Living on your own for the first time can seem like a walk in the park—you're finally free to do what you want, when you want. But it's not all sunshine and roses, since living by yourself means you have to handle any unforseen crises that come up, and you have to do your own laundry.
"Generally, you should have a few class ABC extinguishers around, as well as a class BC just outside of the kitchen (not in the kitchen or it's not of much use if the whole kitchen catches fire)."
"Same thing with laundry. If you are thinking about doing it, you have free time to do it. Trust me. You never think of it when there is no time for it. Best to do it then."
"It's all the little things you don't always think of: paper goods, soap, common food staples, garbage bags, etc. You won't buy them every time you go to the store, but you'll feel the impact when you run out."
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Meal Prep Is Your Friend
"Meal prep and meal planning are your friends. Not only will this save you money because you won't be wasting food you get at the store but you'll be less likely to order takeout."
"Be prepared for expenses. Try to sock a few bucks away each month for emergencies. Even if all you can afford to squeeze out of the budget is $10/month ... DO IT! And don't touch that money unless it's a legit emergency. Needing pizza/beer money/new video game/new clothes/etc is not an emergency."
"The library is your friend. Borrow books - like cookbooks - to learn new skills and pass the time. Borrow cds and dvds and possibly even video games depending on your local library's stock. It can save you a few bucks here and there and gets you in the habit of being thrifty and socking more money away in that emergency account."
"Buy non persihable foods in bulk. Rice and beans go quite far, for example."
"Get a good quality kitchen knife, it makes a world of difference in prep work for cooking. It doesn't need to be exorbitantly expensive, just not some cheapo crap from Walmart or Amazon."
"Set schedules for yourself. It is very easy to get used to lounging around with no one telling you to do laundry or house chores. Keep yourself disciplined, but don't forget to reward yourself too!"
"I found that it helps to create a cleaning schedule--ex. dishes every day, laundry every week, bathrooms every other week, vacuum once or twice a month, etc. And then you ignore the schedule and have to clean like crazy ten minutes before company arrives."
"Get a light by your bed. For some reason, every now and then, I get this crippling anxiety that there's someone in the room when I wake up. It could just be a creak from the wind but once the lights on and you can see there's nothing you can go back to sleep without any worry"
"Yep. Got into piano. Musical instruments make good hobbies. Easy to make both shorter and longer term goals since that's basically just pieces you'd like to play."
"What's super nice is a keyboard/digital piano typically allows you to use headphones so you don't have to worry about bothering the neighbors even if you have thin walls or happen to want to play at 3am."
"Also some sort of media consumption hobby you can partake in while doing boring stuff like cleaning is useful. Podcasts, audiobooks, music etc are great to listen to while cleaning or cooking etc."
"There's tons of good quality furniture available on Facebook marketplace. Second hand furniture of good quality is way better than some Ikea stuff. And it's usually cheaper too, sometimes free"
"Agreed. I'd steer away from couches and things like that, but it's great for dining tables/chairs, cabinets, tv units, bookshelves, coffee/side tables, bedframes, etc."
"Don't spend more than you can pay off each month on a credit card. Debt is suffocating. Also, if you get the itch for a new car but yours is running fine, rent one for a couple of days and then go back to old faithful."
"If you're unsure about something, sleep on it. Not all decisions have to be made immediately."
Living on your own for the first time is usually equal parts exciting and anxiety-inducing. Hopefully these tips will help you prepare for when things don't go quite to plan, and keep you living comfortably in your new digs.
