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Is it better to rent a cheap/shitty place, or rent something suitable that you struggle to afford?
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Live within your means.
this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2024
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It depends on where your priorities are. For me i would go for cheap\shitty place so long as it was safe enough and i wasn't going to be robbed all the time. Save the money and then go buy a place you really like when you can afford it better.
so long as it was safe enough and i wasn’t going to be robbed all the time
Want to emphasize this. You end up losing based on stolen goods or physical harm.
Not an issue in either of the areas I am looking at. I'm sure theft happens, but have never heard of it being a particular problem... the cheaper place isn't in a shittier area, and is still pretty rural.
Renting: cheaper is almost always better.
Purchasing: it can make sense to get the nicest place you can afford, with the expectation that your pay will increase but your mortgage won’t.
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Whatever you do don't spend the limit of what you can afford, you will be struggling constantly.
One is 40% of your income, the other is just plain inconvenient. I think you ought to look at a few more options.
Cheap yes, shitty no.
Living in a shitty place to me means potentially unsanitary (broken, moldy) or unsafe neighborhood/building. Cheap on the other hand might mean well out in the suburbs or a generally less desirable/boring area. That's something I feel like a compromise is possible.
Struggle to afford is also a bit of a vague statement. Can you give us an idea? There have been some ratios going around like rent should be max 30% of your income for example, but I don't really get why you shouldn't go beyond that if your remaining expenses are manageable.
So before sacrificing safety, I'd rather do a proper budget and check if there's a chance to save money elsewhere to make a nice place more affordable.
Generally the cheaper place, imo. One big thing to consider is your commute though. The quality of the place itself has some impact on your overall happiness for sure, but length of commute really has a lot more than you'd expect. If the cheaper place is a lot farther away, not only will that eat up time, but you'll spend extra money on just commuting, which will eat into the amount it actually saves you.
Neither of these sound like good situations to me. Do whichever makes the most sense short term, but keep looking for something better.
Rental market is weird here, especially at my price point. There is another rental that would be $1250/mo, same distance from work and the landlord seemed genuinely very nice. Not sure that price difference is worth a move, but peace of mind from the landlord might be.
You should only even consider the latter if your employment is very secure and you're a full-on homebody.
Being able to save now means a nicer place later; spending less on housing means more for going out. Get the cheaper place for a little while.
My employment is very secure and, I'm a homebody mostly just because there is nothing nearby for me to do other than nature, and I do nature for work ... and I don't have much money to go out 🥲
Sounds like you'd like to go out. Get a cheaper place and use the difference for adventures!
Yes, I think that's what I am leaning towards!! Thank you for the input
Depends on how cheap. If you are likely to be killed or robbed just from leaving your apartment do not live there. If it’s just run down with a few bugs here and there then that’s doable. You can always spend your extra money making it livable.
Living outside of your means is not worth it. It’s good until the money runs out. Then you don’t have food to eat.
Rent a cheap, shitty place
Save the money until you can afford to buy your own home.
Ah, I don't think I will ever be able to afford a house. My income isn't likely to increase by much given my career (80k might be my max, 100k is possible in a decade or two or if I get a PhD). Houses average around 800k. Not to mention the risk of fire, in the region, it doesn't seem like a sound investment for someone at my income.
So for me, my financial goals are about building up retirement fund and being able to afford a better life (my dreams are to pay for fluff/fold laundry because I have ADHD and constantly struggle keeping up, be able to afford to travel without dipping into emergency fund, have my car paid off, be able to afford car repairs without dipping into emergency fund 😭. just basic stability.) I don't plan on having children, and honestly don't particularly care about marriage and prefer a lifestyle of a robust community life.
So what good is a house for me? I have read all the financial advice recommending it but .. that seems to apply more to people with families, or higher incomes where saving to buy a house requires less sacrifice from daily life. It doesn't seem like a good use of my money. Scrimping for twenty years, only to still pay off a mortgage for thirty years, and then die.
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My situation:
current place: ($1530)
- 1:15 drive from work
- small building, linear studio apartment shape, maybe 30x9 feet? small kitchen/bath
- rural, 20 min drive from city, hour walk to nearest town
- finished interior, but mice/rat problem
- landlord kinda weirdly tracking my movements, she doesn't want me working from home too many ways a week
cheaper place: ($600)
-
55 min from work -standalone MIL in a shared house, bath/kitchen in main house, 9x9 feet
-
more suburban, roads might be too dangerous to be walkable but if not, maybe 15 min walk to town
-
unfinished interior... no idea if there is a mice/rat problem but the kitchen area is separate.
-
got along well with potential housemates
I make $3780/mo after taxes, budget now feels tight, but not sure if the extra $1000 a month would be worth a smaller/unfinished space. I feel it might be worth it because I could save/invest extra money, or use extra money to make the rental nicer.
Any extra money you can save (toward a 6 month safety buffer, and then investing for retirement) every single month while living within your means is typically the best option.
Investing $900 per month makes such a gigantic difference for anyone who doesn't have an unlimited budget. That's $10800 per year even before counting interest.
A shared flat is no dream situation, but this sounds like a potentially life changing difference.
Yeah that's an insane amount of money especially if you put it all into retirement accounts. This could supercharge OP's retirement.
I'm failing to see what's wrong with the cheaper place.
It's moving from my own place to a shared space, and I have to go outside to another building to use the kitchen or bathroom.
OK. Yeah. Those are sacrifices. Shorter commute and no pests? Huge upgrades though. It sounds worth it, unless you really really value your privacy.
Commute of fifty minutes? The max for me.
And I feel something like pests would be a great reason to spend more on housing. But in this case spend less.
Definite market failure there are not more housing options at more price points in more locations and quality.
unless you really really value your privacy.
OP's privacy is currently being violated by the landlord keeping an eye on how many days they work from home. (wtf?)
Heard - unfortunately no pests isn't a guarantee, it's more of an unknown. The floorboards are unfinished and I wouldn't be surprised if there was something.
Yeah the housing market here is rough. Only found this cheap place through contacts.
I don't think unfinished floorboards necessarily makes rodents so much more welcome.
I'd say go for the cheaper one. You save 50 minutes every day, you probably don't have to deal with rats any more, you can invest $1000 per month for savings, and you get rid of your creepy landlady. Flatmates might be a blessing and they might be a curse, but a good first impression is a start.
I'm definitely leaning this way. Messaged the shared house to let them know my interest, it's still up to them but I'll see!
And tbh I need to trust my instincts more. Got a weird vibe from the landlady from the start. So maybe it's a good sign for the potential housemates 😅
Also finding it through contracts is a good sign.
If it's not 100% cozy, remember you could spend $500 per month making it cozier and you'd still be in the green.
Good luck!
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3×3m (which is a bed, the space for the door to open, and maybe a wardrobe but probably not), potential rat problem in the shared kitchen.
I played around with the floorplan, could fit a loft twin bed and a desk underneath, a tiny couch and tv. I do think there would be room for a dresser. Not much else storage space in the room though, but perhaps in the shared house.
Lets say you sleep for 8 hours a night and work for 8 hours a day. You have 8 hours left. You spend 2:30 commuting. You have 5:30 left. Vs the cheaper place, you have 6:20 left. Almost 1/5th more time in your day. That alone would make me choose it.
Yeah, the commute is a lot. I can wfh 2 days a week, but really I need to be in person for most of my work (as a practical matter, not a requirement from my employer).
how the fuck is you working from home her problem ? In my euro shit country she wouldnt even dare saying something like that
I agree 🤷🏻♂️ she is concerned about me using too much of the well water. Landlords in the US have too much power.
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Sharing bathroom and kitchen can be a hassle, but it's much easier now than later (if you ever decide to start a family.)
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Not more than a third of your income, is the general rule
In many cities, that would mean a 81sqft room in a unit with three roommates in the worst part of town, and having a 45 minute commute to work (each way).
Life's too short, is what I decided. I could live in almost comfortable conditions and not have any money, or live in miserable conditions and still not have any money.
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I think that as long as the bathroom is half-decent I can tolerate the rest. Then again if it's a nice and renovated place with old and mouldy bathroom it's an absolute no-no even if the price is good.
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whichever you pick, you'll learn what you can and can't do without. go cheap? learn faster
It greatly depends on what your criteria is for "better".
For example, historically I've put up with a lot in order to save on rent costs. I still am (cheap place with roommates), but I'm getting a little tired of it. I'm actively searching for a good deal on a solo apartment so I don't have to live with other people anymore, but by the same token I'm not willing to do it unless it's only a moderate increase in my current rental payment.
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If the rent exceeds 1 week pay or the quality of life is too poor, the job isn't worth it and find somewhere else to belong has been my experience.
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