Liz Steelman

Plus expert advice on what makes cohabitation successful.

We all know someone with an objectively amazing apartment. It’s light and airy, remarkably spacious for its size, in a great location, and somehow costs less than your dark, cramped, inconvenient shoebox. Though you may think your friend is just incredible lucky at real estate, here’s the hard truth: Chances are, they just did a better job during the apartment search than you did.

Meet the “​The Mortgage Program for Costco Members,” a benefit that’s been around since 2011.

As housing prices go up, everyone's learning to slice and dice in order to make the rent.

Who needs Second City or UCB when you can pay $180 a month to live on Hoover Street?

Can you even believe these are the same apartment unit?

Yeesh! With a price this high, no wonder college graduates are delaying move-in day.

You may have realized that not everyone who wants to own a home does (especially if they're a Millennial). It's not because they can't afford the monthly mortgage payment, it's because there is a barrier to entry for mortgages in the tune of thousands of dollars, a.k.a. that pesky down payment.

If you are at risk of encountering an ICE raid—or would like to support your community members and neighbors if you encounter one, here is what to do.

We went through all the credit score-focused articles we've published in the past year and rounded up the best tips experts have shared with us. Here, the best of the best credit score tips and tricks.

Finance is boring, but our Real Estate Editor, Liz, sure isn't! In our new series called Liz$plaining, Liz will guide you through all your toughest financial questions.

It can help you haul literally anything.

The old unit in Rittenhouse Square came with a banana yellow and black-tiled bathroom and built-ins galore.

​If you’ve ever wanted to walk through a pair of mint doors and yell, “Lucy, I’m home,” you don’t have to build a time machine to do it.

Tired of telling your niece you can’t come to her birthday party out in the ‘burbs because you have to get some work done this weekend? Or maybe it’s more that you have too much time—like you’re underemployed and can’t partake in all the amazing opportunities your city offers? It may be time to move to a city with a better work-life balance. Might I suggest Provo-Orem, Utah?

Like just about everyone, I was obsessed with Disney World when I was little. I had never been, but I knew a lot about it. Mainly I knew that it wasn’t in Illinois, where I lived. And while it was in Florida where my Nana and Papa lived, “their Florida” wasn’t the same as “Disney World Florida.” Geography is confusing for a six-year-old! Strangely, I also knew that Disney World was technically its own city.

Turns out, millennials aren’t spending all their money on that infamous avocado toast. However, they are a lot more spendy than all other living generations. According to a new analysis from GOBankingRates, millennials spend $208.77 each day, on average—about $44 more than the average American, who spends about $164.55.

A day ago, if you would have asked me about my dream home, I would have said something very vague and mentioned the words “glass,” “mid-century modern,” and maybe even, “Actually, don’t tell anyone but I kind of loved the house Eleanor lived in on ‘The Good Place?'” But that has all changed now that I have become aware of this house in Rockport, Massachusetts, that is now on the market for $2,950,000.

I have a confession to make: I haven’t watched “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo.” But that’s mostly because I don’t watch anything. Watching the newest show right when Netflix releases it seems like a waste of my brain energy when I would rather be thinking about Henry Cavill’s Mission: Impossible-Fallout mustache or that Chrissy Teigen Instagram post of John Legend on vacation slowly rocking Miles in his swimsuit when she asks “Can you do GIFs on a video?

Buying a home is expensive. Selling a home is expensive. This is common knowledge. Something I recently learned is not common knowledge? Just who pays the buyer’s real estate agent once a house sells (and who pays the seller’s, too). It’s likely you haven’t really thought about this ever. For expediency’s sake, the answer is “the seller.” Yes, the seller pays their listing agent and the buyer agent’s commission.

I spend entirely too much of my free time looking at real estate listings—even though looking at them is a good chunk of what I get paid to do here! But even though I know what I’m looking for, even I get lost clicking through dream homes: “I should move to Detroit and buy this $20,000 fixer upper!” or “If I save now, I can totally can afford this $2 million apartment in Brooklyn by the time I’m 30!

If you’ve been patting yourself on the back for living minimally in a studio apartment in the hopes of squirreling away a couple of hundreds of dollars every month for a down payment sometime in the future, brace yourself: I hate to break it to you, but you might actually be losing money. At least according to a new analysis from HotPads, a Zillow company that focuses on apartment searches, the median price for a one-bedroom apartment in most cities is actually cheaper than a studio.

My dad was frequently unemployed while I was growing up. When he had a job as a software salesman, things were pretty bountiful in our household: We’d go on vacation, build a playhouse, have another sibling join the family, etc. But it always seemed that right after we’d get used to living in “boom times,” he’d get laid off. And since my mom chose to stay home and homeschool us, there wasn’t money coming in when my dad wasn’t working.

Welcome to My First Apartment! Whether it’s your first studio, a four-bedroom deep in the city shared with a handful of roommates, or even an entire house (lucky you!), there’s something special about moving into the first place that’s truly your own. In this series, we’ll showcase actors, artists, entrepreneurs, and beyond—asking them to revisit that oh-so-sweet nostalgia of newly-found freedom.

If you’re like me, you’re probably spending the holiday weekend indulging in the ultimate Thanksgiving tradition: Marathoning the “Friends” Thanksgiving episodes. Amid lost toes, shepherd’s pie trifle, and The Geller Cup, you might be marveling at that marvelous purple apartment.

Welcome to My First Apartment! Whether it’s your first studio, a four-bedroom deep in the city shared with a handful of roommates, or even an entire house (lucky you!), there’s something special about moving into the first place that’s truly your own. In this series, we’ll showcase actors, artists, entrepreneurs, and beyond—asking them to revisit that oh-so-sweet nostalgia of newly-found freedom.

Welcome to My First Apartment! Whether it’s your first studio, a four-bedroom deep in the city shared with a handful of roommates, or even an entire house (lucky you!), there’s something special about moving into the first place that’s truly your own. In this series, we’ll showcase actors, artists, entrepreneurs, and beyond—asking them to revisit that oh-so-sweet nostalgia of newly-found freedom. To say that Genevieve Gorder is captivating is an understatement.

Budgeting can be pretty hard—especially on a measly income. And some places, it’s nearly impossible to live a full life on your income alone—so you’re likely to slip into debt to pay the bills. Though it’s not ideal, for many it’s just the way it is. But in other places, it’s much, much easier—like in San Jose, California.

As the millennial job market becomes mobile, many twenty- and thirty-somethings are looking outside the big cities for places to settle down. If you haven’t been keeping score like I am, the Midwest is proving itself to be an increasingly attractive option with up-and-coming cities that offer millennials the lifestyle they’re searching for—and the price they want to pay.