Moving out for the first time can be the most exciting thing in the world! Finally out on your own and ruler of your own decisions and let's be real here, walking around your apartment with no pants on is the best thing ever. However, if you're not fully prepared, you could be in for a long hall of financial struggle and stress. Here are some tips and suggestions for an easy transition to the real world.
Financial Stability. Save at least 3 grand if you want to be able to move out "comfortably". I'll be honest, that 3 grand goes away pretty quick. Let's go down the list: application fees, security deposit, first & last month's rent, moving expenses (such as hiring a moving crew, a moving truck or a storage unit), and that's not including the deposits you'll need for your utilities. It's important to set yourself up with a good star, or you'll just be spending the rest of the year trying to catch up.
Practical & Reasonable Decisions. Don't move and hour away from your job to save money on rent, you'll just be spending it on gas more now and spending half of your life in traffic because of your commute. If you need roommates to be able to move, then do so, but get them ahead of time. It's a gamble to move in somewhere with the hopes that you'll "find them eventually" because they may never come, and you'll then be in even more of a financial bind.
Learn how to Budget. Ah, adulting at its finest. It's important to know how much you spend on things, so make a list your weekly and monthly expenses, such as, rent, car note, insurances, phone bills, utilities, gas, groceries, credit cards, medical bills, school, and or kids and pets. This will help you when it comes time to find a place because you'll already know how much you can really afford. Also keep track of how much your monthly income is or if you're in the service industry or any industry where you get cash every day, it's important to keep track of what you're making daily. I'll be real with you, get used to being broke, and by broke I mean you've paid all your bills and don't have too much left over. Budgeting will help you keep the carefree spending down. If you don't have the money, don't buy it.
Establish Credit. This is very important but often overlooked because most 18 to 21-year-olds aren't really thinking about credit. With that being said, it goes hand in hand when you're trying to sign a lease because almost everyone is going to run your credit before anything else happens. It can be difficult finding a place that will rent to you or get a loan if you have no credit at all or very little credit history and the best way to get that going is to invest in a credit card. I know that it can be intimidating and if you're not ready to get a Visa or Amex card with high credit availability and interest rates, I would suggest starting off small and getting a Target card. This is so practical because you're usually given a low credit balance, to begin with ($200), low interest ($3.88), it's easy to pay off and Target literally has everything you need to survive. This totally comes in handy if you've run out of money in between paychecks and you really need food or toiletries. Another wise credit card choice would be Walmart, the same concept as the Target card but Walmart offers gas, which can mean life or death if you don't have the funds to fill up. Be careful and do your research before applying for a credit card, try to avoid cards with high balances and high interest rates so you can keep your credit card debt in control.
Take Time Off. Most of the time, you've got a pretty good idea of when you move basically based off your move in date. Take the weekend off get yourself situated. This gives you plenty of time to pack, unpack, clean your new place, pick up the moving truck, round up your crew of friends to help you (good luck with that), and if anything should go wrong, you have time to fix it. You don't want to be stuck in a situation where something happens and you're already on a time crunch for work and then you have to call in and screw someone somewhere down the line over. Plan ahead.
Above all else, just take your time. If you're not really in that big of a rush and you're not living in a really bad environment and can live at home rent free for as long as possible, then you should. I'm not saying mooch off of your parents and eat them out of the home until you're 30 but if you can live rent free in your early years to save up money, then by all means do so. Take your time with you decisions, let your parents help you and don't commit to something that you know you can't keep up with. I hope this information was helpful and as usual, just speaking from experience!
