Sooo me and my male counter part are looking to move in November when our lease is up. Our current place we need only $343 each to cover our shared bills: Rent, Cable, Electric. At the new place we'll need $403 each. And each responsible for our own bills like any credit or cell or animal care bills. I'm just nervous for our budget beyond the shared bills. He tends to overspend making me end up sharing his bills or us do without things at times... But I think if we do the envelope thing and have him ration bills out of each check he gets he might do better?

While that is a worry I'm also more worried about the costs VS what we get. Both places are the same in the sense of being one bedroom studios but with walls/doors to block out the "sleeping" area and bathroom.

CURRENT PLACE: 650 SQ FT Built in the 70's but no charm Has a basket ball court and one jungle gym for kids No community building for holding small events No assigned parking, rather parking passes assigned to ONE car and other resident cars get noted but no pass Bathroom is THROUGH the bedroom Community laundry room that's coin op, but people will STEAL clothes right out of the washer and some people have bed bugs (no thanks) No dishwasher We've reported broken things to not much being done unless it's like water flooding/running Have to use a heater/ fan for the seasons (with AC we had to run a fan to cool the WHOLE place and not just the kitchen) Ac unit Base board heating Can go month to month but at a rate of $670 (570 for the "rent" 100 for the non lease agreement) If we sign a new time length lease they've offered only ONE option of the following: new blinds (max 2 windows), 2 screens for windows or a free carpet cleaning... yay big offerings

NEW PLACE: 600 SQ FT The unit we'd live in isn't even finished yet so BRAND NEW EVERYTHING :D Has in unit washer and dryer Has in unit dishwasher Assigned parking (one car) but other resident cars get to use free spaces rather than street park Bathroom is OUT of the bedroom Spacious layout Has community room for small events Allows pets Nice window AND door in living room rather than a slider counting as both Heating vents AC unit Willing to allow us to pay the pet fee the second month of lease instead of right away

So I know based on the black and white of it the new place is best, and commuting for work isn't a big change either. Right now we live next to my job, at the new place we'd be next to his. So gas bill is the same idea as a whole other than I'll be driving so gas should last longer... I drive nice he kinda drives "OH 50mph in the next 5 feet please" lol

IDK maybe I'm nervous due to moving about the move itself VS having a tighter budget? Maybe both? I know we'll also have less room overall but this layout is awesome and I'm kinda excited to get a dishwasher more than anything AND a bathroom where people won't have to turn on a light in my room so they don't trip to get to the bathroom.

You only need to adjust your spending habits. Even if the new flat is smaller, it sounds way better than the old one. wants to have a dishwasher, too my bf refuses to wash up lol

When I moved in with my bf, we opened a bank account for our "housekeeping money". We calculated the rough amount of money we would need for a month and splitted the amount, so both of us have to transfer half of the money onto that account by the 1st. About 3/4 of the money are spend on rent and bills (electricity, telephone,...). "the leftovers" are for food and activites, which makes about 1/16 each week. The money we don't spend is put aside for bad times :D

Somehow we manage to survive as students, but we are really lucky to have such a nice flat (about the same size as your new one, I guess).

My guy also refuses to clean up lol even trash is a task to get him to take out even if I bag it up.

But I AM all kinds of excited to have all new everything for the FIRST time of my life.

Before this place came up as a prospect we were having to save laundry for weekends or a day off to go haul it to someone's home (typically his moms) and then spend hours waiting on them to do what they needed or our own if we have more than one basket. What a waste of the weekend when I work 5 days a week, this felt like an extra day of work in the end. Not that I don't like his mom's house, but I'd rather our visits be visits rather than chores.

The fridge here is lame, there's a gap on the seal that allows a temp difference so there's a small "Sweet spot" for keeping things. If it's out of the "safe" space it then gets condensation in it... nothing like having to use shredded cheese in two days or else it gets soggy ewwww :x We reported it and kept asking but they still haven't fixed it. Looked at it yes, determined what needs done yes, having done it? Nope.

I'm also excited for the bathroom away from the bed room... no more lights or smells late at night lol I'm not the kind to stop a person from going potty when they visit my home but sometimes YIKES.

Maybe with a functioning fridge we can buy good food and not fast food style things. I can make quite a bit of nice meals on a budget when I buy in bulk and freeze or shell out the cooking sizes I use.

I have the same laundry issue as you. Had to bike it half a mile down my street every weekend, and sometimes it'd fall off or scatter on the way lol. Having a personal washer/dryer are gonna be amazing. I tell myself that if I had an extra day of the week, I'd spend it doing creative stuff or freelance to help earn some extra money. And making home cooked meals with veggies really does go a long way budget-wise and health-wise. I can't believe they'd stick you with such a bad fridge. Just get your boy to clean up his messes (by some miracle, cuz you're not his mom) and it sounds like you'll have a better quality of life pretty soon. :)

Sounds like the new place will be a great fit. Have the two of you had a good sit-down to talk about how he needs to be careful about his spending and make sure he can pay what he needs to at the end of the month? I think if you have a good, non-confrontational conversation about it, if he's any sort of an adult at all, he should realize what he has to do. I totally understand what you're going through though, wondering if you'll like the new place and all. I'm moving within the next month too. My parents and I are moving to a manufacted home (where we live in a traditional home right now) and we're not sure if we'll like it or not, as far as the smaller size goes. Our current house is over 2200 square feet with a huge yard and the new place is 1900 square feet and a very small yard, and it also will have a carport instead of a garage. I have something called misophonia (a strong aversion to certain sounds and movements causing anger and severe irritation and outbursts) so I'm really hoping the soundproofing is good enough and that I'll be okay there.