How much money you can save by coliving

As you know, coliving at Outpost means everything is included; from furnishings to cleaning to security, your membership is a flat fee that takes care of everything. But how does this actually add up to savings in the long term? Here’s our rundown of how much you can save by coliving. 

Initial start-up fees

Before monthly costs accrue, you have the initial start-up savings of coliving to consider. In the hunt for a traditional apartment, you might find yourself having to pay a broker fee. In NYC, broker fees are notoriously high, averaging one month’s rent or 15% of the annual rent according to Medium. That’s $1,000 or more gone instantly, although if you’re lucky you might find one of the newly popular no-fee brokers (so long as you’re able to avoid a scam). 

On top of that is the application fee for the apartment, averaging around $100 or more, while at Outpost we don’t charge application fees or undertake extensive reference checks, making moving in both affordable and quick.

Apartments in New York and San Francisco don’t usually come furnished, so unless you’re lucky enough to find a perfectly timed sublet, you’re looking at buying at least a bed and a dresser — if not more (depending on how fancy you’re feeling). 

Let’s say you’re scrimping and saving; at a minimum you’ll spend $100 on a bed frame and $100 on a mattress, while most people will end up spending more in the region of $400 for both. A dresser will be another $40 - $200. Then there’s the living room... unless you want to sit on your pizza boxes for a year, a couch will set you back anywhere between $200 to $600 (but let’s veer on the conservative side and say you find a roommate willing to split it with you).

Start-up cost savings of fully furnished coliving: $440 - $2000.

After these one-time expenses, the monthly fees begin. So how much money can you save per month by coliving?

Monthly saving on utilities … and more

In an Outpost coliving house, all of your utilities are included, even WiFi. According to Smart Asset, The average basic utilities package for a 915-square-foot apartment in New York costs $145.55, including heating, electricity and water. WiFi prices average at $62.77 per month, and that’s without having super speedy unlimited access and streaming. Even if you share with a roommate, that’s $72.78 on utilities and $31.39 on WiFi. Anybody else starting to lose count? 

Savings per month on utilities and WiFi: $104.17 - $208.32.

All the little things

Outpost also provides all those little things that add up without you realizing that they do. So let’s try to add them … Your bathroom is regularly restocked with toilet paper ($0.84 per roll, with the assumption two rolls a week are being used per person [feel free to debate that one]), as well as shower gel ($3 - $9 per bottle, per month) and shampoo (another $3 - $9 per bottle, per month). There’s also a hairdryer, but let’s say you brought one with you.

In the coliving area, we include Netflix ($8.99 per month) as well as a printer and ink (costing between $1 and $10 per month, depending if you’re a student or work from home).

In the kitchen, we provide olive oil ($3 - $8 per bottle), as well as spices ($5 per month average), paper towels ($2 per month) and coffee and tea ($12 per month minimum). Then there’s dish soap and garbage bags ($2 per month minimum). That’s not even counting the kitchen utensils and little things in your bedroom… like hangers (who ever remembers hangers?) and the added benefits of cleaning and security that living at Outpost offers.

Savings on the little things: $46.71 - much, much more. 

That means that by coliving, even the thriftiest shopper can save $440 in start-up fees, as well as $150.88 per month at a minimum (and are you really buying that $3 shampoo every month?). Now, doesn’t that make you feel less guilty about getting that extra drink at the bar last weekend? Cheers!