Moving out on our own

My partner and I have been together, well, for a while now, and for nearly the entire time we've lived with room mates. Granted, there was one summer where we lived together by ourselves during college, but since I graduated college in 2008, we've always had room mates.

Now, I'm very excited to be living just by our selves, but at the same time, I'm not exactly happy about what that means for our rent. I'm not going to say that we deserve it, or we need it, but I think just living by our selves while I finish the rest of my grad school program will be beneficial.

Besides the amount we've saved over the years by renting out rooms is... significant. And by significant, I mean we've never had to pay as much as our peers and at times it was less than half what other's have paid. This is the benefit of having your name on the lease of an house, and sub letting to three people. Mwaahahahahaha.

Anyway, as it is a step up in our housing costs, I'm going to be looking for ways to reduce costs as much as possible.

Obviously, the first idea that springs to mind is to keep the heat low in winter, and not using A/C in the summer, which we do anyway. But it's easier to keep the house cool during the winter when you don't have room mates who want the living room at 75 degrees. This goes along with using windows judiciously during the summer, and insulating the windows when it gets really hot/cold outside. It's amazing how much cooler your living space can stay if you've turned off all unnecessary electronics and have the currants drawn.

Next, actually having lights off, and electronics plugged into power strips so they can be shut off when not in use. Here again, renters are never as conscientious as we are.

I'm also considering not paying for internet at the new place, as there is free wifi in the apartment center. I definitely don't need it over summer, so it will definitely be cancelled for those months at a minimum. Definitely not something you can do when you have a renter.

I'm sure as the moving day comes nearer I will think of other ways to reduce the cost. Efficiency with money is one of my hobbies.