I am asking this question because the young adult in question, is me. I am to move out in a few years, and it feels impossible to move far away from my hometown (which I want). I have no idea how to juggle both finances, a job, and the move itself. With the global inflation going on, it feels impossible getting hold of a decent apartment to rent.
What advice would you give someone like me? What should I keep in mind and prepare* myself for? What are your experiences moving out, or moving away from your hometown? How long did the process take for you, and how did you manage keeping a job that paid all your taxes and rent? If you could look back and give younger you some advice, what would you tell them?
(If it provides any context, I am North European.)
I learned all these lessons the hard way, they are not fun lessons to learn. You will kick yourself later if you also learn them the hard way. First, get a job, today. Work experience before it is necessary will make many many things much easier than hitting everything all at once. As someone else previously stated, make a REALISTIC budget. Realistically, you will likely be making minimum wage. You should also start paying for things yourself so you know the true costs.
You will likely need to stay in a cheap motel in the new city before anyone will give you a job there, and no one will give you a job there if you don’t have a place to live. Additionally, no one will let you rent there if you don’t have a job there. This means you will need to save about 3 months budget before moving into the seedy cheap motel in the new city (start now).
When looking for a place to rent, find one that you can afford by yourself, then get a roommate if desired. Having a place you can only afford with a roommate, and them then moving out, makes you homeless. If you always plan for the worst (and hope for the best), you won’t be caught with your pants down. Please note that generally the cheaper side of town is the more dangerous side of town. If you know anyone that lives there, ask them what parts of town to stay away from.
I’m unsure of how credit/history works in your country, but get a (singular, one, JUST ONE) credit card. Use it ONLY once a month and ALWAYS pay it off EVERY month. I was not that smart. Everyone told me that, and I didn’t listen. Now I’m still paying off debts over a decade later. If you don’t listen to anything else, please take this point to heart. $100 is not a lot to have, but it is a lot to owe. If you want something, save for it.
That said, don’t buy it as soon as you have enough, you need to keep a good chunk in your savings account for emergencies (car broke down, lost your job, getting evicted because your landlord wants to rent it for 3x the price, etc). You should have a minimum of one months expenses saved at all times. I would recommend 3 months worth, but I know how hard that is (still try though).
Start saving for a house and retirement as soon as possible. Put it in a bank/credit union that is easy to put money into, but hard to take it out of. Personally, I put it in a credit union that I can have my main bank send a check to, but can only get the money out in person, Monday through Thursday, from 10am to 4pm.
Learn to cook now. Learning to cook without a teacher is hard. Not knowing how to cook makes buying groceries hard.
Lastly, I don’t recommend a financial planner. They are not free. The person who suggested it brought up retirement, the fact is, no one has any idea what you will need for it by the time you are eligible. Look at any ~70 year span, and then look at the retirement retirements at each end. The only thing you can know about what it costs to retire is that it will be a lot more than what your parents need.
While this isn’t bad advice, it isn’t exactly good advice either. Like yeah, you shouldn’t spend money you don’t have, but using a credit card comes with plenty of benefits such that using it for regular purchases is a good idea. First of all, there’s whatever perks come with the card, be it cash back, extended warranties, airline miles, whatever. Obviously you don’t get them if you don’t use the card. The other major benefit is increased security. If someone steals your card, or otherwise makes fraudulent purchases on it, that money isn’t coming directly out of your account. So instead of having to argue with the bank to get your money back, it’s the credit card company arguing with the vendor for their money back, and you’re excused of the charges. There’s also authorization holds for things like hotels and rental cars, which are no biggie on a credit card since the money isn’t taken from you, but can cause issues if you have to put them on a debit card where it holds money directly from your account.
@Thanatos931 @clark Worth noting that all of this is dependent on housing being attainable. Here in Victoria, :canparrot: rent for a room is often $1000CAD - nobody gets their own place unless they work full time, and well above minimum wage.
Your best bet in this situation is to get a room in a house full of people you like being around, and stay there as long as possible. If you’ve got a place to yourself, stay there. If you can live healthily with your parents, stay there.