Save money on your rent

December 3, 2009 – 12:53 pm – No Comment

Most people start off with a rental. There aren’t many who can just start off by buying their own first hope, so renting is the most popular option for those of us just starting out. There are a few ways to save money when you’re looking into renting a place of your own.

The first way that you can save some money when looking into a rental is trying to find a roommate. This is an option if you don’t want to live alone. Having a roommate that you can trust can cut your rent in half, as well as utilities. Some really great roommates even help pay for things like food.

In some areas, apartments can be rented by the bed space. This means that you have your own room, but you share a common space (like the kitchen and living room) with roommates. When I’ve seen this, it’s typically three other people sharing the space. This can save you a lot of money because in apartments that are rent by the bed space, the owners typically pay for things like water, electricity (up to a point), and cable. You have to be careful about these though because the process to getting a roommate is very similar to getting a roommate for a dorm room and the process can be a bit frustrating.

If you have your own method of transportation, your rent can be cheaper too. If you want to take public transportation everywhere you’ll likely have to live in an area closer to the city. The closer you live to that, the more expensive your rent will likely be.

Trendy locations often have the highest rent also. Just because it’s trendy doesn’t mean its safer or that it will have the best amenities. You can likely find something that is a little more quiet for a much more reasonable price. There, you might even be able to find a place with a washer and dryer…and parking!

If you’re really desperate for a cheaper place to live, look at some jobs that will house you for free. I once had a friend who was a live in nanny and she had her apartment paid for so that she could live near the house. I say, you have to be desperate because at any given time of day her bosses may call her to do something…even if she already had plans for the night.

One last thing is, be a little nosy with the neighbors. You might be paying more than the guy living next door. It happens quite often where one tenant will pay one price and another will pay something different. Just ask around and see how much other people are paying for their apartments and see if you can get a better deal if there is one to be had.