There were a few years after college when my budget was especially tight.
My job paid very little, and I was paying off student loans.
My car payment, car insurance and various expenses were difficult to cover. I found an apartment with especially low rent and went without any luxuries. The accommodations were cramped and outdated. There were stains from water damage on the ceilings and walls. The electric was a bit scary. If I wanted to run the microwave, I needed to unplug everything else. The outlets often sparked and the lights dimmed when the refrigerator cycled on. There was minimal hot water and very little water pressure. My biggest complaints were with the heating and cooling systems. The air conditioner provided tepid air with a musty smell and cost so much to operate, I never used it. I tried setting up a window air conditioner in the bedroom but kept blowing fuses. I had no choice but to manage with a box fan. In the winter, with outdoor temperatures well below freezing, heating was a necessity. No matter how high I turned up the thermostat, the heater couldn’t keep up with demand. It made a tremendous amount of noise whenever it started up and spewed dust into the breathing air. It didn’t help that the windows were single pane and leaked a tremendous amount of air. Despite installing plastic over them, there were constant drafts inside the apartment. I eventually figured out that the cost of my utilities was defeating my purpose of living in a low-rent apartment. I moved into nicer accommodations where the cost of utilities was included in the rent.
