My bf & I’s first luxury apartment at 20 + tips!

We love it here! One week in, we still need more decor but im satisfied for now. Florida

🧚🏼How can we afford & maintain this?🧚🏼

🦋we are both college students that work for $22+ an hour each and split the rent 50/50 which makes it so much cheaper. (He works in fraud prevention and I work remotely for a bank )

🦋we bought almost everything on sale for Black Friday before we moved in Jan 30th and kept everything in a storage unit

🦋our cleaning supplies are just glass bottles with cleaning tablets you mix with so that all you have order is the tablets for $2-4 each. some brands we use is Blueland, Tirtyl, & Nune

🦋i have been using a bidet for 6+ years which helped my bf and i never buy toilet paper since its adds up very quickly. We only use cloths in replacement of napkins/paper towels

🦋when family members offer to help, we take every opportunity even if it’s just for food & gas

🦋every holiday we only ask for food & gift cards for winn Dixie and amazon

🦋dollar tree for any snacks and Winn-Dixie for groceries (they have a lot of discounts) dont be ashamed to shop at these places if you’re on a budget in this economy. we also get a lot of drawer organizers from there.

🦋we paid off every credit card, small loan, or any affirm payment possible, since rent is more important

🦋our parents pay for every streaming subscription possible and also amazon prime

🦋we never turn on the AC (since it’s extremely cold rn) and use hue light bulbs/flashlights

🦋only apply for apartments that offer discounts for new residents, for ours it’s two months for FREE, and then a discount on the first time we pay for rent.

🦋anything you buy online needs to be on capital one shopping or any app that gives you rewards

🦋amazon is great and all with that quick shipping and has everything you want, but honestly almost everything is a minimum of $20+. As soon as you get your paycheck, majority of people will spend it on amazon… try to put the extra money you have aside into a savings account with positive interest.

🦋use your college student email to get discounts on every subscription (amazon primes students is 7.49 and Spotify is 5.99)

🦋we pay for annual subscriptions instead of monthly subscriptions

🦋use a cash back checking account (I have had discover for 3 months and raised $50 just for spending my money and every dollar counts!)

🦋if you have pets: large bag dry food mixed with water since canned wet food does smell & attract insects. buy a bulk of toys one time(I usually buy toys once a year on Christmas)

🦋i pay the minimum for my car bill on $300 while my boyfriend pays me and extra $500 to pay it off quickly

🦋my debt is his debt he quotes, so having a partner with financial freedom who is willing to help you is a blessing

🦋buy a car with little to NO payments unless you’re getting help, my first big girl purchase and first big girl mistake. Because if you’re financing that car, you will be paying full coverage insurance which is required for financed vehicles since it’s not technically your car yet. Insurance companies calculate how much they will charge you per month by your ZIP Code, your age, and your credit score. 2 years ago I was quoted $600 for direct auto insurance, I had a great score for my age so just be aware when you get your new car. That’s $300 for the minimum plus another $600 for insurance plus gas.

🦋if you still choose to finance at a dealership, just know that they will pull your credit multiple times until they find a bank that will give you a car loan to pay off, a lot of car loans companies will not let you finance with them because of short credit history since you’re young.. so just be aware that this can ruin your report when trying to find another loan or credit card. And when you finance you will be paying mostly towards interest which helps the company profit, keeps you in debt, and your car will take forever to be paid off. I suggest to do a very short loan.

🦋you don’t need a lot of credit cards, you just need a couple with long history and on time payments, i suggest to only use it for gas. you also don’t need a large credit line. if you’re struggling to get a first time credit card, look up a credit builder loan, which is great because you will get a large savings at the end of the year that you can deposit in your account account for anything. I suggest “kikoff” and “self” which will help you get your first credit score and only report positive history. This will help you get an apartment & finance anything because they will run your credit.

🦋i work with peoples credit cards and people don’t really realize that they are loans and will charge you a fee as soon as you slip up, they can’t always waive fees because they won’t profit, they are also quick to report your mistakes to the credit agencies. my advice is don’t buy anything you can’t afford or pay back in FULL on what you bought every month. I suggest to not use affirm or buy now pay later apps, they target young people like us. if you have to do monthly payments you may not need it. (learned this the hard way lol)

🦋lastly, don’t rush to move in with someone because you will most likely pay bills for the rest of your life so staying home and saving money is the best thing you can do. but if you do choose to leave home, in Florida and in most places, you have to make 3 times the income to qualify and no it doesn’t mean that you EACH have to make 3 times. So if your rent is $1800, you both have to make $5400 combined for the month, which is only $2700 for your job ($15.58 an hour for EACH party). Apartments go by gross income meaning your income before taxes take their cut. So as long as you have your credit score, have never been evicted before, and is making the right income for both parties, you’ll most likely be approved.

this is my first post but thank you so much for reading and follow me!🩷

#firstapartment #luxurylifestyle #luxuryapartment #homedecor #lemon8food #lemon8wellness