How to Find the Right Apartment for Your Budget

September 23, 2021 | By Stella M AuthorMy First Apartment

Amid COVID-19 rental market fluctuations, it’s almost as if the housing market benefits the buyer one day and the seller the next. As such, finding an apartment that you can afford can be quite an arduous task. Are you looking for a new place and having no luck? Here’s how to find the perfect apartment…

Here’s Which Kitchen Tools You Can (and Can’t) Buy Secondhand

November 5, 2020 | By Stella M AuthorMy First Apartment

To many apartment dwellers, apartment life means serious budgeting. Furniture, cookware, and other household items can be expensive, so you may want to buy some things secondhand. However, that’s not always the smartest move. Below, learn which kitchen tools you can and can’t buy secondhand. Why buy secondhand? When you’re buying used kitchenware, you’ll pay…

Four Easy Summer Meals That Fit Your Grocery Budget

September 10, 2020 | By Stella M AuthorMy First Apartment

Everyone has recurring fixed expenses in their budget, especially first-time apartment dwellers learning to balance life costs. Among these costs, keeping track of food can be tricky. It’s tempting to save time and order delivery or takeout, but that’s always more expensive than using your groceries to make a home-cooked meal. Yes, food is a…

How to Have a Social Life on a Budget

July 27, 2020 | By Stella M AuthorMy First Apartment

Life as a financially independent, stable adult means always being able to pay your monthly bills. When these financial obligations take priority, you may have to cut back on other costs that aren’t obligatory. For many people, these cutbacks can impede social life spending. But you can still easily have a social life on a…

4 Ways to Save Money On Now

April 10, 2018 | By Sarah AuthorMy First Apartment

Many of us start the year with resolutions around saving money, but by now the good intentions are gone and we have slid back into our old wasteful habits. It’s not too late to course-correct and, fortunately, it won’t be as hard as it may sound! There are plenty of easy swaps you can make…

How To Cut Cords to Save Real Money

January 2, 2018 | By Taylor AuthorMy First Apartment

When you budget for you expenses at your new place, you never forget to account for the obvious things: rent, electricity, water, etc. But what you might not have thought about is how much your electronic habits are costing you. Here are a few ways you can cut back to save on your electronic expenses. Netflix…

How to Turn Into a Penny Pinching Millennial

June 25, 2017 | By Kristen AuthorMy First Apartment

Being at the forefront of adulthood is a tricky phase to manage. We are looking for a new job, trying to navigate the world outside the college cocoon, and calculating how we could ever afford to leave our parents’ house. We may feel just lost for a while but slowly we all catch up, start…

New Research On The Best Way To Pay Off Credit Card Debt

May 23, 2017 | By J Simpson AuthorMy First Apartment

Paying off credit card debt is hard at the best of times, let alone while paying rent in an unsteady economy. Researchers from the Harvard Business Review have been conducting studies to find the quickest, most effective way to pay off credit card debt and the answers may surprise you. Here’s what they have found…

First Apartment Budgeting Boot Camp: Brit and Billy

April 14, 2017 | By MFA Editors AuthorMy First Apartment

Your first apartment budgeting boot camp continues. Today we look at two real life examples, based on questions we have received from two of our readers, Brit and Billy. (Next week’s lesson will cover apartment budgeting when you are moving in with your significant other.) Brit: “Hi there, I’m also looking to move out of…

Upgrades That Aren’t Worth The Cash in a Rental

March 14, 2017 | By Sarah AuthorMy First Apartment

Many apartments will try to catch your attention with fancy upgrades or add-on’s that tack on serious cost to your monthly rent payment. Some of them may be worth it…but some upgrades simply aren’t worth the cash. If you’re on a serious budget during your apartment hunt, check out the common upgrades below, and keep an…