First Apartment Checklist: Buy Now, Buy Later, Skip
Buy what gets you through the first night, live there a few weeks, then shop with real measurements.
Plain-English guides
Nobody hands you a manual for this.
Money, home, health, work and the paperwork in between. We read what credentialed pros recommend, then boil it down to what to do this week.
Pick a part of life
- MoneyBudgets, credit, debt, taxes and saving without the jargon.
- Home lifeRenting, cleaning, fixing and running a place you live in.
- HealthDoctors, insurance, sleep and the basics of looking after yourself.
- WorkJobs, pay, benefits and getting through the working week.
- FoodCooking, groceries and kitchen basics on a normal budget.
- Life adminPaperwork, accounts, documents and deadlines.
- RelationshipsRoommates, friends, family and dating, with less drama.
- ParentingThe early years, school, childcare and the money side of kids.
Latest guides
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Every forgotten plan bills you again next month. Where to cancel each one, and how to make sure it stays canceled.
How to Change a Tire Safely: Step by Step, in the Right Order
The order matters more than muscle. Twenty minutes, done right, or a quick call to roadside when the spot is wrong.
How to Cook Rice: Ratios for Stovetop, Microwave and More
A pot, a lid you leave alone and the right amount of water. The ratios and times for every common rice, in one chart.
How to Do Your Own Laundry Properly
Done right, laundry makes clothes last years longer. The label, cold water and a clean lint filter cover most of it.
Free tools
All tools- First apartment budget calculatorSee your rent-to-income share, a 50/30/20 check and what moving in will cost.
- Subscription auditAdd up what your subscriptions cost a year and find the ones you forgot about.
- Health plan comparison calculatorCompare two health plans across a light, medium and heavy year, premiums included.
How a guide gets made
Our full methodFind who knows the subject
Certified planners, clinicians, tradespeople, agencies and creators with a track record.
Compare what they say
Where the experts agree, it goes in. Where they disagree, we say so and show both sides.
Boil it down
A quick version up top, the detail below, and a short to-do list for this week.
Show our sources
Every guide names the experts it draws on and links its sources, so you can check our work.
A note from the editor
The manual we wish we had, built from what the people who know the subject recommend.
Adulting Hacks is published by Island Fox, an incubation studio in California, and edited by Eric. We research each guide against what credentialed professionals and experienced creators recommend, and we say plainly when we have not tested something ourselves. You will find their names and links in every guide.
Some product links earn us a commission. That helps keep the site free, and it never decides what we recommend. If something is sponsored, the card says so.