One of the main things that affects the budget when shopping for an apartment is the number of bedrooms. If you’ve been apartment hunting long, you know that, all else being equal, that extra bedroom can easily tack on anywhere from fifty dollars to several hundred, depending on where you live. And when you’re budgeting for rent, renters insurance, utilities, and all of the other expenses that go with having your own place, the more money you can cut from the budget, the better.

If it’s only going to be you, or even you and a significant other, living in your apartment, you might even consider an efficiency apartment. These apartments are generally teeny tiny. They have one bedroom, and often the bedroom doubles as the living room. As long as you don’t mind having people in your bedroom every time you have company, that’s fine. But it isn’t for everyone.

Keep in mind if you’re considering an efficiency apartment that there’s literally no place to get away from anyone else who is living with you. And while that might sound like a good idea when you first live together, it can turn unpleasant quickly.

Even if you have a baby, one bedroom might be enough. Most baby sleep experts recommend having the baby’s crib in your room for the first year anyway. Of course, if you have older kids, you probably want them to have their own room.

If you have an older child, or more than one child, you’re definitely going to need at least two bedrooms. Generally, if your children are more than five years old (or will be within the lease time) and are opposite gender, you will want to put them in separate rooms. In most cases, even if they are the same gender, it’s a good idea to give separate rooms to children with more than five years between them if you can afford to do so.

So, if you have all boys or all girls, and they’re within five years or so of each other, you can still get away with a two bedroom apartment. Otherwise, you might have to bite the bullet and look for a three bedroom apartment. Fortunately, renters insurance, unlike homeowners insurance, does not go up because of the size of your apartment.

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