Frugal housing is one of the smartest places to turn your attention to when considering frugal living ideas. After all, housing costs account for a significant percentage of your budget. Therefore, if you can slash spending on your home, then you can reduce your overall spending significantly.
There are many different options for frugal housing. However, older people might overlook one of the best new options: co-living. Millennials, and in particular Gen Z-ers, are increasingly taking advantage of co-living options. As a result, more and more options are opening up. People from other generations can look into this as a unique way to save money on living costs.
What is Co-Living?
Co-living is a fresh new word for a common frugal living situation: having roommates. However, the new options for co-living dress up the old roommate situation with some favorable new choices.
Typically, a co-living situation means that there are multiple individual apartments within a new building. Furthermore, there are shared living spaces. This offers the best of both worlds. You share social spaces, which means that you also share the cost of them. However, you still have the privacy of your own space.
There are different configurations for co-living. For example, you might have your own private bedroom but then share the kitchen, living room, and bathrooms with others. Alternatively, you might have your own apartment with a hot plate and private bathroom but share a larger kitchen and outdoor deck space. The more popular that co-living becomes, the more the options open up.
How You Save Money with Co-Living
Typically, you will pay less to rent a co-living room than you would to rent your own apartment or house. After all, you’re basically splitting the cost of the shared spaces. However, that’s not the only way that co-living saves money. Another big thing is that these buildings often come with amenities, which are a lot cheaper since they’re shared among the building. Therefore, you might also save money on:
- Appliances
- Cable TV
- Eco-friendly home building
- Gym membership
- Home repairs
- Home security
- Housecleaning
- Internet
- Laundry service
- Smart home technology
- Utilities, which are often all included
Furthermore, you can usually host parties in the common areas, so you don’t ever have to pay to rent out a party space again. Plus, if you make new friends in the building, then you might be able to go out on the town less, thereby saving more money. Finally, the lower cost sometimes means that you can afford to live closer to your office, thereby saving on commute costs.
Is This Really For Adults?
Of course, all of this sounds ideal for Generation Z, who are all college-aged right now. However, co-living isn’t just for young adults. People of any age may find that this is a frugal housing option that works for them. For example, professional singles who aren’t home very much anyway due to work can benefit from co-living. They have both private space and company when they are home without footing the bill for a huge house of their own.
The companies that offer co-living arrangements know that they aren’t just for kids. Therefore, they increasingly offer design styles and amenities suitable for people of all ages. Currently, these situations are primarily offered in urban areas. For example, the company Common has co-living spaces in cities that include Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. Since these are also some of the most expensive cities in the nation, it makes a lot of sense to look for frugal housing options when you live in them.
What about if you don’t live alone? There are co-living spaces available for couples and families. For example, We Live (a co-living space related to the co-working company We Work) has co-living options that include 3 and 4-bedroom living spaces. You could move your whole family in and take advantage of the luxurious amenities throughout the rest of the building.
Co-living isn’t right for everyone. However, frugal housing is worth looking into. If you’ve never considered it, it’s at least worth a little bit more research the next time that you’re looking to make a move.
Would you consider co-living to save money on housing? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Kathryn Vercillo is a professional writer who loves to live a balanced life. She appreciates a good work-life balance. She enjoys balance in her relationships and has worked hard to learn how to balance her finances to allow for a balanced life overall. Although she’s only blonde some of the time, she’s always striving for total balance. She’s excited to share what she’s learned with you and to discover more together along the way.