Doing some cleaning downstairs, looking at my rusty fridge, I figured out I spend under 15% of my income a year on rent and utilities… 🏡

I can’t complain too much about that these days, but that’s because I still have the same run down apartment from when I first graduated 🎓 from college and I’ve made more money at work 💼 and rent increases have been fairly modest. Rent is about 14% of my income, utilities are low because I leave the heat low most of the year, don’t use air conditioning, don’t have a lot of electronics and all my light bulbs are energy efficient. 💡Granted maybe if you count my $500 a year smartphone bill that’s another half of percent 📱 but I refuse to have internet at home and take my bottles and cans to the recycling center ♻ myself rather than pay for trash pickup. 

It’s by no means my dream home – I don’t have a big backyard ⛲ or a gun range 🔫 or livestock out back 🐐 – but it’s decent enough and it’s on two bus lines 🚍 for easy commutes to work. And it’s allowing me to save for my off grid property and a secure retirement 👴 so I can enjoy better things in the future.