Have you and your family come upon financial issues recently due to the economy? Is your income not at the level it used to be? If you have been cutting back on spending you might want to consider downgrading your current apartment to a cheap apartment for rent.
To find cheap apartments for rent go to Craigslist. This is a popular website for people that want to list their things for sale. Many people also list apartments and you can easily find cheap apartments there.
Get a realtor that knows cheap apartments for rent to help you find one. Since they understand the area and know where the cheapest apartments are, you can probably find a good deal through them.
Another place where you can find cheap apartments for rent is in the apartment rental magazines. Pick up a free magazine at your local news stand.
Use apartment hunters if you do not want to search for cheap apartments yourself. They make money from the apartment complex so they do not charge you anything for using them.
Find out from current residents of the apartments about the conditions of living in that complex. Does the maintenance take care of problems quickly? Does the staff care about the residents?
Once you have found a cheap apartment that you want to move into, do a walk through of the apartment and note things that need cleaning and repairing. That way when you move in, you will not have maintenance coming over fixing things and disturbing you.
If your budget permits, buy rental insurance to protect your property. If your things were stolen or destroyed by the elements, you can recover the cost of your items from the insurance company.