How to Save for an Apartment: 5 Essential Steps

How Much Should I Save for an Apartment?

There’s nothing quite like landing your first apartment. It’s a space to call your own, one that you can decorate and enjoy however you’d like. That said, the process of saving for an apartment is daunting. You might look at apartment prices in your area and feel as though you can’t afford, but with the help of these tips on how to save for an apartment, you’ll be a renter one day.

You’ll need a bit of discipline and some patience, but in time you’ll be rewarded with the financial stability to get situated with your very own place (learn what you need to rent an apartment).

So, are you ready to learn how to save for your first apartment?

1. Start with Your Goal in Mind

Anytime you set out to save money for a specific purpose, it’s good to set clear goals for yourself. Saving up for getting an apartment is no different. You don’t want to go into saving with a vague mindset of ‘building up savings.’ The more specific you are with yourself, the more likely you are to budget effectively.

First, determine how much you’d like to be able to afford in rent each month. Generally, experts recommend that your monthly rent be no more than 30% of your monthly income. So if you’re earning $4,000 a month, you should generally pay no more than $1,200 a month in rent.

That monthly rent is your starting goal, but you’ll need more than that to move into an apartment. You’ll likely need enough to cover your deposit as well. It would help if you also planned for apartment utility bills and other apartment expenses, like moving and new furniture.

It’s also important to note that no savings can make up for a rent-to-income ratio that’s too high. Even if you’ve saved up enough to cover a few months’ rent at the beginning, if your costs are too high for your income, you’ll quickly begin eating into your savings. That nicer place isn’t worth the financial stress it will cause if it’s outside of your budget.

2. Lower Your Costs

The best way to save more money faster? Lower your costs. That will involve making some tough choices about what aspects of your life are most important to you and whether you’re willing to give them up to bring you closer to your goal of having your apartment.

Here are a few common areas where you can cut costs.

Subscriptions

Nowadays, most people have multiple subscriptions to a wide range of digital services. Services like Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, and tons of others all require a monthly fee to use. While these services can be a convenient way to access entertainment, saving for an apartment might require you to look at which ones you could do without. Canceling one $10/month subscription won’t supercharge your saving, but canceling multiple unnecessary subscriptions can have a real impact.

Lower Your Bills

Many people go years without reassessing the costs they’re paying on things like car payments, insurance, and other costs. But you can save money by refinancing a car loan to get better rates and negotiating your insurance rates or switching companies. Don’t take your current monthly costs at face value—investing an afternoon in some savvy research can result in significantly lower monthly bills in multiple areas.

Eat Out Less

If you confront your total monthly dining out costs, you’ll probably faint. Spending unnecessary money on food instead of eating at home can devastate your ability to save. If you’re willing to eat at home a few more nights per month, you can go a long way toward building your apartment fund. If you must dine out, keep an eye out for happy hours, specials, and loyalty rewards.

3. Leave Yourself a Cushion

 Paying your first month’s rent and deposit when you move in shouldn’t leave you with $0 in your bank account. You want to put yourself in a position to cover any emergencies or unexpected costs that arise in the period immediately after you’ve moved in.

With that in mind, we recommend putting away 20% of your earnings into savings, on top of savings explicitly dedicated to covering your new apartment. So if you earn $4,000/month, try to put away $800 if that is possible.

Remember—these are ideal goals. Don’t beat yourself up if you’re not able to put that much away each month. Each financial situation is different. Saving will be easier for someone living in a rural area with a low cost of living than it will be for someone living in downtown Manhattan.

4. Choose Your Compromises

Let’s be honest. Unless you’re a millionaire, renting an apartment will involve some compromises—even if the apartment itself is flawless. If you want to shorten the time it takes to save enough for your first place, you’ll need to have a real talk with yourself about where you’re willing to avoid costs once you have the apartment.

You might find the perfect apartment that’s well within your budget, but then it comes time to furnish it. You might want to buy brand-new furniture from the finest designers, but that will mean waiting a much longer time to save up the funds to do it. Consider finding secondhand furniture that you can fix up or reupholster, and browse online listing sites for great deals. Not only will this save you money, but it can be a fun experience that beats getting hounded by furniture salespeople in a massive warehouse showroom.

5. Be Realistic with Yourself

The most important tip we can give you when saving for an apartment? Be real with yourself. It’s easy to tell yourself that you’re going to live on ramen and water for two months and save 90% of your income to move into your apartment faster. But the truth is that you’re better off setting reasonable goals and building your savings slowly.

Remember—there’s always another apartment. A tempting option is to leapfrog your savings plan because the perfect unit comes onto the market. But there will be another ideal apartment, and another after that. Stick to your plan and keep saving. The reward will come from moving into an apartment when you’re ready, which will make you truly appreciate your new home with none of the stress that comes from overextending yourself financially.

And while you save for your first apartment, you can get inspired and check out our roomy McKinley apartments!