Growing up, if I ever found myself in need of assistance, I always had someone to hold my hand and guide me through whatever the problem was. While that was great and all, it was both a blessing and a curse. For the most part, I wouldn’t really pay attention to how to resolve the problem because someone else was doing it for me, and that was a huge mistake on my part. They ended up being problems I had to deal with on my own later on. And because I wasn’t paying attention, it ended up being harder in the long run.

My column for this month is about how to find an apartment to rent. My first two years in college were spent living in dorm rooms. After two years, it was definitely time to grow up and get my own place. I had a few people I could have lived with but so much drama happened and I ended up not knowing where I was going to live. Finally, a few acquaintances needed a third roommate so they asked me to live with them. They found the town house we were going to live in and it was so cheap that I never had to worry about budgeting my money. It was a two and a half bedroom (one of the bedrooms was tiny), one and a half bathroom townhouse for less than $800. Divide that by three and it was incredibly cheap.

Fast forward four years. I was still living there. Why would I want to leave a place where I never paid more than $350 for rent and bills? Exactly. When my best friend moved to Bellingham, we knew we wanted to live together at some point. After living in the same place for four years, I thought it was time to move in with my best friend, in a new place. We found a large three bedroom, one and a half bathroom townhouse with a large backyard and garage for $1000. That was still really cheap. Again, I didn’t have to budget for anything and someone else found the place for me.

One year ago when I moved from Bellingham to Kent, that’s when the reality of knowing how to find a place and how to budget for it really hit me like a ton of bricks. We had to find a place in two weeks and it was definitely not something my roommate could have done alone.

So here’s my first tip: know how much you can afford realistically. Think about how much you make, and see how much money you would have left over for groceries, gas and fun, after all the bills and rent are paid. My next tip goes along with my first: exaggerate how much you spend. Some months you spend more on groceries, some you spend more on gas, on fun or other things. Living pay check to pay check is no fun. Once you have figured out how much you can realistically afford, it’s time to look.

First thing’s first: figure out the general area you want to live in. We didn’t want to be too far from Seattle but also not too close because it gets more expensive. We thought Kent was a good, happy medium. And it ended up working out perfectly when I got my job in Covington because our place was almost right in between our jobs.

My next tip is for safety: make sure to research the area in general. Look to see how safe the area is. It’s also good to see how far away stores and shopping areas are and how far your commute to work will be.

Once you know where you want to live, start looking online. Research every apartment possible, as long as it’s within your budget. Make a list of all of the apartments and then it’s time to drive around.

This may seem obvious but: make sure to physically see a place before you get your heart set on it. Apartments may look magical and perfect online, but most of the time, the picture they show online are old. Like, really old.

One more tip about the money situation — most places require first month’s rent, deposit and sometimes last month’s rent as well. While you may be able to afford the regular bills and rent, make sure to have that extra money for the deposit and other fees. You also should factor moving expenses. If you don’t have someone with a truck to help, renting one can get expensive.

My next tip is about furnishing your place. I’ve been lucky enough to have gotten hand-me-downs or furniture roommates didn’t want to take with them when they moved. The best advice I can give on furniture is don’t buy anything brand new. It is a waste of money. Check on Craigslist for furniture. For the most part, you can find all of your furniture for very cheap. Recently, my boyfriend bought a new couch and needed to get rid of his old set. He sold his love seat and sofa for $200. He had them both for four years and they were in great condition. He sold it on Offerup to a lady whose daughter was going to move into her own place in February. She has been collecting furniture for her daughter so that when she’s ready to move, she will have everything she needs. Some people sell furniture for very cheap because they just need to get rid of it, like my boyfriend did.

My final tip is another money tip, and one that really saved me. I’ve always been very good about saving my money and when I was paying such cheap rent, I was able to save up money. That money helped me afford a rent that was twice as much as I was used to paying and working at a job where I was making less. Worrying about money is incredibly stressful, so try to save up money before you move so you won’t have to worry about making ends meet.