Freedom, independence, adulthood. Moving out of the family home is often an important marker for that next phase of a young person’s life: the twenty-something years.

This will be the time when you figure things out, open yourself to different life experiences, and learn that Mi Goreng noodles are probably not the best source of sustenance. It’s an exciting and scary beginning, and there are many things to remember before making that first leap.

Check your budget:

Drawing up a budget-plan may not sound like the best way to spend an afternoon, but it will come in handy if you want to avoid living off of instant noodles and bread. There are plenty of convenient apps that help you keep track of a budget, and all you need is to plug in the costs of things such as rent, insurance, utility bills, food, entertainment and transport. That’s the easy bit. The hard part will be sticking to that budget, but with time and practice, you’ll be able to achieve that budget-balance bliss.

The location of your rental property could also play a key role in your budget. Often, it’ll be a trade-off between rental price and proximity to public transport and shops. Do some research by visiting real estate websites or check rental lists in newspapers or on student notice boards and magazines.

Sharing is caring:

Share houses can be a really great way of splitting up costs associated with living out of home but like everything else it’s important not to rush into things. You’d want to do some really thorough research here. Moving out of home can be stressful enough without having to deal with weird or creepy flatmates.

Your folks love you:

Among all the transition and excitement, it can be easy to forget how this all affects your parents. Once you’ve left the nest, it’s nice to keep in touch with them other than the weekly pop-by for laundry.

Utilities are real and important:

We take utilities like electricity, phone, internet – or even mailing addresses – for granted when living at home. They seemed to have always been there, and chances are you’ve never had to give them a second thought. Once you start living away from home, they’ll start to become a very real part of being an adult. It’s also worth mentioning that the seemingly constant supply of basic necessities like toilet paper, dishwashing liquid or even pantry items like sugar and pepper will run out if you don’t buy it.

Learn how to cook:

We don’t mean five variations of pasta or stir fry noodles, because that will get boring pretty quickly. Try to learn to make a few tasty but simple meals before you leave home so you can re-create them in the kitchen. You don’t need to be a MasterChef, but ensuring you eat healthily and nutritiously never hurts.

Balance your time

No curfews, no dinner time, no one to make sure you get out of bed for uni or work commitments. It may be tempting to relish in this newfound timeless territory that comes with living away from home, but with great power comes great responsibility. Learning to be functional young adult means finding the right work/life balance that works for you.

Welcome to being twenty-something.

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