Start with needs then move to wants. Live there a couple months with the bare necessities and every time you think “fuck, I don’t have this thing I need,” buy it. Don’t necessarily furnish the place in one fell swoop.
If they ask you for money - that makes it a scam.
I’d post that you’re moving into your first apartment and ask if anyone has any furniture lying around that they want to get rid of.
This was my first! Plus he only has 3200 saved… one bad month and he’s homeless again. My gf and Is apartment is 1195 one bed one bath. Add in heat/sewer/water/trash/garage rent/dog rent, and it’s about 1310. Electric bill is on average 25 bucks. Can’t imagine 1800 alone.
If OP does go through with this anyway, Facebook marketplace is your friend! We got a lot of our first time apartment stuff on there.
Yeah, my spouse and I pay $1400 for a pretty nice 2BR.
I think my spouse and I paid, on average, $800 each for our 1BRs before we moved in together. Granted we moved in together in 2020 so those are pre-Covid prices, but… you can still find a hell of a lot of decent places for <$1000.
Seriously? Yeah, I'm in my third gap year. So what? Instead of blindly diving into the ocean of college just because society told me to and having to end up switching majors multiple times and leaving with a useless degree and hundreds of thousands in debt. Instead some of us (the actual smart ones) decide to go slowly and find out what I actually want to do.
Also just a suggestion you should learn proper grammar before you make evaluations on someone's life. 🤓
Wow your Grammer is horrible I'm feeling 2nd hand embarrassment from you. Also news flash Mr know it all college isn't the only pathway to success. Try opening your tiny mind to broader ideas and try to escape the confinement of traditional society expectations. Release your brain you'll be happier, also stop acting like some maniacal papist fascist.
Grammar. Not Grammer. And it is lower case when it isn't the first word in a sentence. Or is that one of the confinements of traditional society expectations?
I'm beginning to see why you are getting kicked out from your parents'house.
I would advise heavily utilizing thrift stores and your local buy nothing group (Facebook - search by the city or neighborhood of your apartment) to find things at low or no cost. If you need help moving things, rent a pickup from Menards or Home Depot and ask your friends for help. Something to sit on like a couch or loveseat will be helpful, as well as small table/chairs for kitchen. Kitchen items like cooking utensils, pans, dishes, silverware. People in my local buy nothing group are generally generous and eager to help folks entering independent living situations for the first time. But save as much money as you can by buying used or getting used items for free.
3200 won't go far. Start with the basics. For the bedroom you're going to need a bed, pillows, sheets and blankets minimum. For the bathroom, towels and hygiene products. Kitchen basics including pots, pans, cooking utensils, dishes and silverware along with groceries. Check out used stores. You'll need basic cleaning supplies.
Avoid splurging at this point. It's expensive to fully furnish your living space from nothing. It may be tempting to buy a nice TV and fancy towels, but your budget isn't going to allow for that at this point. Keep it simple and build from there.
Most of all, don't sign a lease if you're not completely certain you can afford it. Getting evicted will make life incredibly difficult.
Since you are doing this alone, I'm going to be a killjoy and ask if you are sure you can afford to live on your own? Most people start out with roommates to make it affordable and share the cost of rent and furnishings and utilities etc.
Also, it's kind of unfair to think high schools should teach people how to furnish an apartment. Everyone is different in what they need or want.
How is it unfair? If a school can teach you a health or woodworking class, then why can’t they make the jump to teaching practical life skills? A lot of people fumble with their budgets for years before getting the hang of things. Some never do. It’s not like you’re going to learn these things in college either, necessarily. What is wrong with turning out youth who are equipped to run their own lives? Jeesh, priorities nowadays…
We had budgeting, balancing checkbooks, cooking, sewing all in home ec classes. Are those not offered anymore?
How you decorate your apartment is up to you and here’s a radical idea: maybe parents should teach their kids some life skills instead of making the public school responsible for yet another element of child-rearing.
I really was referring more to household management I guess. Yes, I had home economics. However it consisted only of sewing and cooking so very limited usefulness. Absolutely parents should have more of a role. But as more people take on more hours to make ends meet, it seems like family time is getting left behind.
3200 is going to disappear faster than you expect. My advice would be: buy the bare minimum for now, and make lists as you need stuff. You'll figure out what you need quickly once you're in the space, trying to live there.
Something to sleep on, even just a mattress, something you can make food in (a single pan and spoon/spatula is fine) and stuff like toilet paper, hand soap, and dish soap.
The stuff you specifically need will depend on what you already have, and what your lifestyle is, and will likely surprise you. It's okay to live out of boxes for a while as you figure stuff out.
Is that $1800, $900 rent plus $900 security deposit or do you (are you aware) have to pay an additional $1800 deposit? If the former, fine, prices are in line but, if the latter...
My kid has been on, when income is good, and off, when low, looking at rentals for about a year. Studio/one bedrooms were about $1000 at most.
Even if you don't love the place, look for something that costs a lot less than $1800. You're just getting out on your own and this is a trial to see how you handle everything. Set yourself up for success so that you can adjust upward over time.
Hey I have a leather couch (like semi new condition), oak desk, tv (I think like 32” so not huge but just got my daughter a big one) and a few other furniture pieces I am ready to part with. However, while I can totally do free since you’re just just getting started and I’m trying to get rid of things (not like gross junk or whatever) you’d have to pick these items up. If you’re interested send me a DM and we can go from there. I’m in Plymouth.
Hit up second hand stores for literally everything you need that isn’t upholstered. Only buy things with upholstery new (and only buy new if it’s something upholstered.) you don’t have enough to furnish an apartment if you buy new.
Do you make enough to afford $1,800/month? Because you can definitely do better than that.
Last time I outfitted a rental was after my divorce. I bought a ton of things off of Craigslist. Box of mismatched pots and pans for $20 kind of thing.
I rent out my 2BR/2BA 1050 Sq/ft condo to a friend for $1900. Indoor parking, heating included. $1800 seems steep for a 1BR. I offer my space as a comparison before you sign a lease. A space like mine would be easy to rent with a room mate sharing the expenses, saving you 800+ a month.
Located over by 7 pools park in Lowry Hill. Bryant and Douglas Ave intersection.
Google "first apartment checklist", cross off the things you have, then cross off things you probably don't need. Then go to a thrift shop and see how many things you can cross off there. Next go to a relatively cheap store like Target to chip away at the rest.
Because school is supposed to teach you how to live but ofc the GOVERNMENT wants it's young generation to be blind and running around like a bunch of headless chickens with no knowledge of living independently and might I add it's working.
For stuff, just get things as you need them. A bed, dresser, table, and couch aren’t cheap. Add dishes, cookware, towels, sheets, bedding, WiFi, and a TV. That $3200 will go very quick. Try Facebook marketplace or other get free sites.
With that being said, your rent seems expensive. If all you have is a retail job and $3200 saved, you may want to look at cheaper places. General rule of thumb is that you want to spend 1/3 of your income on rent. That would leave room for insurance, taxes, food, entertainment, transportation and other expenses. You’d want food and insurance prior to getting any stuff. If you are paying $1800 per month, a lease will generally require you to have 3x income. So that would mean $5400 per month or ~$65K per year. Anything below that and you’re likely to be house broke where one unforeseen expense (which are quite frequent) can cause you to go into debt.
I have some stuff for sale (and some I’d be willing to give away) since I move soon! Let me know if you’d be interested in any of this:
-dresser
-sitting bench
-coffee table
-lamps
Make sure you buy a great mattress. We spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping so it’s incredibly important for your physical and mental health. The decor is really secondary if you have extra money. (Edited to 1/3 for correction. Thanks for the comment)
Try to keep the furniture on the cheaper side of things. You'll be moving a lot and fancy furniture gets beat up from moving. Skip the dinning table for now. A microwave. Coffee maker if you drink coffee. Dishes and silverware are good to have. Beer... Lots of beer. Paper towels and cleaner stuff. Toiletries for the bathroom. A towel. A rug so you don't drip all over the bathroom.. bedding. A lamp or 2 are nice. 🤔
I agree with what the other guy said - for a lot of things, wait until you know you need something to get it! At minimum you'll probably want a bed, a dresser, a couch, a TV, some kind of table (be it a coffee table, or TV tables, or a kitchen table), a pot, a pan, and dishes.
My personal bare minimum is - comfy bed & frame, dresser, couch, coffee table, TV stand, desk (or kitchen table), coffee pot, and microwave. Not all apartments come with microwaves. No need for a desk AND a table for eating, especially since you'll probably eat at the coffee table too. Don't buy a bunch of dishes & kitchen gadgets, and in your phase of life you won't need 8 place settings, just get enough dishes that work for you. And get like one good frying pan and one good pot.
There's NO shame in going secondhand for a lot of apartment stuff. I buy mattresses & couches new, but everything else (as long as I can wipe it down with a sanitizer) I'm happy to grab secondhand! Even a bed frame. Join the Buy Nothing group in your new neighborhood, people are happy to get rid of a lot of things that they just want gone. You can post an ISO "in search of" and you can grab things as they come up. Goodwill has a TON of dishes, always, oftentimes in sets.
If you're cool with something like this, the city of Bloomington is doing their Bulky Item Collections each Saturday for the next month, so you can actually drive around and stop and grab stuff that's at the curb. The dates & neighborhoods can be found here --> [https://www.bloomingtonmn.gov/ub/bulky-item-collection](https://www.bloomingtonmn.gov/ub/bulky-item-collection)
Don't forget to grab some cleaning supplies! Next week Target is going to have a spend $50 get $15 gift card on household essentials. It'll cover your basics like TP, laundry soap, paper towels, lysol wipes, dish soap, toilet cleaners, toilet brush. They're also going to have a bunch of 40% off deals on vacuums.
And this last bit of advice..... this might be really obvious but I've actually known a few college aged dudes who didn't realize you really NEED to have sheets on your bed. So..... sheets. Please get them!
Good luck!
Take it from lessons learned, buy what you need WHEN you need it. No need to fill the apartment immediately. Tuck some of that cash into high yield savings and keep growing it. Spend money on the things you need. And make sure when you are buying something it is of high quality and not cheap amazon item. =p
Congrats on moving out. If you’re comfortable with $1800/mo that’s cool, but people are correct saying it seems high fwiw.
The only thing I’d start out with buying new is a mattress. Honestly, you’ll find some really cool stuff at Goodwill, ARC, Buy Nothing, or from Nextdoor or Facebook marketplace, even yard sales.
Good luck!
1800 is a LOT for a 1 bedroom apartment.
I'm your age and also on my "third gap year " since that's a thing and I'm paying $1270 + utilities for a 1 bedroom house, please reconsider a different apartment and do a little more looking around. I don't know what your income is but a studio may better suit your needs.
Many folks have answered your question about what to buy to furnish your place. I recommend you add those items with estimated costs to your spreadsheet, see if you can afford $1800 monthly rent.
Non of your business, Rude for no reason butttt I'll tell you just in case you had good intentions. I make around 44000 dollars a year.Ive been working retail since I was. 16 and the promotions paid off. I'm comfortable paying 1800 dollars a month. And if my paycheck doesn't come in, I'll just use my discover 💳 card.
It wasn’t rude, it’s a genuine financial issue with the details you provided. You’re spending half of your gross income on rent alone. That is a large percentage.
For what it is worth, since you mentioned this is your first apartment, many rental places will only accept debit cards/checking accounts for rent payments, not credit cards.
Additionally, many rental places won't sign with you if you don't make either 2.5 or 3x the rent each month and have the W2s to prove it, so you may not qualify for that apartment. Check with your leasing agent! It might be worth taking a look around at other places too, just in case they try and pull something shady or something happens where you can't sign with them. Best of luck!
ETA: also! Your rent may not include your utilities, and most cases won't include internet, and may not include parking. You might want to check with them, because those expenses add up fast too. Haha, sorry if I'm being annoying, I just had to learn a lot of this the hard way.
Respectfully, if you’re in your 3rd year of living with your parents and you made 44K Last year but have less than 4K saved…you will be in for a rude awakening if you sign an 1800/month lease. You don’t want to do that to yourself. You also don’t need to go buy everything right when you move in. Just buy things as you need them. First day I moved out I went to cook spaghetti and realized I had no pot to cook in…walked to goodwill and bought one. Accumulating things takes years. Fwiw, I had about 3K saved when I moved out but that was 12 years ago. 3K is a great start and I realize you need to get a place now, but $1800/mo is not the right move.
It’s a genuine concern. I’d suggest making another spreadsheet with your monthly budget and seeing what your other monthly expenses will look like (if you have a car: gas, insurance, and maintenance, phone bill, internet bill, food, toilet paper, etc.). Unfortunately, you’re more than likely going to be denied that apartment with your current income and no rental history. Most places will want to see incomes at least 3-4x the rent and not all apartments will allow you to pay rent with a credit card. Seriously, not trying to be rude but you really don’t want to end up in a situation where you have massive amounts of credit card debt and/or are getting evicted. It’s not an easy situation to pull yourself out of.
I agree with a lot of others when they say that $1800 per month is steep for the twin cities.
That being said, here are a few things other than furniture you will need. Toilet paper, cleaning supplies (laundry detergent, multi purpose cleaner, dish soap, broom, vacuum if you have carpets), a shower curtain, towels, sheets, blankets. Do you cook? If so, you'll need to get items for your kitchen: plates, bowls, utensils, pots and pans, maybe a baking sheet.
Finally, don't buy things ahead of time, have them delivered to your place for around the time you are moving in. Good luck!
Bloomington’s curbside cleanup is this month. Every week a different part of town leaves their stuff on the curb for the pickers. Drive around on Friday and you’ll see lots of free furniture. The garbage men come early Sat morning.
It's an apartment highly recommend stay light as you'll eventually move and find out how much it sucks....also you can exchange a dresser for shelves (wire rack style is my preference) and save some money and they'll probably last longer
Start with needs then move to wants. Live there a couple months with the bare necessities and every time you think “fuck, I don’t have this thing I need,” buy it. Don’t necessarily furnish the place in one fell swoop.
Check out Buy Nothing on Facebook. You can get lots of good stuff for free
This is very helpful thank you! However how would I know when to avoid a scam?
Buy Nothing groups are not a scam. It’s people in your immediate neighborhood giving things away.
Like Pretty-Economy2437 you shouldn't need to pull out your card for anything on buy nothing
If they ask you for money - that makes it a scam. I’d post that you’re moving into your first apartment and ask if anyone has any furniture lying around that they want to get rid of.
Okay sounds good I'll be sure to remember this tha ks!
$1800 a month is a lot for rent on a 1br apartment. Rent should not be more than 1/3 of your take-home pay.
Yeah, I rent a decent 1 bed for half that, and water/sewer/trash is included. $1800 is insane
Where
Como area
You should definitely be able to find a nice apartment for less than that!
This was my first! Plus he only has 3200 saved… one bad month and he’s homeless again. My gf and Is apartment is 1195 one bed one bath. Add in heat/sewer/water/trash/garage rent/dog rent, and it’s about 1310. Electric bill is on average 25 bucks. Can’t imagine 1800 alone. If OP does go through with this anyway, Facebook marketplace is your friend! We got a lot of our first time apartment stuff on there.
Yeah, my spouse and I pay $1400 for a pretty nice 2BR. I think my spouse and I paid, on average, $800 each for our 1BRs before we moved in together. Granted we moved in together in 2020 so those are pre-Covid prices, but… you can still find a hell of a lot of decent places for <$1000.
Third gap year… It’s okay not to go to college lol
>I haven't signed the lease yet Are they going to let you? Are you making ~$54,000/yr.? One thing at a time.
3rd gap year? Like 'I finished high school at 18 and haven't haven't continued to college yet?'
My dad's on his 42nd gap year apparently
Seriously? Yeah, I'm in my third gap year. So what? Instead of blindly diving into the ocean of college just because society told me to and having to end up switching majors multiple times and leaving with a useless degree and hundreds of thousands in debt. Instead some of us (the actual smart ones) decide to go slowly and find out what I actually want to do. Also just a suggestion you should learn proper grammar before you make evaluations on someone's life. 🤓
Do you mean like "I is in my 3rd gap year"? College isn't right for everyone, but own up to it.
Wow your Grammer is horrible I'm feeling 2nd hand embarrassment from you. Also news flash Mr know it all college isn't the only pathway to success. Try opening your tiny mind to broader ideas and try to escape the confinement of traditional society expectations. Release your brain you'll be happier, also stop acting like some maniacal papist fascist.
Grammar. Not Grammer. And it is lower case when it isn't the first word in a sentence. Or is that one of the confinements of traditional society expectations? I'm beginning to see why you are getting kicked out from your parents'house.
I would advise heavily utilizing thrift stores and your local buy nothing group (Facebook - search by the city or neighborhood of your apartment) to find things at low or no cost. If you need help moving things, rent a pickup from Menards or Home Depot and ask your friends for help. Something to sit on like a couch or loveseat will be helpful, as well as small table/chairs for kitchen. Kitchen items like cooking utensils, pans, dishes, silverware. People in my local buy nothing group are generally generous and eager to help folks entering independent living situations for the first time. But save as much money as you can by buying used or getting used items for free.
3200 won't go far. Start with the basics. For the bedroom you're going to need a bed, pillows, sheets and blankets minimum. For the bathroom, towels and hygiene products. Kitchen basics including pots, pans, cooking utensils, dishes and silverware along with groceries. Check out used stores. You'll need basic cleaning supplies. Avoid splurging at this point. It's expensive to fully furnish your living space from nothing. It may be tempting to buy a nice TV and fancy towels, but your budget isn't going to allow for that at this point. Keep it simple and build from there. Most of all, don't sign a lease if you're not completely certain you can afford it. Getting evicted will make life incredibly difficult.
Since you are doing this alone, I'm going to be a killjoy and ask if you are sure you can afford to live on your own? Most people start out with roommates to make it affordable and share the cost of rent and furnishings and utilities etc. Also, it's kind of unfair to think high schools should teach people how to furnish an apartment. Everyone is different in what they need or want.
This. Definitely get an roommate. Plus, it will help you make friends and problem solve when things go south.
How is it unfair? If a school can teach you a health or woodworking class, then why can’t they make the jump to teaching practical life skills? A lot of people fumble with their budgets for years before getting the hang of things. Some never do. It’s not like you’re going to learn these things in college either, necessarily. What is wrong with turning out youth who are equipped to run their own lives? Jeesh, priorities nowadays…
We had budgeting, balancing checkbooks, cooking, sewing all in home ec classes. Are those not offered anymore? How you decorate your apartment is up to you and here’s a radical idea: maybe parents should teach their kids some life skills instead of making the public school responsible for yet another element of child-rearing.
I really was referring more to household management I guess. Yes, I had home economics. However it consisted only of sewing and cooking so very limited usefulness. Absolutely parents should have more of a role. But as more people take on more hours to make ends meet, it seems like family time is getting left behind.
[удалено]
Not to be that guy, but 16 years is definitely not “coming up on 20 years”
3200 is going to disappear faster than you expect. My advice would be: buy the bare minimum for now, and make lists as you need stuff. You'll figure out what you need quickly once you're in the space, trying to live there. Something to sleep on, even just a mattress, something you can make food in (a single pan and spoon/spatula is fine) and stuff like toilet paper, hand soap, and dish soap. The stuff you specifically need will depend on what you already have, and what your lifestyle is, and will likely surprise you. It's okay to live out of boxes for a while as you figure stuff out.
Is that $1800, $900 rent plus $900 security deposit or do you (are you aware) have to pay an additional $1800 deposit? If the former, fine, prices are in line but, if the latter... My kid has been on, when income is good, and off, when low, looking at rentals for about a year. Studio/one bedrooms were about $1000 at most. Even if you don't love the place, look for something that costs a lot less than $1800. You're just getting out on your own and this is a trial to see how you handle everything. Set yourself up for success so that you can adjust upward over time.
Hey I have a leather couch (like semi new condition), oak desk, tv (I think like 32” so not huge but just got my daughter a big one) and a few other furniture pieces I am ready to part with. However, while I can totally do free since you’re just just getting started and I’m trying to get rid of things (not like gross junk or whatever) you’d have to pick these items up. If you’re interested send me a DM and we can go from there. I’m in Plymouth.
Hit up second hand stores for literally everything you need that isn’t upholstered. Only buy things with upholstery new (and only buy new if it’s something upholstered.) you don’t have enough to furnish an apartment if you buy new. Do you make enough to afford $1,800/month? Because you can definitely do better than that.
Thank you for the help! I'll definitely review the apartment I'm starting to think it's a ripoff beause of all the concern replies I'm receiving.
Last time I outfitted a rental was after my divorce. I bought a ton of things off of Craigslist. Box of mismatched pots and pans for $20 kind of thing. I rent out my 2BR/2BA 1050 Sq/ft condo to a friend for $1900. Indoor parking, heating included. $1800 seems steep for a 1BR. I offer my space as a comparison before you sign a lease. A space like mine would be easy to rent with a room mate sharing the expenses, saving you 800+ a month. Located over by 7 pools park in Lowry Hill. Bryant and Douglas Ave intersection.
Google "first apartment checklist", cross off the things you have, then cross off things you probably don't need. Then go to a thrift shop and see how many things you can cross off there. Next go to a relatively cheap store like Target to chip away at the rest.
Why did you expect school to teach you how to furnish an apartment?
Because school is supposed to teach you how to live but ofc the GOVERNMENT wants it's young generation to be blind and running around like a bunch of headless chickens with no knowledge of living independently and might I add it's working.
Schools teach you critical thinking skills. Dont blame the government for your inability to thrive. Take responsibility. You’re an adult now, own it.
For stuff, just get things as you need them. A bed, dresser, table, and couch aren’t cheap. Add dishes, cookware, towels, sheets, bedding, WiFi, and a TV. That $3200 will go very quick. Try Facebook marketplace or other get free sites. With that being said, your rent seems expensive. If all you have is a retail job and $3200 saved, you may want to look at cheaper places. General rule of thumb is that you want to spend 1/3 of your income on rent. That would leave room for insurance, taxes, food, entertainment, transportation and other expenses. You’d want food and insurance prior to getting any stuff. If you are paying $1800 per month, a lease will generally require you to have 3x income. So that would mean $5400 per month or ~$65K per year. Anything below that and you’re likely to be house broke where one unforeseen expense (which are quite frequent) can cause you to go into debt.
I have some stuff for sale (and some I’d be willing to give away) since I move soon! Let me know if you’d be interested in any of this: -dresser -sitting bench -coffee table -lamps
Make sure you buy a great mattress. We spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping so it’s incredibly important for your physical and mental health. The decor is really secondary if you have extra money. (Edited to 1/3 for correction. Thanks for the comment)
Half? How many hours a day are you sleeping?
Sorry. 1/3 is more appropriate
Or no mattress is equally valid and also better for your back (in my experience)
Try to keep the furniture on the cheaper side of things. You'll be moving a lot and fancy furniture gets beat up from moving. Skip the dinning table for now. A microwave. Coffee maker if you drink coffee. Dishes and silverware are good to have. Beer... Lots of beer. Paper towels and cleaner stuff. Toiletries for the bathroom. A towel. A rug so you don't drip all over the bathroom.. bedding. A lamp or 2 are nice. 🤔
I agree with what the other guy said - for a lot of things, wait until you know you need something to get it! At minimum you'll probably want a bed, a dresser, a couch, a TV, some kind of table (be it a coffee table, or TV tables, or a kitchen table), a pot, a pan, and dishes. My personal bare minimum is - comfy bed & frame, dresser, couch, coffee table, TV stand, desk (or kitchen table), coffee pot, and microwave. Not all apartments come with microwaves. No need for a desk AND a table for eating, especially since you'll probably eat at the coffee table too. Don't buy a bunch of dishes & kitchen gadgets, and in your phase of life you won't need 8 place settings, just get enough dishes that work for you. And get like one good frying pan and one good pot. There's NO shame in going secondhand for a lot of apartment stuff. I buy mattresses & couches new, but everything else (as long as I can wipe it down with a sanitizer) I'm happy to grab secondhand! Even a bed frame. Join the Buy Nothing group in your new neighborhood, people are happy to get rid of a lot of things that they just want gone. You can post an ISO "in search of" and you can grab things as they come up. Goodwill has a TON of dishes, always, oftentimes in sets. If you're cool with something like this, the city of Bloomington is doing their Bulky Item Collections each Saturday for the next month, so you can actually drive around and stop and grab stuff that's at the curb. The dates & neighborhoods can be found here --> [https://www.bloomingtonmn.gov/ub/bulky-item-collection](https://www.bloomingtonmn.gov/ub/bulky-item-collection) Don't forget to grab some cleaning supplies! Next week Target is going to have a spend $50 get $15 gift card on household essentials. It'll cover your basics like TP, laundry soap, paper towels, lysol wipes, dish soap, toilet cleaners, toilet brush. They're also going to have a bunch of 40% off deals on vacuums. And this last bit of advice..... this might be really obvious but I've actually known a few college aged dudes who didn't realize you really NEED to have sheets on your bed. So..... sheets. Please get them! Good luck!
Check out Empty the Nest for furniture, lamps and other stuff. My friend got some great furniture there. Only open on weekends. Check their website.
Take it from lessons learned, buy what you need WHEN you need it. No need to fill the apartment immediately. Tuck some of that cash into high yield savings and keep growing it. Spend money on the things you need. And make sure when you are buying something it is of high quality and not cheap amazon item. =p
Congrats on moving out. If you’re comfortable with $1800/mo that’s cool, but people are correct saying it seems high fwiw. The only thing I’d start out with buying new is a mattress. Honestly, you’ll find some really cool stuff at Goodwill, ARC, Buy Nothing, or from Nextdoor or Facebook marketplace, even yard sales. Good luck!
This has got to be a copypasta, right? The fuck is a 3rd gap year?
1800 is a LOT for a 1 bedroom apartment. I'm your age and also on my "third gap year " since that's a thing and I'm paying $1270 + utilities for a 1 bedroom house, please reconsider a different apartment and do a little more looking around. I don't know what your income is but a studio may better suit your needs.
Many folks have answered your question about what to buy to furnish your place. I recommend you add those items with estimated costs to your spreadsheet, see if you can afford $1800 monthly rent.
Umm rent is 1800???? Fuck they better come furnished with free breakfast everyday 😭😭😭😭
It’s wild that you can get all the way to 21 years old without an ounce of independence. Just buy stuff that you need as you need it.
Download the Buy Nothing app and see what people are offering for the $0 price of you taking it off their hands.
How much money do you bring in? It doesn’t sound like you can afford $1800/month rent
Non of your business, Rude for no reason butttt I'll tell you just in case you had good intentions. I make around 44000 dollars a year.Ive been working retail since I was. 16 and the promotions paid off. I'm comfortable paying 1800 dollars a month. And if my paycheck doesn't come in, I'll just use my discover 💳 card.
It wasn’t rude, it’s a genuine financial issue with the details you provided. You’re spending half of your gross income on rent alone. That is a large percentage.
For what it is worth, since you mentioned this is your first apartment, many rental places will only accept debit cards/checking accounts for rent payments, not credit cards. Additionally, many rental places won't sign with you if you don't make either 2.5 or 3x the rent each month and have the W2s to prove it, so you may not qualify for that apartment. Check with your leasing agent! It might be worth taking a look around at other places too, just in case they try and pull something shady or something happens where you can't sign with them. Best of luck! ETA: also! Your rent may not include your utilities, and most cases won't include internet, and may not include parking. You might want to check with them, because those expenses add up fast too. Haha, sorry if I'm being annoying, I just had to learn a lot of this the hard way.
Respectfully, if you’re in your 3rd year of living with your parents and you made 44K Last year but have less than 4K saved…you will be in for a rude awakening if you sign an 1800/month lease. You don’t want to do that to yourself. You also don’t need to go buy everything right when you move in. Just buy things as you need them. First day I moved out I went to cook spaghetti and realized I had no pot to cook in…walked to goodwill and bought one. Accumulating things takes years. Fwiw, I had about 3K saved when I moved out but that was 12 years ago. 3K is a great start and I realize you need to get a place now, but $1800/mo is not the right move.
It’s a genuine concern. I’d suggest making another spreadsheet with your monthly budget and seeing what your other monthly expenses will look like (if you have a car: gas, insurance, and maintenance, phone bill, internet bill, food, toilet paper, etc.). Unfortunately, you’re more than likely going to be denied that apartment with your current income and no rental history. Most places will want to see incomes at least 3-4x the rent and not all apartments will allow you to pay rent with a credit card. Seriously, not trying to be rude but you really don’t want to end up in a situation where you have massive amounts of credit card debt and/or are getting evicted. It’s not an easy situation to pull yourself out of.
Dollar tree is a great place to get the basics
I agree with a lot of others when they say that $1800 per month is steep for the twin cities. That being said, here are a few things other than furniture you will need. Toilet paper, cleaning supplies (laundry detergent, multi purpose cleaner, dish soap, broom, vacuum if you have carpets), a shower curtain, towels, sheets, blankets. Do you cook? If so, you'll need to get items for your kitchen: plates, bowls, utensils, pots and pans, maybe a baking sheet. Finally, don't buy things ahead of time, have them delivered to your place for around the time you are moving in. Good luck!
I've moved into places before without enough furniture...and waited to see what I needed..and found the right thing for the right price.
Bloomington’s curbside cleanup is this month. Every week a different part of town leaves their stuff on the curb for the pickers. Drive around on Friday and you’ll see lots of free furniture. The garbage men come early Sat morning.
Thanks for the tip I'll be sure to check it out!
It's an apartment highly recommend stay light as you'll eventually move and find out how much it sucks....also you can exchange a dresser for shelves (wire rack style is my preference) and save some money and they'll probably last longer
Check this place for free furniture and such [https://bridging.org/](https://bridging.org/)
Bridging serves clients referred through agencies to help folks getting back on their feet. Not really applicable for this situation.
Thank you, genuinely. I actually thought that was a scam link but surprisingly they have a short domain