Keeping it Realistic

So today's post came a little late. I have had a busy day, and I am going to elaborate on my experiences and let you get to know a little bit more about me.

I have been trying to get a job in another city (2 and a half hours away) for almost two months now with the hopes of moving there. Due to me currently searching for a job in a career field that I would feel comfortable in, I have very little money. I got a call back to set up two interviews a few days ago and stressed out all last night about how I am going to be able to afford the gas to drive 160 miles away and back for the interviews. Needless to say, I pulled an all-nighter figuring out how to get the gas money. In the end, it all worked out. I left at 6:00am to drive to the interviews. The interviews went great and I have a great feeling about the results.

I spent the rest of the day spending time with my girlfriend who currently lives in the city I am trying to move to. We also went apartment searching and had a lot of eye openers as far as finances go. Being my first place of my own, I wasn't sure was to expect, what questions to ask, or how much all the fees were going to add up to. I did a little research and found a few articles (listed at the bottom of the post) that helped us keep an eye on what to look out for and what questions are a good starting point to ask. So, all in all, we went in with unknown expectations. With the information we learned, I looked up more articles (I tend to enjoy doing that) and found a few that will also be listed at the bottom of this post that have good points that the "apartment lady" emphasized on. So if you are thinking about your first place and are unsure what to expect, take a look at those articles. The best approach though is to just visit an apartment complex, talk to someone there, and they will explain the procedures, fees, and expectations of their residents.

So I'm sure you are wondering what all this might have to do with the $0 to $1,000,000 goal. In order to save money, you must have some type of income to support yourself while you save up money. The money that is put towards my goal, can not be touched. No Matter What.. So, in order to prevent the temptations of dipping into that fund, you need to have some way to support your daily life habits. As of right now, I have no bills (Lucky me). I live under my parents roof for the time being and spend most of my time looking for a stable job. So, I am not tempted to dip into saving funds. This gave me a good ground for starting my goal and in consequence, this blog. I might post in the future about ways to cut the cost of daily living in order to put more money into your savings account.

To finish up, I put the minimum gas I would need to make my trip today in my car, and did not touch the rest of the money and put it towards my goal. It isn't much, but Every Cent Counts.

My new Balance towards my goal is $6.02!

Here are the links to help if you are beginning a search for your first apartment:

What questions to ask when viewing the apartment. You don't have to ask every single one, but pick out the ones that apply to you that you are not sure about.

http://www.housing.umaryland.edu/off_campushousing/

The one below is almost word for word what the leasing agent told us. Using the "rule of 36" when determining how much you can afford to pay for an apartment. For some places, this Rule of your apartment costing no more than 1/3 of your income is not just a suggestion, it's a requirement. Know how much you can spend.

http://charlesgaterealty.com/2013/renting-advice/how-much-can-i-afford-in-rent-each-month/

This last link explains the use of co-signers. This is what was explained to us today. Leasing Agents look at your income and want proof that your job is stable to insure that you will be able to make payments. If I get this job at First Tennessee, I will not have statements from my job yet to confirm that I can afford the payments. She stated (remember, it differs apartment to apartment) that it is required that you have a stable job for at least 3 months to increase your consideration. Due to my girlfriend recently moving up there, and me looking to move there, it is hard to provide proof that we can make the payments. The two options she gave us to get around that, were to pay a large deposit and pay first and last months rent up front. Or to get a co-signer (which would greatly decrease the deposit amount). So being a new person to this whole subject, I will provide this link so you can get more information from someone a little more knowledgeable than myself.

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2013/06/07/why-some-use-a-co-signer-on-their-apartment-lease