Moving out and on your own is overwhelming, to say the least. For so many of us, it’s the first time we’d strayed from the comforts of mom and dad’s place, the warm beds with the sheets we’ve been sleeping on since we were preteens.
Now, the stakes are much higher than they were when you were living with six other girls in your downtown college brothel; when mom and dad paid rent; when the only thing you had to budget between was whether or not to buy the 30-rack of Natty Light or the 24-pack of Blue Moon.
Now that you’re on your own and in your first Big Kid Apartment, with your first real taste of Life in the Real World, things are a little – okay, a lot – different.
Mom and dad are still a phone call away, but now you’re reaching out to them about your 401k options and the best ways to lower your loan interest payments instead of badgering them for an extra hundred for Spring Break (“just this once!”), or arguing over how many times you’ve overdrawn your account this month (“I swear it won’t happen again!”).
So although moving out – and moving forward – are terrifying, here are a few tools to make the transition a little bit easier.
Start budgeting
Chances are you have a job with a steady paycheck, and even if you don’t, I’m sure you have some other means of supplementing your income (we don’t have to discuss that here).
When your paycheck rolls in, figure out how you want to handle rent (since that’ll poke the biggest hole in your paycheck): you can either dedicate your whole paycheck to it, or take a little from each paycheck to cover the cost.
Deciding what you have to spend on the things you want will help give you a better idea of what you can spend.
Try the “Envelope System”
Ready to take your budgeting to a whole new level? A lot of people, both Youngs and Olds, subscribe to the “Envelope System” which is just a much more thorough breakdown of what you spend weekly (or monthly).
When you get paid, set aside the money that you expect to spend on groceries for the week, laundry for the month, cable/gas bills, student loans and fun. This way you know you have enough to cover the things you need to pay for. Whatever’s leftover, well, that’s yours to spend.
Learn how to cook
Easy as it may be to login to Seamless and check off boxes on the menu of your choice online, you’re spending way more on meals a week than you would by just dragging your butt to the grocery store on your way home from the office.
Ask friends to cook with you (sometimes it’s better to learn in groups!), print out a few easy-to-follow step-by-step recipes or ask your mom or dad for easy-to-prep tips and tricks that won’t stress you out on week nights or screw with your food budget.
It isn’t impossible to whip something together (even if you don’t have all that much experience), but you’d be surprised just how satisfying making your own meals is. Plus, leftovers!
Take the hand-me-downs
Your uncle’s old couch and your grandparents crushed velvet chairs may not exactly be the epitome of high style when it comes to what you imagined your first furnished digs would look like, but when your budget is this small you’ve got to take what you can get. And when you’re getting it for free, even better.
The good news is the hand-me-downs won’t last forever – and you won’t keep them that long, anyways. But when you’re moving into a new apartment in a new city where the cost of living is admittedly much higher than you’re used to, just accept the freebies when they come. You’ll be glad you did.
Limit your Fun Budget
Nobody wants to rule out having fun completely, no matter how sky-high your rent is or how negative your account balance is. That said, it’s important to be smart about how you spend your money – and where most of your budget is going to.
A “Fun Budget” gives you enough wiggle room to set aside cash from every paycheck for the things you want to do.
They could be immediate “treats”, like drinks with your girlfriends, dinner with your partner, or they could be long-term “treats”, like a trip to Paris for a week and a half, a coast-to-coast road trip or an all-expenses-paid getaway to Turks & Caicos with your three best friends.
Having the money set aside for a dedicated purpose makes it easier to visualize how much you’re spending and how you’re spending it.
Shop smarter than you ever have
Learn how to scour the sale racks – and get the best deal possible for the things you’ll need. You’ll quickly discover just how easy it is to save $300 by shopping the on-sale color versus opting for the full-price buy.
The more you save on the must-haves, the more you have left over for fun. A win-win, if you ask me.
Ask questions – lots of them
Like, for starters, why on earth is cable so expensive? And why are you only limited to the two-option plan when you clearly only need an Internet plan?
Asking the questions – out loud, to your parents, to your respective providers – will give you a better idea of the bigger picture and just what your money is going to.
Don’t be too proud to call mom and dad
You’re a first-timer when it comes to this whole living-on-your-own thing. Lean on mom and dad when you can because you can. They know better than you do. Might as well get used to it.
source: http://elitedaily.com/life/survive-first-year-living/603450/
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