<prompt> Human: I think my best option is to turn the living room into a bedroom and rent it out. The rent is 850mo, but my meager salary as a preschool teacher only affords enough so that I can reasonably pay half of that. Even still, 425 is close to half my monthly income.Any other ideas? I am having a nervous breakdown playing out all of the worst case scenarios. I need to keep this apartment and prove to myself that I can make it on my own.Also, an aside: He owes me upwards of 3,000. I did speak to him once after the break up before I took out a restraining order. He seemed to have every intention of paying me back, but now that the state pressed charges and arrested him, he may have a change of heart. I plan on taking him to small claims court. Is this the best course of action?tl;dr How do I go from splitting the rent to potentially having to pay it in full? The stress is killing me.UPDATE: Thanks everyone for all the advice. Moving back with my parents is unfortunately not an option, and to find a roommate in the area I live is at least 500, if not more. 850 for this apartment was an absolute steal. So hopefully I can find a roommate ASAP because 425 seems to me the best deal Im going to get for now.  <response>: You shouldnt stay in the apartment to prove something if there are better options. Dont ruin yourself financially out of pride. If you can get out of the lease, get out of it. Talk to your apartment manager - some of them are human about these situations. Get a roommate in a cheaper place. 