\n
And no, it\u2019s not deleting your Starbucks Rewards app and swearing off fast casual dining. <\/p>\n
Today I want to talk about something we often write off as an immutable fixed cost: Housing. \u201cBut Katie,\u201d you say, \u201cI have <\/em>to live in a place with an espresso bar and Peloton in the gym \u2013 it\u2019s non-negotiable for my quality of life!\u201d<\/p>\nLet\u2019s take a journey back in time, shall we?<\/p>\n
Finding my first apartment<\/h2>\n
Back in 2017, we revisit young, hapless, Dallas-obsessed Katie, on a hunt for her first apartment. Flush with cash from making $12\/hour as an intern at Southwest, she was plotting her first Uptown apartment lease \u2013 because there\u2019s obviously nothing amiss about someone who makes the equivalent of $24,000 per year signing a 1BR lease in the most expensive part of town.<\/p>\n
Thankfully, my friend Rob swooped in and saved the day. He was moving to Dallas for work and made substantially more than I did. We decided to be roommates to cut back on housing costs.<\/p>\n
Despite the fact he was a high earner, he was hellbent on not paying more than $1,000 for rent. <\/p>\n
That may have been the first time I encountered anyone<\/em> in Dallas who felt it was not only possible, but necessary<\/em> to keep housing costs low. Every other young person I spoke with treated their apartment lease like their first home purchase: Unless it was in the best neighborhood, with granite countertops, stainless appliances, and walkability to the hottest bars, forget it. $1,500 per month? A bargain for a new graduate making $52,000 per year, right? <\/p>\nI\u2019ve said it once and I\u2019ll say it again: Thank God for Rob.<\/p>\n
We ended up signing a 2BR lease at an older apartment complex in Victory Park for $1,785 per month, or $892.50\/each. <\/p>\n
The countertops were plastic, the fridge was the same one I had when I was in the third grade, and there were always rowdy pool parties happening at the most inopportune times \u2013 but thanks to that one decision<\/strong>, I was able to save hundreds of dollars more every month than most of my peers. (And I owe it all to Rob, because otherwise, I would\u2019ve been in an Uptown 1BR apartment spending one entire paycheck on rent.)<\/p>\nAnd I didn\u2019t sacrifice location to do it \u2013 we were up the street from the American Airlines Center and across the street from Happiest Hour, two major attractions in the Uptown\/downtown mix.<\/p>\n
At $892 per month compared to the average that most of my friends were spending (between $1,200 and $1,500), I was saving between $300 to $600 more on a monthly basis because of one simple decision that I almost didn\u2019t make. <\/p>\n
The worst part is, I can\u2019t even take credit for it. I would\u2019ve made a horrible choice if it weren\u2019t for this singular positive influence (and now, I hope I can be that singular positive influence for you). <\/p>\n
Not long after, I encountered another high earner \u2013 a software engineer who made $130,000 per year \u2013 who lived in the same apartment complex as me. I was shocked to meet someone who made more than twice my income slumming it with me at the only old apartment complex in a sea of hastily constructed high rises. \u201cI just don\u2019t care that much,\u201d he\u2019d say, \u201cI\u2019m trying to invest instead.\u201d <\/p>\n
Again, another impactful encounter. Maybe it\u2019s not weird to live way below your means, <\/em>I\u2019d think, after witnessing most of the people I knew doing precisely the opposite. <\/p>\nI\u2019ve never had a 1BR apartment or paid more than $892 per month for rent in Dallas.<\/h4>\n
\u2026and I\u2019ve lived in both Victory Park and Knox Henderson, two areas that are walkable to bars, restaurants, and offer ready access to the highway and grocery stores. The next apartment I lived in actually cost less<\/em>; we paid $1,741 for a 2BR (and that time, it did<\/em> have granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and other fancy amenities that used to matter a lot to me). <\/p>\nHow I always found \u201ccheap\u201d housing in good areas<\/h2>\n
My method has always been simple: Visit leasing offices of places that are clearly not <\/em>attempting to replicate a shiny hybrid of Vegas pool party and NYC high-rise style. They\u2019ll see you coming. <\/p>\nTypically, the older complexes tend to have bigger units, because they were built in a time when Dallas housing wasn\u2019t priced at a premium (you can spot these by looking for places that are only a couple of stories high). Because they\u2019re older, they usually rent more cheaply, and a lot of them have been renovated to keep up with the flashy newcomers that boast weird perks like eucalyptus towels in the lobby and valet parking. <\/p>\n
When I found our previous apartment, I knew I wanted to live on Henderson Avenue. I simply walked into every single leasing office of every apartment complex between 75 and McMillan, stretching a solid few blocks, and asked what specials they had. It took approximately one afternoon of light research, and when I saw this place and its price, I knew I had a steal on my hands. Price-comparing is a necessity. Don\u2019t just sign the first lease someone puts in your face.<\/p>\n
I visited four complexes (which took a few hours) and was feeling dejected and disappointed before walking into that one, so I had a good sense (rooted in reality) of what the \u201cmarket value\u201d for apartments on that stretch of land was. I didn\u2019t really use the internet at all beyond the basic pre-research \u2013 it was all done on foot, in person. People are more willing to strike a deal when they\u2019ve got you, a potential tenant, standing in front of them. <\/p>\n
The price range \u2013 even in the two-block stretch I was traversing \u2013 was wild. The units and amenities weren\u2019t even that different <\/em>(and obviously the location was the same), and yet I was seeing differences of between $300 and $400 for very similar units. <\/p>\nDon\u2019t take the leasing agent\u2019s word for it that you won\u2019t find anything cheaper or better <\/strong>\u2013 remember, they\u2019re trying to sell you something.<\/p>\nWith the exception of San Francisco and New York City, affordable housing is easier to find than most people think \u2013 living just a mile away from the hottest<\/em> neighborhood can save you hundreds <\/em>of dollars per month (if not more), without sacrificing much. <\/p>\nAnd while it\u2019s not impossible<\/em> to save an extra $400 per month by cutting back in other categories, nothing will have more of an impact on your finances month to month than where you choose to live. <\/strong><\/h4>\nYour housing costs are likely the single-most impactful influence on your monthly costs<\/h2>\n
This is simply the byproduct of the fact that rent is usually the single-most expensive thing you\u2019re on the hook for on a monthly basis.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s even more impactful when considered as a percentage of your total income \u2013 the difference between $900 per month and $1,200 per month isn\u2019t crazy if your total take-home pay is $6,500 a month. But if you\u2019re making $3,000<\/em> a month, that $300 difference represents a full 10% of your monthly take-home pay. <\/p>\nIt\u2019s almost insulting to think giving up your cold brew a couple times a week could ever make a dent in a budget that\u2019s bloated from an inflated housing budget. <\/h3>\n
Think about how many happy hours you\u2019d have to give up to compensate for an apartment that costs just $400 more per month.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that weird phenomenon where we anchor to a price and then view deviations from it relative to the whole (yeah, I passed calculus once \u2013 what of it?). <\/p>\n
In other words, it\u2019s way easier to reason with yourself on high-ticket items because the differences don\u2019t feel that big by comparison:<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, this place that\u2019s pretty good is $950, but this other place is $1,150\u2026 that\u2019s not that<\/em> much more.\u201d When in reality, it\u2019s a full $200 more \u2013 and that $200 difference would probably feel stark and shocking if it were tacked onto anything else. <\/p>\n\u201cMy car insurance went up from $100 to $300 this month! I\u2019m not paying for that.\u201d Why does this feel so much more egregious? It\u2019s still $200. <\/p>\n
We don\u2019t consider it as an absolute, we consider it relative to the whole. But it\u2019s still $200<\/em>, or $2,400 per year. <\/p>\nThe alternative to finding reasonably priced housing is paying through the nose and finding another way to make up that savings difference every month, which usually ends up going one of two ways:<\/p>\n
\n- \n
Cutting out fun stuff that actually improves your quality of life<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Not saving at all and compromising your financial success<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Neither are great options, and I\u2019ve been shocked by how arbitrarily things seemed to be priced in a medium cost of living city like Dallas. I\u2019ve seen friends inexplicably pay $1,800 per month for a 1BR apartment in a good part of town, and other friends (who live literally <\/em>a mile and a half away) pay $750 a month for a bigger place.<\/p>\n(And this isn\u2019t a slam on renting \u2013 I am a HUGE proponent of renting \u2013 but renting wisely<\/em> counts.)<\/p>\nWhere you live in your city will have less of an impact on your quality of life than the amount of money you have to spend on entertainment and fun with your friends. I\u2019d never tell you to live anywhere unsafe, but moving just a mile or two away from the fanciest, trendiest neighborhood can change your financial trajectory more than just about any amount of cutting back or cooking at home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
And no, it\u2019s not deleting your Starbucks Rewards app and swearing off fast casual dining. Today I want to talk about something we often write off as an immutable fixed cost: Housing. \u201cBut Katie,\u201d you say, \u201cI have to live in a place with an espresso bar and Peloton in the gym \u2013 it\u2019s non-negotiable for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178814,"featured_media":2417,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"si-template-single-post-big-purchases-cars-and-houses.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[43],"class_list":["post-479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spending-and-saving","tag-big-purchases-cars-and-houses"],"yoast_head":"\n
The #1 Way to Substantially Impact Your Financial Situation - Money with Katie<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/the-number-one-way-to-substantially-impact-your-financial-situation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The #1 Way to Substantially Impact Your Financial Situation - Money with Katie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"And no, it\u2019s not deleting your Starbucks Rewards app and swearing off fast casual dining. Today I want to talk about something we often write off as an immutable fixed cost: Housing. \u201cBut Katie,\u201d you say, \u201cI have to live in a place with an espresso bar and Peloton in the gym \u2013 it\u2019s non-negotiable for […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/the-number-one-way-to-substantially-impact-your-financial-situation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Money with Katie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-23T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-05T17:01:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Houses_Fire-Pink_Cropped.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"757\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katie Gatti\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katie Gatti\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/the-number-one-way-to-substantially-impact-your-financial-situation\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/the-number-one-way-to-substantially-impact-your-financial-situation\/\",\"name\":\"The #1 Way to Substantially Impact Your Financial Situation - 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<\/p>\n