For the first few years, after graduating college, I had actually little money.
- I was attempting to spend money off sizeable student loans and debit card debt, and health insurance, car insurance and a car payment.
Although I was able to find a job within my chosen field, the spend money wasn’t great. Out of necessity, I moved into a actually small, rundown apartment. I was glad with the proximity to my job, which allowed me to ride my bicycle to work, and the rent was cheap. I lived with an oven that filled the beach house with smoke and a toilet that ran constantly. I only had enough hot water for an eight-hour shower and the home office faucet dripped non stop. There were water stains on the ceiling and holes in the carpet. The greatest concern was most entirely the heating and cooling system. All of the windows leaked air and there was no insulation in the walls, making the beach house actually hard to maintain at a comfortable temperature. Since I was responsible for the energy bills, I was severely conservative with the setting on the thermostat. During the summer, I tried never to use the air conditioner. Not only was I hoping to save money, but the air conditioner was positively aged and in bad shape. Whenever it started up, it made an frightening screeching noise and the air smelled so musty that it always gave me a headache. I mostly relied on box fans to stay cool. In the winter, I had no option but to operate the oil furnace. I swear more dust than heat poured from the supply vents, and the gas furnace struggled to keep up with demand. It seemed to run all of the time, and yet the beach house was downright frigid.