When searching for your new Camden apartment home, budgeting can be one of the most important aspects in helping you search for your new home. Here, I am hoping to help this process by going through different budgeting questions and ways to find the perfect home to comfortably fit into your budget.
Rent
When budgeting for your new apartment home, rent is the most important factor to consider. When setting up a tour with a leasing consultant at your future Camden apartment community, make sure to review multiple quotes for your desired apartment homes. Having a range of rental amounts for your new home can help finalize your budget. The maximum amount recommended by most financial advisors to spend on rent is 30% of your income or less – this is typically the range of comfortable living for renting your new apartment home.
Utilities
Rent will not be the only expense you need to consider with your new home. Overall, utility usage and costs add to your monthly budgeting needs. A helpful way to budget for your utilities is by estimating your overall energy usage for water and electricity inside your apartment home. There are many ways to be conservative in your energy usage with utilities to decrease this amount. For example, limit your dishwasher and clothes washer usage and do bulk amounts of dishes and clothes simultaneously. For electricity, make sure to limit the number of lights that you leave on inside your apartment when you are home, utilize a ceiling fan instead of A/C, and limit your hot water usage. Some Camden apartment homes even come with energy-efficient windows and appliances!
Food and Necessities
One budgeting factor that is often overlooked is your average monthly spending on food and other necessities. Do you go out to eat a lot, although you are looking to spend more money on your new apartment home? Possibly cut back and look into purchasing more groceries for in-house cooking to free up more funds for your new apartment home. And vice versa, keeping your apartment budget low can give you more flexibility to go out and purchase more.
Other Bills
A common practice in budgeting is the 50 – 30 – 20 rule – this means that you keep your budget on 50% of your spending on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings. By keeping your budgeting strict on this rule, you can live comfortably and limit stress on financials in your life.
Always remember that one of the most important factors of your new apartment home is to live comfortably and within your means. Make sure that budgeting is a high priority on your list! Check out this Camden blog with advice on making a simple budget!