Before you rent an apartment, you must first take a look at your finances and what your expenses are each month other than rent. This includes your utilities, cell phone bill, cable, car insurance, and car payments. This will help give you an idea of how much money you have going out each month.  Once you have a better idea of how much you are paying, you can then compare this to the income you have coming in. Remember to include things like groceries and transportation expenses into your monthly budgeting as well. You don’t want to forget items like this because you will end up overextending yourself when you add your rent payment to your expenses.  

A good rule to go off of is the 1/3 rule.  The 1/3 rule states that your housing expenses should be equal but no greater than 1/3 of your total monthly income.  The  includes not just rent, but utilities, parking, and maintenance fees as well, or any expense related to where you live. 

The rent calculator found below will help you properly budget for taking on a rent payment.  This tool allows you to input your monthly income and it will help you determine how much you are able to pay.  From there you can narrow your search to apartments that fit within your budget so you can maintain a healthy quality of life.