Most of you know that we have been looking to move out of our apartment and into something cheaper and more suitable to our lifestyle. We were mainly looking for a house.
Yesterday, however, we found a few apartments at the property that I work at (currently live at the property across the street run by the same company - a more expensive property). I checked out four of them, and then had my wife check out the best two.
We both fell in love with one unit. It is a different floor plan than our current unit. The one we are in now is laid-out in a somewhat cluttered way. You walk straight into the kitchen from the front door. From there, you go into the dining/living area, and then there is a bedroom and bathroom to the side. The new floor plan is set up much more friendly to those seeking hard lines between specified areas. You walk in and to the left is the dining area, in the middle is the kitchen, and just past that is the living area. The bedroom and bathroom are off to the opposite side. Hallway down the middle (with a bar where the kitchen is).
The dining area will serve as our daughter's space. Crib, toys, etc. will all go there. A much-needed improvement to the current layout, where all she has is a corner with her stuff jumbled about. We would consider putting her stuff in the room further from the entry, but the cable hookups are in the further room.
Probably the best bonuses of this unit is that it is; a) on the first floor, b) on a private courtyard (no pool, spa, etc. in the courtyard - just back doors from other units and a huge middle area), c) the patio is 3x the size of our current balcony. This means we may be able to start a garden if we build planter boxes, get soil, and get some seeds! Huge improvements there!
Now, here is the iffy part - it is only going to be $25/mo less. The other floor plan (same as ours) would be $65/mo less, but my thought process on this was that we would be happier in the other unit and therefore less likely to go looking to move as soon as if we were in the other floor plan. Also, this one will not get as warm in the summers as the other units, and the carpet is not brand new, so we won't be charged for carpet on move-out if we do decide to move out within the next year (doubtful). Also, it will end up being more than $25 less because of the way the W/S/G bill is set up. Residents split the rent of the rooftop boilers for hot water. Since there are always fewer vacancies at this property than the one we are currently in, the boiler rental fee will always be less. As well, our electric bill will be lower, as this unit will not get as much sun.
We are looking forward to this new change! We move on the 10th.
Total Bills Cut This Month
Internet - $13
Auto Insurance - $20
Living Costs - $25-40
Total - $58-73
Not too shabby!
More Savings - Moving!
October 16th, 2012 at 12:47 am
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October 16th, 2012 at 05:40 am 1350366053
Terrific idea to have a garden, it's calming and a great stress reliever. If you've never planted and cared for a garden, you might benefit from spending a hour each night on internet to learn which vegetables work well together in a planting and what other people do to bring down costs. For example, you could start a compost container over winter to enrich soil at start-up. Many of us start seeds indoors in February to transplant in early spring.
Can wife do part time babysitting or on-line surveys to bring in income? Using dining rm for baby will work but I suggest a couple of quick tidy-up sessions like just before nap time and just before bedtime. We do a 20 minute session every single day at 9 PM we call ETE [eliminate the evidence] We set the stove timer and all rush around clearing every flat surface and putting everything out of place away. Each morning our condo looks 'company ready' and things go more smoothly.
October 16th, 2012 at 02:19 pm 1350397158
Great suggestions, sir/ma'am!
My employer takes care of all of the utilities as far as setting up and transferring, and no, the entities do not charge to change addresses.
Great tips for the garden stuff. We currently save scraps for veggie stock, but things like banana peels and strawberry leaves we just toss. Should definitely save those. Could get a bucket and put it outside, I suppose. How can we keep it from smelling?
She has been looking for nanny gigs for quite some time. Not sure where we could find online surveys that actually pay money. Got any advice? Really, though, she doesn't have much time for that, what with trying to keep the crazy kiddo and the house in order. She does have a blog that has been receiving a bit more attention steadily, and there is the possibility to get some revenue from that.
October 18th, 2012 at 03:23 am 1350530624
My MacBook is very old and not working very well. I hope the link works. Check Google *Search* for site on apartment composting. Simple gardening or first year gardening. The library is a wonderful resource for specific information and pictures. Your wife & baby might enjoy outings to the library and their programs.