives?

The answer is simple and sad.

As a nation, government, community, and education system, we’ve failed to prioritise financial education. Can you imagine if every daily fitness circuit in primary school had its equivalent daily finance circuit? If for every interschool sports carnival we hosted an interschool stock exchange? Where young kids and teenagers got to learn how to borrow, save, invest, understand the impact of inflation, increased interest rates and debt management?

Instead, we left it up to the big banks to teach us and now, after the findings of the Royal Commission, teachers want them out of our schools.

We propelled generations of young Australians into adulthood and forced them figure it out for themselves. Problem was, Australia’s banking sector didn’t have time for the ‘softly teach me’ approach. They were busy becoming the most profitable banks in the world: they increased interest rates, deliberately hid fees, provided systematically biased advice, and took advantage of the financially vulnerable, for no other reason, other than they could.

Second, the journey

If financial literacy is the foundation, then financial health is the destination.

Anyone in banking and financial services who truly wants to create lasting, positive change, should know that change is not the result of the achievement itself, but the journey in between.

We forget that like any habit, developing good financial habits is a behavioural change, not suddenly wake-up-one-day kind of change. It’s a process that begins long before a person realises it’s even happening, or even wants it to.

Let’s take the fitness tracker for example.

Fitness trackers recommend you track steps before you commit to a major goal. How genius is that?! To get you started, let’s start tracking s.t.e.p.s. AKA walking AKA an involuntary activity we do all day, every day, with our eyes closed. And let’s see how many you actually do! And let’s celebrate!

Once you’ve got down 5K, we can up it to 10. Then throw in some calories. And maybe your heart rate. Now, it could be months before you actually decide that you’re ready to run your first 5K, or join the gym, but by then, you are so ready. You’re educated, empowered, excited.

Our approach to ‘financial fitness’ is flawed. We’re starting in the wrong place.

Third, the destination

Getting customers to track their spending could teach them a lot about their financial habits. If they wanted to that is. A lot of young people who don’t have a financial goal, or don’t feel they’re earning enough or not ready to save, won’t want to. And that’s OK. In fact, that’s more than OK. It’s perfect.

Take them on the journey. 

A simple spending analysis running in the background of your banking or finance app could find a way to make customers financially curious and create opportunities for financial education. They may not care about their finances yet, but they may be interested to peek at their frequent spending, guilty pleasures, and how much they spend on coffee or bars compared to their friends (like we do at Finch). Things they’re already doing. Then throw in a quiz, a group challenge, perhaps compare credit card debt or gamify investing.

For banks and financial services patient enough to guide their customers through this journey and build trust without selling, your reward lies in increased customer loyalty and satisfaction.  

Spending patterns will reveal a lot about a customer’s financial attitudes and values. It will speak for itself. It could tell you where a customer is likely splurge vs save, if they value adventure or routine, experience vs assets, where they’re price conscious vs cost conscious. How good they actually *are* with money vs how they *think* they are.

If the future of personal finance is ever going to deliver on the personalisation promise, building trust again by understanding your customers seems like a great place to start.

Author: Shahirah Gardner, Cofounder

My earliest money memory was tagging along with my Dad to the local swap market on a Sunday. He’d hand me two whole dollars and I’d relish in the challenge to buy as many treasures as my little hands could carry. Most of the time, I’d come home with bags of books and games (and the odd My Little Pony). Over the years, the two dollar bounties got bigger and better, a kite one week, a skateboard the next.

Growing up, we didn’t have a lot of money but we never went without (or at least we never felt it as kids). My parents raised four of us on a single income, with the sole goal to give us a nurturing home life so we could study hard and get into university, something neither of them got to do. Last year, my youngest brother completed his Mechanical Engineering degree with Honours, giving my Dad the ultimate satisfaction and pride of watching four out of four kids graduate.

In between homework and kite running, I learned a lot about the value of money from my Dad. He worked hard to support his family and had zero care for material things  – money to him was nothing if he couldn’t invest in our success, unlock opportunities and open doors someday in our future.

So in my 20s, I saved and spent every hard earned dollar doing just that, with gusto.

I backpacked around the world for 6 months. I moved to San Francisco. I worked in PR. I got married. I bought an apartment. Sold it. I learnt Mandarin. I taught high school in Shanghai. I launched two startups. Money, I also came to believe, was nothing, if it didn’t open doors. Exciting, adventurous, and sometimes risky ones.

Success in our family was never defined by a static goal, a bank balance, a great job, a big house, or a nice car (although admittedly those things are nice.) Success was a feeling: a reflection of the energy you were willing to invest into creating a life true to those values. Unbeknownst to him, Dad’s ‘School of Life’ would ultimately prepare me for the financial tradeoffs that would characterise my adult years.

I share this story because millennials around the world are also redefining their definition of success in a similar way. Without a foot on the property ladder or the money to settle down, we’re challenging the script of traditional life order and the so called ‘success markers’ of adulthood.

According to the 2019 Deloitte Global Millennial Survey, ‘Having children, buying homes, and other traditional signs of adulthood do not top [our] list of ambitions. In another report, only 19% of millennials and Gen Z define financial success as being rich, with most defining it as being simply ‘debt-free’.

We are a generation choosing to live in the financial moment rather than agonise over our financial futures. We’re funding our passions, contributing to our communities, and embracing the experience economy that makes us richer in ways that money never would.

Getting a new flatmate can be all fun and games until the bills start rolling in. As much as you may enjoy someone’s company, things change when moula’s involved. After all, if you’re ordering one less Bloody Mary because you’re covering that bloke’s bulk of rent, there’s going to be issues! So, drink up!

Here are some tips to help you and your flatmates manage the expenses without the drama.

Set ground rules

Look at a flatmate situation like you would any other intimate relationship. Whether you’re getting married or starting to date someone, you set ground rules. That way, both parties are in agreement about what’s going on. The same can be said for your living situation.

Sure, you’re not sharing a bed with your flatmate (and if you are, go you!). However, you’re still eating, showering, and doing your business in close quarters. Therefore, you need to be clear how living together is going to work.

Obviously, the big elephant in the room is shared expenses. Go into the situation knowing how much your flatmate can cough up each month. If your housemate needs the fastest internet known to humankind and you don’t think you can afford it, speak up. They might be willing to split the difference.

This also goes for living spaces. Australian savings expert, Kylie Travers, says, “Most properties have a master with a larger wardrobe, more space and often an ensuite. All those things together can equate to $50 or more a week in value.”

Airing these concerns before moving in allows an open line of discussion. Figuring out what people value in a home and what they’re willing to pay for ensures that every person enters the new household happily.

Lastly, have a clear understanding of the break down in utilities ownership and how the person responsible will be reimbursed. Will someone put it on their card each month? Perhaps you can set up a housemates group on Finch to track shared expenses? Whichever you decide, make sure it’s crystal clear and there’s no misunderstanding.

Create ongoing bill reminders

When done right, having a housemate should save you money. According to a recent study, splitting the average rent in Melbourne with a flatmate you should save around $6,700 per year. So, if you’re not on the plus side of things, you’re doing something wrong.

An excellent way to avoid this awkward tension is to set up ongoing bill reminders.

Here are a few options:

• Google calendars – schedule reminders ahead of time to your group
• Hang up a whiteboard or a corkboard with the bill total, due date and what’s owed
• Set up recurring expenses for your housemate group on an app like Finch

Track shared expenses centrally

In addition to rent and bills, there are all sorts of household spending: toilet paper, Netflix, a late night Macca’s run. Finch is the easiest way to share group expenses without losing track of who owes what. Simply add to the tab, split the expense any way you like and settle up as you go.

BFFs do everything together. They go out together, do shots together, sing off-tune karaoke together. So why wouldn’t they live together? What seems like a natural match may actually be the worst pairing of all-time. Before you go running off and moving in with your best mate, here are five realities of moving in with them.

Listen up, the future of your friendship may be riding on it.

They’ll annoy you

It’s one thing to share a plate of nachos with your best pal in a noisy bar. It’s another when they’re munching down a bag of chips when it’s just two of you in an empty house. Living so close to someone will force you to see them in another light, no matter how much you fight it, or love them as a person.

When it comes to living with anyone (friend, college housemate, spouse), it’s the little things that are going to add up. No matter how much they tiptoe around you, there’s still another person in your territory. They’re going to do things their way, whether it’s washing the dishes their way, cleaning the bathroom their way, using all the pots and pans their way… you get the picture.

Before lashing out, take a moment to think it through. Are you blowing these little things out of proportion, or are these gripes legitimate? If these nuances are part of who they are as a person, you might have to learn to deal. But if these are things that actually impact your quality of life when you’re home, then you’ll want to bring it up in a friendly way. Chances are, they had no idea they were annoying you and you’re probably annoying them too. (You’re bestie after all!)

You’ll learn more than you want to know

You know the whole “warts and all” thing? Sometimes you will see warts and all… literally. Living with your best mate leaves you both vulnerable to embarrassing walk-ins or accidental eavesdropping. Maybe there’s things you didn’t want to know about your friend, but hey, the walls are thin!

That being said, they’re your best friend so respect their privacy as they will yours. Don’t pry and get involved just because you happen to be there. It may be your home but it’s not always your business.

You won’t be hanging out all the time

Moving in with your best friend will change the dynamic of your friendship whether you like it or not. While most young Aussies spend 20 hours a week hanging out with friends, living together might not necessarily mean ‘hanging out’. Instead of bonding over wine, your time together might involve chores, going grocery shopping, or cooking dinner. Whatever the case may be, remember that you’re now living a life, not hanging out in life.

There may be times when you want to be chatty or go for an adventure but unfortunately, that loud fight with your ex on the phone kept your roomie up all night. Oops. So, they want to sleep. These situations are quite common. Don’t be disappointed when your BFF doesn’t want to be as active and is in need of some ‘me time’.

Lastly, because you see so much of each other, naturally you’re going to look forward to seeing other people! Hangouts might become less with each other and more with others. Since you used to dedicate your free time away from your old living quarters with your BFF, time away from new living quarters will most likely be without them.

You’ll be a third wheel

Nothing changes your status from best friend to housemate quicker than a significant other. Be prepared for your bicycle to turn into a tricycle… and you’ll be the wheel on it’s own.

When your best mate is dating someone and you don’t live together, their relationship is almost out-of-sight, out-of-mind. When you move in with your BFF, they’re going to want downtime around the house… with their partner.

Being the third wheel may sting at first, but get over it. Chances are, you’re not going to marry your best mate. Use this as a time to adjust to your new relationship!

It might not workl

Just like moving in with an ex may have made them… well… an ex, the same can be said for best mates. Splitting shared expenses, relying on them for chores, and being their third wheel may be too much of an ask, and that’s OK!

Before you move in with a friend, weigh the pros and cons. Ask yourself – would you really make compatible housemates? Understand that this arrangement may not be as smooth sailing as you think. If you have any doubts, hold out on moving in. Splitting rent for a few months might not be worth the long-term ramifications.

We all know there’s different housemate types. Which also means we are a type. While our personality flaws (or perfections) makes us who we are, it’s also the reason people love or hate living with us.

But if we were all the same, the world wouldn’t be much fun would it? After all, horrible housemates make the best stories! And if you happen to know how to deal with them, well, you’ll have stories for days!

Here are the 5 types of horrible housemates to look out for…and how to manage them!

The Slacker

Ever leave your housemate sitting in their PJs on the couch as you head to work? Then you come home, and they’re still in the same spot? Yeah. We wanted a housemate, not a piece of living room decor.

Seeing as 65% of Australian flatmates find cleanliness their #1 pet peeve, living with a Slacker is a biggie. Your peeve is best met with an open discussion. Be honest about what your expectations are and come to an agreement with how to split the cleaning duties. Before you do this though, be sure that you’re not a Slacker yourself! Want a clean house? You better be ready to pick up after yourself as well. That way, when you confront the Slacker, they have no leg to stand on.

The Party Animal

We all like to cut loose, but every night is a bit much. The Party Animal is fun to live with at first, but the honeymoon period tends to end… real quick. They’re the ones who will keep you awake when you’re trying to get sleep for an exam the next day… or the one who will put a hole in your wall, screwing you out of your deposit.

Dealing with the Party Animal is much like the Slacker. You need to be honest. Explain that you live there too and create a set of ground rules that you both agree to. Set party free days. Limit the number of people over. Music off at 12pm.

Lastly, there are some passive aggressive ways to jab the Party Animal if you really want to (yes you do!). Slamming cabinets, pots and pans while they’re hungover on the couch is solid revenge!

The Neat Freak

The Superman (or Lex Luthor) to the Slacker. Neat Freaks are the extremists on that 65% spectrum. They expect the place to replicate a live-in museum. This is not realistic (or normal!)

What to do? Meet the Neat Freak halfway. Pick up after yourself. Hold your end of the bargain with chores. Do the little things you know they’ll appreciate. But don’t go overboard. Your hoodie is fine hanging up in the hallway. Anytime your housemate gets huffy, remind them that this is a house, not a museum. You pay for the space too and deserve to leave a few of your things around.

The Night Owl

Night Owls are the subdued Party Animal. They might not be lighting the house on fire, but they’re still up living their life while the rest of the world is sleeping. That means the microwave may be going off at 2:00 AM or a loud movie might startle you at 11:36 PM.

Fact of the matter is, it’s their house too. There are many reasons people are night owls. It could be insomnia or it might be their work schedule. Whatever it is, if it’s bothering you, bring it up and see if you can find a compromise on the late night noise. If it’s really impacting your sleep, you can always invest in some noise-canceling headphones. In this case, prevention is the best cure: if you know they’re a nocturnal creature before hand, then you can consider if this is a compatible housemate for you before you make the decision to move in.

The Mother Hen

This is the least offensive of the horrible housemates. After all, who doesn’t love their mom? Seeing as 43% of 20-24 year Aussies still live at home with their parents, we’d say a lot do!

However, our housemate isn’t our mom. Mother Hens can be a bit too intense and have a tendency to overstep their boundaries. We don’t need to explain where we were or be told to go to sleep because there’s a big day at work tomorrow.

When this happens, don’t take offense. Their intentions are good. So so good! If anything, they’re just showing you how much they care. Remind yourself of that. That being said, have an honest conversation starting with how appreciative you are that you’ve got someone looking out for you. But that you actually don’t need to be reminded all the time. Chances are, they’ll value your feedback and they’ll reduce their doting ways.