NEW LIFE

[Felipe]

There's a point on (most of) everybody's lives that the time to leave your parents' house and start having a life of your own arrives...
This time has come for me.

I've been away from my "old home" for almost two mounths now, and most of this time I spent looking for a new place to stay, in this big city I came to study.
It's amazing this feeling of having a place of your own.
Now I have this apartment I can call home, and am studing for some exams I have to take by the end of the year to enter university, as well as looking for a job - my first job.

Of course this comes with problems too, such as having to pay your taxes and not being able to stay online too often (I just got internet access, BTW) - but, as everything, these problems are good to teach you other things; such as responsability.

I'd like to hear from you others that've gone through all this before: what kind of problems did you experience (so that I get prepared for them) and how this 'big change' affected your lives - for better or worse.


I guess this explains why I haven't been working on some things I said I would; which I plan to get back to ASAP


-Felipe-

[stuh505]

hehe...

well im a junior in college and I just went in on a deal with 3 of my friends on my first apartment.  I haven't moved in yet, but I'm paying rent. 

problems?  I have plenty.  My checkbook got confused last year and I overpsent by about a $1000.  I got a subletter, but he screwed me...so that's another $1500 I wasn't expecting to pay.  So, for me, this is new financial troubles I've never had before...


my advice...don't buy stuff you don't need.

sigh

[LGM]

Stuh: Yes.. Sex toys and Porno magazines are highly overrated.. Porn is free over the internet

So.. I guess what I'm trying to say is.. Spend your money wisely.. You may WANT a 3503409 Watt stereo, but you don't NEED it.. You may want the whole line of hookers down the street, but you only NEED one.. And.. Umm... Well, you get my point.

[Andail]

my first place was a tiny room in a smelly cellar, with thick concrete walls and mildew everywhere. I shared a claustrofobic kitchen with three other people, one of which was really slobby.

My second "home" was a nice big apartment which I shared with a girl in my age - we didn't know eachother from before, but came along pretty well. Unfortunately, I had to move from that town when I quit the civil engineering program.

Since almost three years I now live in a sort of student dorm, it's a small room but clean and bright, with a nice view and a good internet connection.

I've had my fair share of moving around, so to say

[Darth Mandarb]

I've moved 11 times since 1996.

I've lived in nice places, I've lived in a few dumps.

There's something gratifying about doing your own thing.Ã,  Even when I lived in less than nice places, I still enjoyed it 'cause I was doing it on my own.

I once lived in a room that was about the same size as a prison cell in a house with 4 other people.Ã,  It was miserable, expensive, and far from ideal living conditions ... yet I love the memory of it.

[lgm] makes a good point.Ã,  It's what I was going to say!Ã,  Don't waste money on things you don't need.Ã,  Always [try to] keep enough money in your account to make 2 months rent/utilities and you'll be fine.

Now ... I'll be the first to admit that's not always easy to do!Ã,  But having nothing to eat except Raman noodles or mac'n'cheese for 3 weeks is all part of the experience of growing up

Good luck!

[LGM]

Ramen noodles are a whole food group. Get to know them... They'll be your best friend.

[DGMacphee]

Ramen noodles are a luxury item when you move out!

When I moved out, we had to deal wih homebrand 2 minute noodles and plain spaghetti! No Ramen for us!!!

You damn kids have got it so easy these days!

[Nacho]

I detect a rip off of Monthy Python's sketch at Hollywood Bowl?

"When we were young we got up at 6 am, two hours before going to the bed, and daddy chopped us with a knife!" 

[Czar]

Well i should say good luck then, but i think you have enough of it already )

Now, GO BACK TO THE FORUMS AND WORK ON OUR GAME YOU SLOB!!!!

[SteveMcCrea in Houston]

Damn, Darth - 11 times in 8 years?
I've moved about 14 times since 1988 but at least that's less than once a year - and that includes all the different rooms I had at university.
My advice is - don't overspend on the credit card!

[Pumaman]

Moving out of home was the best thing I ever did. It's been about 3 years now since I properly moved out, and since then I've lived in 4 different towns, met lots of interesting people, and generally had a good laugh.

My current home is a fairly small room in a shared house with 4 other people. It's a bit of a dump, but it's cheap which means more of my wages are left over to buy beer and sticky tape 

Moving to a different area can be tough, because you effectively lose all your friends and have to start again (though the internet is a great way of keeping in contact with people) - but if you're just moving to your own place within the same town, no worries

[Layabout]

What in the blazes do you need sticky tape for?? Apart from the old bodgy car repair?

I've moved out several times, but unfortunatly i always end back at my parents for various stupid reasons. I hate it and i want them to go away forever.... sort of...

[mätzyboy]

I've just moved in to a three room apartment with my girlfriend. It's great!

[stuh505]

Actually, I really am considering having to go for long periods of time eating food like ramen noodles, pb&j, or pasta.  I'm going to be really poor.  I'm kind of scared that I might harm my body...does anyone know any good cheap combinations that wont kill myself from lack of proper nutrients?

[MillsJROSS]

I don't necessarily agree about buying things you don't need...it's balancing your fun money with your rent money that's important. If I take ten dollars out of my paycheck every week I can save up enough to buy a dvd every once in a while. Just don't buy one every week.

Also, go to your grocery store. A lot of people go out to eat almost everyday, and that will add up quick. Now's your time to experiment with cooking, figuring out how mom or dad made things, or making your own things. 20 to 30 bucks will last me a week on food if I go to the grocery, sometimes it's even less. Not that you should go out to eat, just not all the time.

Drinking. It's fun, but once again, something you don't need to do everyday. And if you do get into the habit of drinking a lot, go a lighter beer. It might not taste as good, but you can keep that beer gut off, more succesfully.

Find a group of friends that you can just hang out with...where alchohol doesn't NEED to be involved. There are some people you're only friends with at a party, but you'll never get together for anything else. Which isn't a bad thing, just make sure not all of your friends are like this.

When all is said and done, it's all a matter of moderation. Just be smart, and you'll minimize some of the problems that'll come your way.

-MillsJROSS

[Felipe]

Thanks a lot for the tips guys!

This is the first time I moved (I had lived my whole life in the same house, with my parents) so 'everything' is new to me.

I usually don't buy things I don't really need...
(who am I trying to cheat?)
Well, I did use to buy some things I didn't really need, but now I'm managing to "filter" things I want to buy, avoiding unnecessary spending.

Speaking of 'buys', one of the first things I bought when I moved was a BLUE CUP - my very first Blue Cup

And I DO cook (the dinner, at least), which makes me save a lot of money. The thing is I don't have what you could call a 'balenced meal', since I usually eat noodles, eggs and meat; and then eggs, meat and noodles; and then, to change a bit, I make meat, noodles, and eggs...
God, I need to learn how to cook other things! :

About friends... well, apart from relatives that live in this city I knew almost nobody here... but with this classes I'm taking I'm meeting new people, and thus, making new friends (slowly, but I'm doing it).

Besides all the bad things, it's being great, and I'm really enjoying my "new life"


-Felipe-

[Primus]

Hi, Felipe!

Finding fine colleagues to divide the expenses (rent, phone, electricity, gas, water, etc.), is always a good alternative. So a bigger apartment is better, except if you don't have already people to share it with. And choose an apartment without lift(s), or else its condominium will always be a pain in the... er... wallet.

Also sharing expenses by cooking at home is almost a way of saving money, unless you eat at canteens. Can't cook othe things? Consider getting easy recipes (books, net sites, etc.) for a start.
Besides, common stuff (as toilet paper) must be bought by all of you. An idea would be to create a little "fund" for common urgent expenses, otherwise could be people not paying little expenses at all: but, dime + dime + dime + ..., could become a considerable amount...

Always keep all bills notifying you've paid something at least for five years: would be a good idea to keep them in dossiers (eg. phone; water; electricity; etc), to prove you've paid it.
I always keep in dossiers by year all bills I may deduce in my tributation; so I fill it up with no problems or headaches.

Always keep an emergency fund for possible expenses. As posted by Darth, two months rent/food is always good... well, at least one month is better than credit: if you use it, you will NEVER get rid of it!

Hope this may help you!

[MrColossal]

My current home is a fairly small room in a shared house with 4 other people. It's a bit of a dump, but it's cheap which means more of my wages are left over to buy beer and sticky tape

Don't you think tricking out your car with more tape to impress all the fly honeys is a waste of money?



oh second thought i'd love it if you taped your rims and taped the words "Str8 Playa 4 Realsies" on your hood

[Nine Toes]

Now ... I'll be the first to admit that's not always easy to do!Ã,  But having nothing to eat except Raman noodles or mac'n'cheese for 3 weeks is all part of the experience of growing up

That's pretty much what my diet consists of right now, and I'm still living at home.

I'll be moving out on my own soon enough, though.

Good luck to you, Felipe.

[Czar]

Actually, I really am considering having to go for long periods of time eating food like ramen noodles, pb&j, or pasta.Ã,  I'm going to be really poor.Ã,  I'm kind of scared that I might harm my body...does anyone know any good cheap combinations that wont kill myself from lack of proper nutrients?

Well maybe you should think of saving some money for those A-Z vitamins. Ask at your local drugstore what is the best one (for a right price), and try to buy some milk-based products every now and then, and having fruit/veg. from the market isnt a bad thing (it's not all expensive).