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…
How Dan and I split costs without a joint account
We've been together almost a year and earn different amounts. How we split dinners, trips and groceries withou…
My first full month of apartment bills, line by line
June was my first month paying for everything myself. Every bill, what it cost and how close I came to my budg…
A $12 Fourth of July on the Evanston lakefront
A blanket on the grass, a bag of cherries and fireworks over the water. Our cheap holiday, plus the parking tr…
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 …
Getting my own car insurance after leaving my parents' policy
Four quotes from $131 to $198 a month for the same old Corolla. What I compared, the deductible I raised and w…
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…
My first apartment budget: $1,295 rent on a $1,332 paycheck
Rent is about 45% of my take-home pay. The full monthly plan I built before moving and the lines I had to shri…
Watching my little brother graduate in Champaign
A two-hour drive down I-57, a cap and gown, and my parents crying in the stands. The weekend Nolan finished co…