Adulting Woes🥹Moving out for the first time🏡✨

🏡 Moving out and living on your own can be really scary. I moved out from my family home at 17 for school, and started living alone without financial assistance from my parents when I was 20.

The shift from each life stage was honestly not easy! I wished I had something to guide me through at the time, but in the past there weren't as many resources available as now. Had to learn everything the hard way 🥹🥹

-

💭 Here are some things I wish I could tell myself before moving out:

✨ The importance of a safety net 🥅💰

Living an independent life means not running home the first time you hit a roadblock. Having a safety net gives you freedom to do things that are right for you, not what is convenient at the time. A safety net also means you are not at the mercy of others and can prioritize making decisions that are best for you in the long run.

E.g : if you run into problems with your landlord, you'll be able to break the lease without getting into debt 💸; or if your housemate suddenly bails on you, you are not at risk of losing the entire house 🏡.

I personally believe you should have savings of at least 6 months of expenses before moving out. I had $0 in my bank account when I started living on my own, so I just kept my rent really low by sharing a common room with another tenant while saving like my life depended on it. Knowing that I was one mistake away from getting into debt was not a good feeling, which motivated me to grow my safety net even more.

-

✨ The importance of planning ahead 🗒️

When you live alone, you need to be ready for any emergencies life throws your way. There will always be.. something - and you'll regret not planning ahead when 💩 actually hits the fan. Fall sick? Better have meds 💊 ready at home, if not you'll have to go out to buy some while nursing a headache/cold/etc. Dispute with landlord💥? Better have all the deets in black and white to prove that you are not in the wrong. Landlord suddenly wants to sell the place and you need to move out ASAP? Better not have too many things at home or it'll be a pain to move.

While I was still renting, I honestly developed so much anxiety over planning that I stopped buying things + stocked a lot of meds and food at home. Before doing anything, I've also developed the habit of thinking of the many ways things could go wrong and make a plan for it. Like they say, always make a plan for the worst case scenario and you'll have a plan for anything.

-

✨ The importance of knowing when to fight for yourself (and when to back down) 💪🤝

When you are living with or renting from other people, naturally conflicts will arise just from lifestyle or personality differences 😮‍💨 I believe it is important to stand your ground on things that have a big impact on you (e.g : monetary loss, personal safety, etc.) and back down on things that don't matter much in the long run (e.g : landlord asking you to clean often, housemates being noisy at times, etc.).

You can't win every fight, so it's important to preserve your energy and resources for things that actually matter. You also don't want to be *that* person who complains about everything. My rule of thumb is : I'll raise the issue once or max twice, and if it doesn't get resolved I'll remove myself from the situation (e.g : finding another place to rent). There's no point spending energy on a situation that will never improve 🙂

-

Have you started living on your own? What was the thing you wished you knew before moving out?

#homeandliving #homeliving #movingout #rentalsg #renting #livingalone #AdultingWoes #Adulting101 #adulting #adultingthings