Tips to Save on Apartment Rental Expenses

Whether you are looking for an apartment to live in or are currently in an apartment, you need to see what options you have available in order to reduce your monthly payment. Can you get by in a smaller apartment? That is, looking at our typical family of four, can you live in a two bedroom apartment instead of a three bedroom apartment? If you feel you will be depriving your children by forcing them to share a room, perhaps you need to look at how important it is to also teach your children that everyone in the family must work together to help the family as a whole.

Do your children consist of a girl and a boy and, therefore, you feel they cannot share a room? You can take a relatively small bedroom of 12′ x 12′ and divide it with curtains or 6′ high book shelves in order to give them each some privacy. After all, you know there are times when you and your spouse would like to have your own rooms to get away from each other once in awhile, but you do not get an extra bedroom for that. All children need to learn about sharing and, even more importantly, working for the good of the family rather than for what they can each get out of their parents for themselves. And changing from a three bedroom to a two bedroom apartment could save you $200 or more a month.

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Can you move to a lower cost area? No, we are not recommending that you move to a more dangerous neighborhood. However, moving to a smaller town away from the city you work in can reduce your monthly rental as much as $200. Will the extra commuting distance eat up the savings in additional gas for the car? Look at the “gas/oil for cars” item first. Also, the apartments in smaller towns do not necessarily have all of the conveniences of the city complexes such as swimming pools, gyms, etc. But again, this is a way to save another $2,400 during a year’s time.

Can you move back in with your parents? In farming families it has always been accepted that families would live together. And some families are very close. We know of one family who would keep their children (and their future spouses and grandchildren) with them for the rest of their lives if at all possible. If you have a very close family and your spouse also comes from a very close family and likes your family, then you might want to consider this option. However, unless you are doing this because you are heavily in debt, you should still pay your family a monthly rental which may save you money or it may not. In any event, please use this as a last resort.

Whichever method you decide on, this can be a huge savings on your monthly budget varying from $200 to several hundred dollars each month. It’s all about reducing debt, lowering your monthly expenses and finding financial freedom, hopefully we can help.