The first time you move into an apartment can be pretty amazing. The sense of self-reliance and the excitement of having your own place is definitely life-changing. When you look back at where you came from, you can’t help but feel a bit of pride in accomplishment. Apartment living is much different than living in a dorm or at home. You are
Moving into a new apartment is a great time to take inventory of your belongings and ensure that you aren’t moving with too much stuff. There are a huge number of sites that have move-in checklists that can help prepare you for those unexpected times. However, here we are going to take a look at how you can save money and still live the lifestyle you want.
Check the price of the area you are moving into an apartment in
The first thing to do is check for price. Apartments in bigger cities are expensive. Some are even outrageous. This is the time that you have to decide if you want to look for a roommate. Or you might need to accept that you will have to ride the train and look for an apartment a bit further away from your work. Both of these options will save you money, especially if you do both.
Photo by Noémi Macavei-Katócz on Unsplash
Now that you’ve chosen where, and finalized who gets what room, decide on what colors everyone agrees on. Oh, and stick to it. Small disagreements can balloon into huge, lease-breaking fights, so do your best to work with others.
Once you’ve moved in and decorated, make sure you have the basics set up to be able to do laundry, like a hamper, basket or bag to carry laundry to the washer, and detergent. Your roommate will appreciate it if neither you, nor your clothing smell bad, so try to be considerate with your personal hygiene. Quite often, roommates will do wash together, which can save you money if you’re okay with sharing loads.
Always keep enough money in your account to cover 3 months of rent by yourself. You never know when something could happen that requires you to cover all costs for an extended period of time. Most leases are made for the apartment as a whole, not for individual renters. That means that if your roommate has to move back to Sacramento, you are still on the hook for the rent.
Maintain your bank account and keep up with cleaning the apartment, and you should be able to enjoy your new apartment through the terms of the lease. Then you can decide to move on if you want to.