What is the best way to save for an apartment?

Question

I recently transfered to a new city to go to school. I will be graduating in December. I now live with my Father, but plan to move out no later than 3 months after graduation. I want to start saving, now for an apartment so that when the time comes, I can be all set.
The monthly rent is no problem. I don't want to pay no more than $400-500/month not including utlities. I am still not sure if I want a room mate or not, but I think that would be easier since I plan to go back to school in about a year.
Is there a set amount that I should perhaps aim to save b my deadline?
For example, I was told to save up at least 3 months rent before thinking about sasving for furniture and things like that.
Other things I may need to save up for: furniture, utlities, luxuries(cable, internet), appliances, kitchen ware...etc.

Answer 1

The only rule I've heard is that your rent should not be more than 1/3 your take-home pay.

Answer 2

Don't go to Starbucks, watch your discretionary expenses like movies, expensive haircuts, clothing, makeup, restaurants, etc. When buying appliances check out consumer reports magazine at the library. For instance recently a Braun $25 coffee maker beat out several 300$ models. Don't rent furniture, way too expensive. Check out garage sales and local classifieds. Buy on eBay, craigslist, or amazon.com. Roommate is a good way to save of course, just make sure you interview for compatibility and the ability to pay their rent portion. The 3 months rent thing is ok, but if say your father would help you out in a scrape then maybe it's not required. You will need the first months rent, and the initial deposit for you apartment rental. You are being more thoughtful than most (and I know as I rent out apartments). Good luck!

Answer 3

Ideally you have 3 months of your anticipated expenses stashed for emergencies, not the costs of moving. That way you can handle any crisis that may pop up, like a temporary loss of job, illness or a broken car.

So....you need other money for your move. Since you are a student, keeping your expenses as low as possible makes the most sense. If you do it right and are lucky enough to have "extra" money each month, you can put that into savings to offset the cost of more schooling or even to begin your retirement savings (there's no such thing as starting too soon).

So..I'd look for a roommate who has most of the furniture, that way you don't have to supply more than your own bedroom. Check the local classified for bedroom stuff or if you're lucky to have an Ikea nearby, they have cute stuff cheap. My daughter (also college student) found a lot of stuff on http://www.craigslist.org - there's a craig's list for most major cities. (free classified site..you might also find your rental there). You can start buying stuff now and put it in dad's garage.

Then figure at least $500 for utility hookups, toilet paper and moving costs, then put away another $500 just in case.

I hope that helps.

Answer 4

How much you need to save depends on where you want to live. The minimum you should save is 3 months of rent plus deposit. If you want furniture, then plan to either live with someone else that has it or save for that too. I'm assuming that you are pretty young, so you may want to consider living with roommates, but be very careful about who you choose to live with. Make sure you have key things in common such as: do you like to have friends over a lot? How late do you like to stay up? If you are a loner and try to live with someone who can't stand to be alone, it won't work. The reverse is also true, if you are a socialite, don't try to live with someone who prefers to be alone a lot. Also make sure your room-mates have the same standards of cleanliness, if you are a clean freak, then living with a slob will make you miserable. Good luck and do move out. It will do you good! As for how to save, just put money in a savings account.

Answer 5

Just get a very well paying job.