Moving into your first apartment can be a really exciting time – you get to finally have your own space. This means that you can decorate it the way you want, you can play your own music and you can be the master of your own domain. If you are moving out of your parents’ home, moving into your first apartment can be a revelation. However, renting an apartment can be expensive and there may be a lot of costs that you haven’t taken into consideration. For someone that is not used to making rent their number one responsibility, it can be a really big wake up call to realize you have to make a budget. Here are five money-saving tips for first-time apartment renters.
- Put rent at the top of your list of priorities. When you are renting an apartment, the last thing you want is to overspend and be in that situation where you can’t pay your rent on time. So, you need to always have rent in the front of your mind. This is especially the case when you are thinking of splurging on luxury items, like a brand new television or an expensive dinner. Eventually, this will get you in the habit of being more frugal.
- Create a budget. When you rent an apartment, your monthly lease should be the most important expense, but you also have other expenses, like groceries and utilities. By not creating a budget, you can very easily spend too much money. If you are trying to save money, creating a budget is even more important. There are even some online budget creating applications that give you a broader and more macro overview of your finances. Using these tools is important if you have a lot of expenses to manage.
- Make more meals at home. If you think about it, you could be saving a lot of money by eating at home versus going out to eat all the time. In fact, for what you spend on a single dinner, you could actually have an entire week’s worth of breakfast, lunch and dinner. So, you may want to think about reserving the luxury of going out to a restaurant for very special occasions. For first-time renters, you want to keep your fridge fully stocked.
- Ask your rental company to cover maintenance and repairs. If you are renting your apartment from a rental company, like LRG Rentals, there is a good chance that maintenance and repairs are covered in your lease agreement. So, you may not have to pay out of pocket when it comes to things like changing your air conditioner filter, replacing parts on your toilet or even fixing bigger damages, like a broken window.
- Purchase furniture secondhand. Buying brand new furniture can be incredibly expensive, especially if you have a few bedrooms and a living room to furnish. However, there are many avenues you can take to purchase used furniture. For instance, you can look online, you can visit thrift shops or you can look for garage sales on the weekends. In the end, why would you spend top dollar on furniture if you didn’t need to?