How to Interview Potential Roommates

February 10, 2015 | By Contributors AuthorMy First Apartment

This totally makes sense: forewarned is forearmed — especially if you have a roommate. Living with someone, much like moving in with a significant other, may just as well be called taking the plunge. Finding the right roommate is quite a challenge. It does not matter whether you’ve been friends forever or total strangers because…

6 Signs You’re Ready to Buy Your Own Place

November 17, 2014 | By Contributors AuthorMy First Apartment

By Catherine Boyle If you’re thinking about buying your first home, plunging into the market can be daunting. How do you know you’re ready? Is buying mostly like renting? How much money do you need? Before making such a large purchase, you want to be sure you’re ready. Here are six ways to tell that…

How to Have a No-Money Weekend

November 14, 2014 | By Contributors AuthorMy First Apartment

After splurging money on your new apartment, the last thing you want to do is splurge some more. That’s why you need a no-money weekend, which is exactly what it sounds like: A two-day period where you’ll get to spend as little cash as possible — assuming you spend at all. But how do you…

How to Tell If Your Apartment Has a Criminal Past

October 15, 2014 | By Contributors AuthorMy First Apartment

It’s the spooky time of the year again, so let’s take a look at another one of apartment hunter’s nightmares – unknowingly renting a place with a criminal past. Yes, it can and does happen. It even happened to one of my fellow My First Apartment bloggers a few years ago. In that case the…

How to Save Money on Summer Electric Bills

July 15, 2014 | By Contributors AuthorMy First Apartment

As we head into the dog days of summer, cooling the home becomes extremely important and costly. Your monthly electric bill suddenly doubles or even triples, if the heat gets really brutal. Add the following tips to the ones we have shared before to help you to tame your energy bill, so that this summer’s heat…

How I Moved Out …The Wrong Way!

July 7, 2014 | By Contributors AuthorMy First Apartment

Just like most teenagers fresh out of high school with the newfound freedom of turning 18, I thought I was pretty much invincible. Along with my new freedom also came more money than I had ever had. Between the cash in my graduation cards and other income I’d saved, I had over $1000 all at…

Easy Fixes for Second-hand Furniture Problems

June 23, 2014 | By Contributors AuthorMy First Apartment

Perhaps you’re moving into your own place for the first time, or perhaps you outfit your apartment in bargain pieces that might need a little — or a lot — of TLC. Either way, second-hand and hand-me-down furniture is always a budget-friendly option that can look great if you put in a little bit of…

Tips for College Grads on Renting in a New City

June 16, 2014 | By Contributors AuthorMy First Apartment

It is both a blessing and a curse that today’s job market means that many new graduates find themselves travelling across the country to find work. While the hunt for a job can be stressful, it’s important to approach it with an open mind and see it as a chance for adventure – who knows…

10 Ways to Know It’s Time to Leave Your Parent’s Home

June 13, 2014 | By Contributors AuthorMy First Apartment

Since I accomplished many life goals I set myself, new ones have quickly emerged. I have now achieved educational and career success but all of that is shattered when I turn the key to my home, greet my parents, and climb the stairs to the room I’ve had since I was seven. I am 27…

7 Ways to Make Doing Laundry Faster and Easier

May 9, 2014 | By Contributors AuthorMy First Apartment

By Monica Ricci, Manilla.com Another weekend, another haul of laundry to the laundromat! I know just how you feel. During my single (and divorced) years, I rented in both apartment complexes and old homes, and they all had one thing in common: no dedicated laundry machines. Even my first condo was lacking an in-house laundry…