The money you spend on your rent each month can have a major impact on your overall financial situation. This is probably the highest monthly expense for you, and it is also a recurring expense. Once you sign a lease, you can't reduce it. Especially when you first start working, letting your rent take up too much of your salary will not only have a short-term negative impact on your bank account, but also have a long-term negative impact on your bank account.

In the short term, high rents can weaken your ability to go out or vacation with friends. In the long run, the consequences are much more serious. If you don't have enough cash to deposit the contingency fund, a bad month or a round of unemployment can get you into credit card debt. If you don't have enough room in your budget to save for retirement, you will give up years of compounding power and put yourself at a disadvantage. If you have debt, too high a rent will slow down your repayment and increase the interest you owe. Spend more money on rent than you have to spend, so you can call yourself a homeowner. Fortunately, there are many strategies to reduce rents.

Rethink your location

If you want to live in a very desirable place, you will spend a lot of money to get this privilege. In addition, in some densely populated communities, you may also need to pay an additional monthly parking fee. However, if you live only a few miles away from the neighborhood, you can still easily take advantage of their amenities and pay less. In addition, if you live near grocery stores, shops, restaurants, cinemas and bars, it is much easier to make shopping or over-consumption entertainment. Living further afield will force you to think about shopping trips and help you control your spending.

However, remember to stay balanced. High-paying jobs are usually in the most liveable areas. If you work in these areas, don't move too far, otherwise the savings on rent may be consumed by increased transportation costs and reduced quality of life during commuting hours.

The definition of "good" should be flexible

“Good” is not looking for a perfect apartment. “Good” may simply refer to a place without maintenance problems, safety issues, pests and bad neighbors. You are unlikely to find a shiny new dream apartment at a cheap price, but if you can ignore things that have little impact on your quality of life (such as worn carpets that can be covered with carpet or ugly that you rarely see) Outside the building), when everything else in this place meets your criteria, you will be AB. I want to grab the jewel that someone else may have abandoned.

Find a roommate (or two or three)

If you are willing to eat with a roommate, you only need a roommate to save 30% of the basic cost of living - rent, utilities and even food. If you are willing to sacrifice some privacy and quiet, roommates can make you spend less, find a better place or live in a better place. If you play right, you can even grab these three advantages.

Looking for exceptions, not rules

Although this may require a lot of time, patience and flexibility (including the flexibility of the check-in date), it is not impossible to find an apartment below the market price. In addition to perseverance, you also need to understand the market. Conduct an investigation in advance so that you know what the high, low, and average rents of the target community are. You must also keep it at the top of the list so you can view it as soon as it goes public. Valuable apartments were quickly snapped up.

Get details

If your application is approved, do not sign the lease impulsively. First, ask your potential landlord a lot about the house before the contract stipulates that you have to pay a one-year rent. Ask the unit, the building whether there are major problems such as insects and rodents, and whether there is noise problem. Maybe your neighbor has a child, or there is an airport near you that you don't know.

At the same time, be wary of large deposits. In most areas, you only need to pay the rent for the first month and a deposit equivalent to one month's rent. Some landlords will ask for the first month's rent, last month's rent and deposit, but when you are young, it's hard to figure out a way, and it's best to invest in the extra money. Local laws will stipulate the legal limit for deposits. In addition, if you have a pet, you usually pay an additional pet deposit and even pay a small "pet rental" per month.