Managing Your Apartment
The first option you had in the game was to choose where to live:
This does not just impact the bills you need to pay and your Quality of Life score – you can actually visit your apartment and kit it out with your favorite decor too!
You can visit your Apartment at any time by going to the main menu under “Budget Game”:
Understanding Your Apartment
Your apartment will look different depending on what you chose at the start of the game. Cheaper apartments might have cracks on the windows, leaky bathrooms, or show doors where your roommate’s bedrooms are, while the fancier apartments have nicer furnishings and are cleaner/more up-to-date.
A cheap apartment, with cracked windows, messy walls, and a leak in the bathroom.
A luxury apartment, with quartz countertops, stainless-steel appliances, and multiple private bedrooms
The type of apartment you chose has a direct impact on your Quality of Life. The cheapest apartment is worth 0 Quality of Life points, while the medium and luxury options are worth as many Quality of Life points as you paid for them, above the cheap version. This means
Quality of Life earned = Your apartment’s rent – Cheapest Apartment’s Rent
You can move apartments at any time from your “Expenses” option (to earn more Quality of Life if you can afford it, or downsize if you are having trouble keeping your budget), but keep in mind that there is a $150 charge to move.
Furnishing Your Apartment
When you first visit your Apartment, you will find that there are some cheap pieces of furniture already there for you – a basic bed, an old TV, plus some folding chairs and tables (to use as a desk and kitchen table) to get you started.
This isn’t very exciting – so once you have built up your Emergency Fund and are hitting your monthly Savings Goals, you can invest in improving your home.
On the left side of the Apartment, there is a button to “Shop New Items”, letting you buy new furniture, accessories, and appliances to build up your new home.
Like all other expenses, you can buy things in your Apartment with either your Debit Card (from your checking account) or your Credit Card. However, keeping in line with personal finance Best Practices, you cannot buy items if you have any outstanding bills, and you cannot go into debt to buy optional items.
Items you buy for your Apartment directly improve your Quality of Life. It can be tempting to buy some of the best stuff all at once to have a really awesome home, but this will burn in the long run, as your Emergency Fund and savings goals will be harder to meet.
Besides acquiring items from the Shop, there are many Random Events in the game that give you the option to buy items that will later appear in your Apartment as well. These items are either unique (cannot be bought through the regular shop), or are discounted from their normal shop price.
Showing Off Your Apartment
Your Apartment isn’t just for you – you can also show it off to other users in your session – and see the Apartments of others as well.
If you visit the Budget Game Rankings page, you will see a button to visit the Apartments of everyone else in your session. When viewing someone else’s Apartment, you can hover over any item they own to see how much they paid for it, and when they bought it.
Remember: investing in your own Quality of Life is an important aspect of personal finance, but even more important is learning to do so in moderation. Invest in yourself only after building your Emergency Fund and hitting your savings goals for the month!