Over Thanksgiving weekend, I did something I hadn't done since 1998: I shopped for apartments.

Not for me. For Barbara!

Now that she is gainfully employed, Barbara has decided to move out of the house she shares with roommates and into her very own Big Girl apartment. She had done some searching on her own but wanted a second opinion, so she asked me to come along and offered to buy me a Cherry Limeade from SONIC®  in return. I was in.

Because of Bill, Barbara needs a place that's cat-friendly. The first place we viewed was affordable, but downright scary—smoke-filled hallways, stained carpeting, and rickety window air conditioners. We decided—pretty much instantly—that wasn't for her.

The second property was more expensive, but with good reason. It had a washer and dryer right in the unit (no communal laundry), an individual entry (no scary smoke-filled hallways), and a garage (no winter car ice scraping). It seemed more like a condo than an apartment, and Barbara was sold.

But in the leasing office, Barbara had a bit of a panic attack. Could she really afford this? My attempts to talk her down from the ledge weren't working, so I decided it was time for her to take a good, hard look at the numbers. I asked the agent if we could borrow a computer and pulled up the budgeting worksheet(PDF) from the Hands on Banking® program. Seriously, I did. Ask Barbara.

After she plugged in all of her expenses—including the commitment to her savings account—Barbara still had $400 left for the month. I think that was a surprise to both of us! But it gave her the confidence to sign her name on the lease. And last weekend, she moved in.

Yep, she's gonna make it after all .

Have you ventured out on your own? >Tell us about it!