<prompt> Human: I want to rent a 1-bedroom apartment for 495-- there are really no cheaper 1-bedroom apartments in my area. My projected net income for this year is 22,000 being modest, 26,000 being generous. I am a lecturer at a university, so my job is not exactly stable. While I have never had a class I teach get canceled by the university, it is always possible if I do not have enough students who enroll and enrollment numbers are affected by a lot of outside factors.Using modest figures and assuming that I am not restricting my recreational activities, I have figured that after all my expenses, I would be left with 100-200 to put in my savings account every month. I know that is not much wiggle room, but I am using modest figures-- it is possible that I will make 4K more next year. I also used a higher figure for my non-rent spending which includes loans, insurance, cell phone, groceries, plus barfun money. These expenses have varied between 700-1,100 this past year. When I only spend 700 total on all these expenses, I am generally not having fun. When I spend 1,100, I am loving life. I am not consistent from month to month, but its safe to say that there is no way that would spend 1,100 every month. I can buckle down when I need to, but I do like to have fun. The months I buckle down I would probably be putting 500 in my savings. Because I have such a wide range of numbers I am working with plus uncertainty about job stability, I am confused about my next step. I have at least 4 months of emergency money saved up, but obviously would prefer not to end up spending that. Suggestions?  <response>: I would look to boost your income as well. You could probably do very well in private tutoring - easily pull 40-50hr. Just 10 hours of that a month pays for a 500mo apartment. 