Before deciding to move out of his parents’ home last year, Kevin Martin carefully crafted a budget that would allow him to get an apartment with three roommates in nearby Tempe, Arizona, while he attended Mesa Community College. The accounting major made it work by holding down three part-time jobs and was even able to save as much as $200 a month.
But Martin, 19, couldn’t predict that Arizona would have an unusually warm spring that led to a big jump in monthly air conditioning costs.
The foursome tried to keep the electricity bills in check by turning off the AC when they were out, but they’d return to a home that felt like a sauna. He knew it would only get worse during the summer
So Martin decided to move back home, his goal of living independently derailed by higher bills, from air conditioning to gas to groceries amid the ongoing US war with Iran.
“Over the months, I was saving less money and spending more,” said Martin, who realized it was “probably smarter to go back home so I could save more money … I didn’t really want to spend all that money on AC.”
