I think he was asking about advice on furniture, but that's good advice too.
You're going to be dealing with a landlord. Make sure you check the lease, because some leases have it to where if something breaks, it's on you. If you're renting, it should be on the Landlord to make sure things are fixed.
You know, I've always been told that it's better to have your furniture first, in storage somewhere, and then look for a place to stay. But, I'm guessing that's not an option for you at this point. Your best bet would be to go to places like Value Village or Goodwill to look for cheap beds, couches, etc. If you have low income, that's going to be your best bet for furniture. Sure, it's used. Sure, some of it is probably going to need a really good scrubbing before you trust it enough to use it, but the bottom line is that tough times call for tough living. You just gotta do what you gotta do. I wouldn't ever advise renting furniture to own. I mean, I'm sure it works great for some people, but again, if you're on low income and you're going to be making just enough to pay for your apartment (bills included) and have enough to eat each month, with some money left over, then having other payments on top of that isn't going to help you much.