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What was it like living on your own for the first time?
Got any advice for a 20 year old about to fend for herself out there in the real world? Faith has brought together two girlfriends; she has a boyfriend who is super nice but makes a sheisty living..my boyfriend and I know moving in together is way too big of a commitment to take on as of yet. Rose and I agreed on an affordable apartment. Boys can't always be trusted, but I'm a little more nervous about us girls meeting our payments on barista paycheques!
Bills are fucking frightening because we're totally doing this on our own financially..not particularly a choice since I'm taking time off uni. I'd saved up enough for down payment for first and last rent. I have 2 jobs and work full time but I've never had to budget before in my life!
On the brighter side, I am a pretty mean cook! And I'm excited to design our apartment, however humble:)
What was your first time being financially independent like? What was the best and worst part about it?
Bills are fucking frightening because we're totally doing this on our own financially..not particularly a choice since I'm taking time off uni. I'd saved up enough for down payment for first and last rent. I have 2 jobs and work full time but I've never had to budget before in my life!
On the brighter side, I am a pretty mean cook! And I'm excited to design our apartment, however humble:)
What was your first time being financially independent like? What was the best and worst part about it?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Juliana on -
start now. it's a lot harder to play catch up after you've already fucked up. best of luck, adulthood's fun :)
http://www.mint.com/
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Permalink Reply by Shayna on -
starting now = excellent advice!
Start contributing to your works' 401K and/or a roth ira now - just a little bit each pay period will add up to a nice retirement!
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Permalink Reply by Alex Weisman on -
My first time out on my own was a lot of fun. I actually moved most of the way across the US away from my family. It was really crazy, I had been working on a cruise ship, was offered a job in Utah, got home from the ship and had about a week to organize myself and then move across the country (on my own, my family didn't help/come).
It was a little intimidating at first. I considered myself lucky that I had saved some money while working on the cruise line which paid for my moving and the deposits on my apartment. It was kind of crazy to come out here to utah not knowing where I would be living, having to get here and immediately go apartment hunting, but it worked out. I landed myself a nice place.
It certainly can be tough to make a budget and stay on it, but once you get settled it will be a lot of fun.
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Permalink Reply by Azenith on -
A cruise ship!?!? You mustve had a lot of romantic encounters:P It's so cool how everything worked out for you..as if you were offered an immediate job! It helps that you didn't have to hunt for jobs in between, with all the stress of adjusting to a new city, or on land for that matter lol! So which job would you say you liked better? I'd totally love living at sea, but I'd get a cabin fever. And don't you miss your family and friends at all?
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Permalink Reply by Sweta SenGupta on -
I envy you,still need the kickstart =( I have big dreams of the times when I'll be financially independant,and few of them are practical.Very me.Sigh.:D
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Permalink Reply by Azenith on
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I'm a sincere believer that where you are, by faith, is exactly where you need to be. There are tons of other ways to feel independent...like, maybe going on a solo trip or taking a class you've always wanted to but you're scared to face rejection or something. But thank you for the positive vibes! I need as much support as I can hoard :)
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Permalink Reply by Melissa on -
When I moved out, everything cost more than I wanted to spend and more than I thought it would. When you're just starting out, know your limits: You don't really need that vegetable garden (mine cost to arrange than it produced) and you don't really need to paint your living room blood red (it will cost money to paint it back!)
The scariest part for me was not having a safety net. They say it's a good idea to have anywhere from 3-6 months worth of salary saved up "just in case" you have some sort of medical catastrophe or lose your/one of your jobs. So my best suggestion for you are: live frugally (shop the sales and get things like couches and whatnot at your local resell shop), shop mindfully (do you really need that shiny thing over there?) and save ridiculously. Don't give in to the "keeping up with the Jones" crap. At some point you'll be able to afford all the nice trendy things, but until then there's more of a peace of mind in knowing that you're financially secure.
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Permalink Reply by Azenith on
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Perfect advice! I will have 3 months saved up for my part of the rent, so about $1000 and I am working full time hours. I'm still nervous about it not being enough though. The only thing I really want to splurge on is a yoga pass! I'm going to need to channel a lot of mental prowess for this move:) The house will be furnished because my aunt is selling her home and moving back to Asia so she's generous enough to give us great furniture. I don't really intend to buy any as of now until I can afford to have aesthetic tastes..my style is pretty simple anyway (my bf also loves to build..so we're thinking of making things together, which is totally a lot more meaningful to me anyway than spending hundreds of dollars on a trendy plank of wood) and I just feel blessed that I'll have a place to call my own! Like you said, all I want is the peace of mind that I'm able to meet my needs :) ..bliss
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Permalink Reply by Melissa on
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Good luck! If you like to build things you should check out this blog: Knock-Off Wood. She tells you how to make awesome stuff for super cheap - it was so good she almost got in trouble for copyright infringement from a company that rhymes with "Late and Marrel". lol.
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Permalink Reply by RAY J on -
Another thing with roommates - discuss chores and responsibilities before you move in!
For example, I shared a bathroom with a roommate, so we worked out a system where we would alternate cleaning the bathroom and I made a little chart too that we kept on the wall so we could mark off who cleaned and on what date. We also took turns buying TP too.
Also, dishes were a headache too the first 2 years we had a 3rd roommate, so discuss how to go about that and if you want to share dishes or what.
I also had a dry erase board with a calendar part on it too that hung in our kitchen and I'd mark what dates which bills were due, as well as when I was working, in case something came up and I needed to be reached. We'd also leave each other notes on there too regarding anything of importance.
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Permalink Reply by Azenith on
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This is pretty much exactly what I needed to hear. A lot of these things are def going on my to do list! My main issue is budgeting...but like Melissa said earlier, I'll just make sure to expect things to cost more than less. Yeah, I've also heard that toiletries and stuff like that add up. I'm going so strict with myself, but it scares me just as much that I'd become a stingy old lady. Or like one of those kids who eat-and-runs. Hahaha, sooo not classy!
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