Whether you are finishing up high school, college semester, or simply moving out – you begin to wonder what it will be like when you move out of your parents’ house. This post is designated not just for students, but in reality for everyone because that time will come to majority of us. I am here to make this big step in life a bit easier by preparing you on to what to expect.

You may remember my post on how to move out of your parents house I shared before for a step-by-step conversion to which you can refer to. In any case, you may soon realize how comfortable you have been all these years living in your parents house. But there are also so many positives, so keep on reading!!! 🙂

Hate to say this, but you will soon find that moving out is a big step into your adulthood and there are going to be a lot of responsibilities that will come with it. It is a challenge but is also an opportunity to grow up!

I wrote a very insightful post on 13 Things I Learned when I turned 18 and you should know too. Check it out if you want to read realistic truths that I was faced with and you wil most likelyl face too.

If you want the moving out part to feel less stressful, then you must nail down these life skills below:

1. Paying Your Bills & Budgeting

Managing money is crucial in life success especially if you are just about to move out. You need to make sure that you have your “necessities” bills all squared away like months rent, gas, insurance, phone bill, and many other things that are necessary to support your living.

Also very important is to understand how to Build a Great Credit as a Student because it is very critical that you start early and get ahead of your peers or if you are unsure whether you need a credit card, then consider reading my post on Credit Card Smart Choice? Depending on Your Needs.

Make sure you figure out the paying bills on time system, which means you need to know when your bills are due and how much is due or you will be faced with costly fees or even bad references if you dont pay your rent on time.

You don’t want to be on the bad side of your landlord either and be known as the person not paying your bills on time. This will most likely go down the line for next time you move and use your previous landlord as a reference. You can read tips on budgeting as a student which can help you get a head start on managing your money right.

There are many ways to make money and I wrote about suggestions, so check it out below;

2. Cooking

You need to have some basic cooking skills nailed down before you move out. Good old $.25 ramen is one thing, but it will get old real quick. Eating out every night will also get old, and will also leave you broke.

With so much at your fingertips right now available to you, you can find a load of information and resources on the internet for some basic tasty meals. Use sources like YouTube to find some awesome tutorials or just plainly search online for “simple college student recipes” which will return pages of sites to browse through and choose what you find tasty.

Need some remote ideas to make money? Check out my post on TOP Legit Sites that will Pay You to Take Surveys, simply browse the internet, and even play games!

3. Grocery Shopping

Yes, cooking and grocery shopping go together but different in ways. If you never thought about this or never grocery shopped before, then you need to start preparing yourself.

Grocery shopping is not very fun especially if you are going unprepared, you will spend so much time just walking around and questioning whether you need this or that (sounds familiar? 🙂 ).

The two main secrets I believe to grocery shopping are: One, never go grocery shopping hungry, and two, have a plan for whatever time frame you are shopping for. I would recommend printing out a weekly sheet and on one side write what you need to buy for the week and other side have daily planner for the week and what you will be cooking.

4. Car Maintenance

I hope you know that car maintenance is not just getting gas and changing oil. You need to know how to properly maintain your vehicle or it can realistically leave you broke because if you delay or don’t fix one thing, thus leading to more problems down the line. See, engine is also a chain of things where not taking care of one thing will  lead to other problems down the line which could run you in thousands of dollars when it was just $100 fix before.

You should know some basics like changing a tire, opening hood, jumpstarting the car, or changing oil if you trust yourself enough (at least know when to change oil, or the interval – 5k miles on average). Keeping the routine maintenance is very important for your vehicle’s life and not taking care of it will cost you much more if something fails in the engine.

Thus reminds me of my post on check engine light and dirty secret that mechanics won’t tell you for you to be prepared.


5. Your Laundry

Ok, I had to touch this subject. If your family is still doing laundry for you, then you really need to grow up!

Unless there are reasons behind it like sometimes you have nice dress shirts and don’t want to mess it up or no laundry on-site and other similar reasons, otherwise you HAVE to learn how to do your laundry, what temperature to use, sorting your clothes, also learning how to iron and treat stains because they happen and it is a necessary skill. There’s this amazing “Tide To Go Stain Removal” that I use and it’s only $7, great investment as a to go item to treat small stains like from coffee, ketchup, etc…

I mean do you want to be walking around stinky or going to a date with the wrinkled up shirt? Nope… I know I forsure dont.

6. Keeping Your Place Clean and Tidy, as well as Basic Maintenance

Keeping your room clean will be your responsibility now and not your parents. Make sure you set some time out of your week to clean shelves, vacuum, clean the bathroom, sink, etc… Your landlord is responsible for repairs, but you should also be able to fix things like changing a light bulb, unclog a toilet and other basic things. It is fairly a simple task that doesn’t take long at all!

7. Time Management

You will have multiple things going on at once on your plate and the ability to manage it all will be crucial, that’s honestly the life.

Keeping track of everything is difficult unless you start writing it down or setting reminders. Doctors appointment? Cleaning your room? Roommates weekly chores?

If you create a schedule with times and dates like a Friday for room cleaning, Sunday for grocery shopping, work out every other day at 5 pm, or if you can – every day dedicating your time to working out can really improve your life. See my post on realistic ways to get fit.

8. Solve Your Own Problems

Lastly and very important skill to have is the ability to solve your own problems. If you are now adult, by which I mean 18+, you really need to start considering solving your own problems yourself.

What do other people do when they are faced with a problem? Simple, they solve it. If you fail exam, turn your paper in late, paid your credit card bill late, you know there are consequences and for each one there’s a way to try and solve that problem.

If you fail exam or turn your paper in late, you go and talk to your professor if there are ways to make up your grade for it. If you forgot to pay your credit card bill, then you call the bank and explain the situation and many times IF it’s your first time they will waive the fee for you, now if you are consistent with turning in your papers late or not paying bills on time you will find yourself in a bad position.

Who do you blame for that? Yep, yourself.

Bottom Line

Have fun after all, you are going independent and your life will change but it is only going to be for the better and in the end up to you what you make of it.

Also remember life is not just about the job, marriage, kids, a mortgage, and retirement. Be happy and live your life to the fullest as you make this large step to becoming independent.

 

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