Housing Expense Reduced!

By | September 24, 2020

I have some breaking news! I found a way to reduce my housing expense! Starting October 1, 2020, I anticipate that my housing expense will be significantly lowered. I’m beyond excited.

This substantial change will have trickle down effects on my overall budget and spending habits. Although I typically wait until the new year to make changes to my lifestyle, I suspect that such a change will occur beginning the first day of October. So, let’s dive in.

Background

So, the first thing that happened was that I moved to a cheaper State. Before, I was living in California and I loved it. But, the cost of living is high. Even though the cost of living was high, I made it work. I lived in a house with multiple roommates and, as a result, my rent was $700 per month. Not too bad!

When I moved out of State, I moved into a studio. That’s the studio I’m in right now as I am making this post. My current rent is $675. Although it doesn’t seem like a big difference monetarily, in my opinion, it is. For example, I live by myself and life is good!

But having a roommate allows me to split the cost. So, starting in October, I will be paying $395 for rent and $30 total for my half of the internet bill. All the other utilities (electricity and water) are included!

So What Changed?

Well, the answer is that I got a roommate!!! Recently, I developed a friendship with my neighbor who literally lives two doors down from me on the same floor in my building. We knew each other a little bit before realizing that we lived so close to one another, but in separate studios. We started talking and realized that being roommates would suit both of our needs.

As we started talking some more, I learned that he was going to be moving into a one-bedroom unit in the same building. The total rent is around $800. He brought up the subject of being roommates, and I was a bit skeptical since it was a one-bedroom that he was moving into. Well, after checking out the unit, I was pleasantly surprised.

Based on the setup, although the unit is a one-bedroom, it’s built in such a way that it’s actually two separate studios that is separated by a small hall. The individual studios are virtually the same size as my current studio, so I know everything fits.

One downside to the new efficiency is the view. Currently, I have a spectacular view. However, my new apartment mainly has a view to the parking lot from my bedroom. The good news is we are gaining a balcony, which we don’t have right now, and the view there is adequate. In other words, it’s not as spectacular as my current view, but it’s also not as bad as the view from my bedroom. Finally on this issue, one of the things I’ve noticed is that I don’t really take advantage of the view anyways. As I’m typing this post, my blinds are closed. So, the view is good for a while, but it’s easy to get used to.

The Trickle Down Effects

I fully expect that this will be good for me financially in the long run. My roommate is very frugal mainly out of necessity. I, on the other hand, waste a lot of money per month. So, we are the total opposites.

I’m hoping that his frugality rubs off on me. We are going to find a tv series we both like to watch together. Once that’s over, we are going to find another series. In addition, we will continue to play games such as Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter on my Super Nintendo and X-BOX 360. The point is that we are going to be having fun and doing things together that doesn’t require spending a lot of money. Right now, it’s just me and so I want to go out and meet people and/or have a good time. The problem is I do that way too often and spend way too much money.

Recently, prior to realizing I would be getting a roommate, I temporarily increased the minimum contribution to my dividend portfolio. I’m hoping that by reducing my housing expense, the increased contribution could be permanent. That still may be hard because I am expecting to have furniture bills to pay once my condo closes. However, it will make paying for the furniture a lot easier.

Speaking of the condo, the reduced housing expense will greatly increase my ability to afford the condo. Therefore, I am now more likely to not lose the condo. What a relief!

Finally, to some extent, frugality is habitual. If I can develop the habit of spending less money, that will stay with me for a long time to come.

Conclusion

My housing expense has been reduced. Although I will be losing a great view, I will be gaining a balcony and a new roommate. It’s my version of house hacking, although the building I live in is not owned by me. In any case, the lease is short term and so I can always move out if it doesn’t workout, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. For all the bad that has happened so far in 2020, it’s good to get some good news every now and then.

What did you think of this post? Do you think living with roommates is a good idea? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below.

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