Five months in my own studio: what I'd do differently
The good parts, the lonely Sunday nights and the costs I underestimated. What I'd change if I were signing my …
Grocery shopping for one without my parents' fridge
No more raiding the family pantry. My weekly routine between Trader Joe's and Aldi, and what I spend to feed j…
Summer in a top-floor studio without central air
July heat, one $189 window unit and an electric bill that nearly doubled. How I kept the studio livable and wh…
Furnishing a studio for $640 secondhand
A bed frame from a neighbor, a $90 couch and a table off the curb. Every piece in my apartment, where it came …
Moving day: what it cost to move eight miles
Two movers, three hours, a borrowed dolly and a lot of pizza. The full $4,175 I spent to get into my studio, l…
I signed a lease: a $1,295 studio in Evanston
Heat and water included, a third-floor window over a courtyard and a June 1 start. What I signed, what I paid …
Evanston or Skokie? Three apartments, three rents
A Skokie one-bedroom, a garden studio and a top-floor studio near the Purple Line. What each one cost per mont…
Starting a move fund for a June lease
I want my own place by summer. Why I'm saving $4,500 in five months, what I expect moving out to cost and what…
Thrifting my future kitchen one $3 mug at a time
A plastic bin in my parents' basement is slowly filling with plates, pans and a $6 cast iron skillet. Everythi…
Pricing apartments in Evanston and Skokie a year early
A Saturday of walking past rental signs and saving listings. What studios and one-bedrooms really go for near …
The Rogers Park apartment I left, and what it really cost
My $925 share of a two-bedroom near the lake, plus everything nobody puts in the listing. The real monthly tot…