Baby boomer gambles away her rent money and her roommates $800 rent payment, which is half of her monthly income: 'She’s now wallowing around in self-pity'

Age doesn't always correlate with maturity. 

You have to put a lot of faith and trust in your roommates. You must trust that they aren't sticking your toothbrush in the toilet every morning after you leave for work. You have to trust that they won't eat all of your groceries when you're not at home. Most importantly, you need to trust that they will pay their rent in full and on time. 

In past roommate situations, we've all been responsible for paying our own portion of the rent on a rent portal, so the landlord can see exactly who has paid and how much they've paid. My current landlord wants us to Zelle him the rent in a lump sum, which has worked thus far, but could go horribly wrong if one roommate were to stop paying rent. The roommate who sends the money might be forced to use their money to make up the difference because they don't want their housing situation to be affected by one bad apple. That's the problem with having a ton of roommates: you're relying on way more people to be responsible than you would be if you only had one roommate or were living by yourself. But even having one bad roommate can make your life a living nightmare.