Renting an apartment with friends and strangers alike can be a blast… until it’s not. Depending on your situation and personality, you might find that you’re better off flying solo. We’ll help you weigh the pros and cons to decide.

With an apartment roommate, you might lose some privacy, but you’ll gain savings.

Oh, snap! You glance at the calendar and your heart drops. Between work deadlines, school assignments, and a busy social life, you forgot to pay your rent. We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but your landlord can say “sayonara” for late rent.

Whatever the size of the apartment you’re applying for—from efficiency to two-bedroom apartments to lofts—you’ll probably have to undergo a credit check when you submit your application. Because landlords are trying to find out whether you would be a reliable renter, they look at your report for things like debt, consistency, predictability, and your previous rental history. But what happens when they actually go to check that report?

Welcome to 2016! A new year brings new opportunities to improve your lifestyle, including bettering your current apartment – or maybe even moving to a new one. This does not mean that you have to spend a lot of money. In fact, you can dramatically improve your apartment lifestyle and save money simultaneously, by starting the year right and following a few simple apartment lifestyle hacks.

Ahhh. Christmas has finally arrived. For some of us, the holiday signals time with family, who travel from far and near to eat dinner and open presents with us. For college students, it signals the end of a busy semester, and the fact that you have finally completed their final exams. For many of us, the two weeks that include Christmas and New Year’s Day, also signal a welcome vacation, after weeks of preparing for the big holidays. Now, we can finally relax and have fun with family and friends.