By: Jonathan Williams
Having spent the first two years of my college career living in the dorms, I was ready to move off campus. With four of my friends, we started the search for a house or apartment, and I was quickly surprised by the high costs. Knowing I still had another two years ahead of me, I needed to find ways to save money to cover the remaining expenses.
Here are some of the ways I found to limit my spending:
Share a room
· Instead of paying full price for a single room, I share a bedroom with one of my roommates. Our room is larger than a single room, giving us enough space for all our belongings, and we split the monthly rent. This may sound like an inconvenience to some of you, but this is much different than living in a dorm because of the extra space and other rooms in the apartment.
Appliances
· Our apartment building has a washer and dryer included in each unit. This gives me the flexibility to do laundry at any time without the need to travel to a laundromat or spend extra money.
Furniture
· Each apartment also comes completely furnished! While I do have to supply a few kitchen items, the big furniture items are already in the apartment. This was not only helpful for moving in, but also saving money for not having to rent a U-Hall truck to transport big pieces of furniture.
Share meals
· My roommates and I often create group meals. Each person contributes something to the meal which leads to a lot of food and a lot of different options. Not only does this save money, but it also creates a fun environment of cooking as a group and even trying new things.
Limited utilities
· Also included with the rent is Wi-Fi, a flat screen TV on the wall with cable, and water; leaving only the electric bill to split among all five of us. We also split the expenses of the streaming services we subscribe to.
Dedicated workout area
· Included in the rent is a membership to the onsite gym. This allows me to work out in between classes or late at night without having to leave the building. While the UWL rec is a place for all students to have a free gym membership, if you don’t have a car or live far away it can be very helpful to just walk downstairs to workout.
Close to campus
· My apartment is about a 15-minute walk to campus. Since it is this close, I don’t need the extra expense of having my own car. I also don’t need to pay the expense of owning an on-campus parking spot. Plus, a couple of my roommates have a car if I need a ride.
I hope sharing some of my personal experiences for saving money was helpful. As you begin your next search for off campus housing remember, rent is something you can’t change but where you live is.