a peek at apartment hunting

My wife and I are young, inexperienced, and recently married. We recognize that we have a lot to learn, but we do know that we want to have control over our finances. This is something we decided before we were married. Having control over our finances means making careful decisions.

Knowing we would need a place to live after our marriage, we foolishly jumped on the opportunity to move into a place that we knew would only be available for 3 months. We didn't know anything about searching for apartments as a couple. We didn't shop around and were not very familiar with the pricing. It turns out we had an okay deal, but we wanted to be even better prepared for another apartment at the end of our 3 months. We decided to try shopping around.

First we looked at postings online to get an idea of what was out there. We then started to make a list of things we wanted:

• Washer/Dryer
• Dishwasher
• No shared utilities
• Counter space
• 2 bedrooms
• No yard to take care of

After having an idea of what we wanted, we continued to search for available apartments. We noticed that it was really hard to get everything we wanted at the price we wanted. We thought more about what sorts of things we were willing to sacrifice on our list of "wants".

In the end we found an apartment that was at least $100 less per month than our target rent. Utilities are included (that's right, we don't pay any gas or electric) and there is a washer and dryer that we don't have to share with anyone. This is an awesome deal, but keep in mind that we did have to sacrifice some of our "wants". We do not have a dishwasher, we had to get our own internet service, and there is only one bedroom.

A few more bonuses we hadn't originally planned for:

• A beautiful neighborhood, rather than an apartment complex
• Our landlady is absolutely wonderful
• Our very own driveway (no more parking on the street!)

The important point I am trying to make is that sometimes there are sacrifices that need to be made when making financial decisions. Also, it is essential to take your time on larger purchases or other financial commitments such as renting an apartment.