How To Move Out Of Your Parents’ House At 18

How to Move Out of Parents House at 18

How to move out and afford it requires careful preparation. On the other hand, leaving the nest can be exciting yet spine-chilling. It’s one of the biggest and boldest moves any young adult has to make in their life. This is a major shift to independence, which means that you can finally take charge of your own life. But, why move? Especially at only 18?

Why Move Out of Parents Home

Going to college
When you are going to a college that is miles away from your parents’ home, you are left with no other option, other than to move out. Moving away from everything that you are familiar with and going out to start a new life can be daunting.

Some have to leave their parents’ home against their wish, while for others it’s all they’ve dreamed of. Well, you are lucky if you belong to the latter. If you are moving for college, it might be easier to convince your parents as opposed to when you are moving due to other reasons.

Seeking independence
They say you can only go as far as you can imagine. Some people like playing it safe, while others take risks others are unwilling to. You’ve just turned 18 and probably think you need independence and some freedom.

The thought of moving has crossed your mind for a while, and you think now is the right time. It might be hard to sell your parents the idea, but here are some tips to make the process much easier and more convincing.

This article is packed with tips on how to move out of your parent’s home at 18 and afford it. If you follow it to the t, you will have much less stress, and it will help you better prepare for the move.

1. How to Move Out of Parent’s House at 18 and Afford It

Discuss with your parents/guardian and friends

Ensure that you discuss the issue beforehand with your parents, guardians, and friends. Make them aware of your decisions so that they can advise accordingly.

Whether you are moving out to go to college or you simply have a poor relationship with your parents, make sure that you are leaving in peace.

Since you will be taking a major risk, you want to ensure that there’s no feud between you and them. You never know what may transpire out there. Therefore, you want to ensure that in case you return, there will still be a place for you. There’s no need to ruin an 18-year-old relationship because of the move. Let them know that you mean well and that it’s still your home despite moving.

They could also offer great advice that will help you in the future and help you in ways you could never have imagined. You might occasionally require some advice on simple things like preparing a certain meal or fixing something that’s broken. There are times you might be having a bad day at school or work, and you need someone to talk to.

You don’t have to handle this alone just because you moved out. They will forever be your parents even when your thirty-it’s a title they’ll never take back.

2. How to Move Out at 18 and Afford It – Prepare emotionally

Of course, you’ll miss them. There will be days you’ll wish that you hadn’t left. It’s hard to stay away from people you have known for 18 years. They have been there in every single moment of your life, and leaving them will mean that there are some precious moments you’ll have to celebrate in their absence. Nothing about this is easy; hence you have to prepare yourself emotionally.

You have to understand that a lot of planning goes into play before moving out of your parent’s house. You are essentially deciding to take responsibility for your own life, which comes with many challenges. This is more like a transition to adulthood, where you learn to care for yourself. In as much as your parents will always be there for you when you are away, you’ll need to learn how to take charge.

You will no longer be under their care; hence you need to hold yourself accountable for your actions and every move you make in life.

3. How to Move Out and Afford It – Have a plan in place

Normally, a man without a plan is set to fail. That said, you need to be well aware of your next step in life. Have a proper plan that indicates you’ll do well even when you are away from your parent’s place. Your parents will be comfortable knowing that you have a plan in place.

They have spent their entire life taking care of you, and as they release you to the world, make them convinced that you can take good care of yourself when you move out of the family home. You must know exactly how you’ll cater to yourself as well as your guiding principles in life. Having direction keeps you focused on your goals and helps you achieve the things that you desire.

As you take on adulting, you get introduced to the concept of taking care of yourself. Things rent, water bills, grocery shopping, electricity bills, and other utilities become more familiar to you. If you were used to everything being done for you, moving out makes you aware that you are now expected to do those things.

Securing a stable job that can cater to your bills is one of the major indicators that your parents won’t have to worry much about you. Let them know how you plan on catering for your expenses. Even if you’ve not had the best relationship with your parents, it’s good to leave them with less worry by explaining to them what your purpose is to do when you leave.

Don’t just leave and have them concerned about your whereabouts. Having a plan in place will give them confidence that you’ll do just fine when you are away.

4. How to Move Out When 18 and Afford It – Find Out and Calculate living expenses

You will be tasked with handling serious adult stuff like paying bills, which is not so easy, especially if you have never done it before. However, this does not mean that you can’t handle the responsibility. As long as you have prepared yourself adequately, you’ll be set to bloom wherever you are planted.

You must conduct thorough research on the cost of living in the city you will be moving to. Know the possible monthly expenses and ensure that you have some money saved for this. Having a plan on how you will cater for future expenses will have you well prepared for the move. Below are some tips you should consider while moving out.

5. Tips for moving out of your parent’s house for the first time – Estimate moving expenses

Before moving be acquainted with your living expenses. Understand the cost of rent, food, and utilities. This will help you know your budget and help you come up with ideas on how you’ll cater to your bills.

- Have a lease agreement signed
  As you move, you want to ensure that you have a place of your own . Once you get your place, ensure that you sign the lease agreement. Signing one will protect you from any possible misunderstanding with your landlord, like raising rent fees, leasing to another client, or eviction without notice.

- If moving in with friends- make sure the lease is all signed up
  The cost of living alone can be overwhelming; hence you might decide to move in with friends. While doing this, you also want to ensure that the lease is signed by the house’s occupants. You may encounter some challenges like disputes amongst you or one of you failing to pay their rent on time. Having a lease agreement signed will help in case such trouble arises.

- Have damage deposit paid-up or a check signed ready to pay
  In the event you decide to move, a damage deposit will help cater for any broken or damaged items in the house. Ensure you have this in place, before moving into your new house to avoid future challenges when you will be moving out.

- Save three months’ worth of rent
  In life, it’s always good to save up for the rainy days. You never know what may transpire in between your move, but you have to be ready for anything. Having at least three months’ worth of rent gives you a sense of security and makes it easier for you to settle down in your new place without having to worry much about rent for a few days.

- Get your friends lined up to help you move or pick up items you bought for your new places, such as furniture and appliances.
  You will need as much help as possible when moving into your new place. Get your friends to help you move your furniture and appliances and help you tidy your place. Knowing that there are people to support you makes it much easier to transition and helps you settle down easily.

- Cash saved up to pay for rent or utilities
  Besides paying rent, get ready to cater for your utilities as well as daily meals. Have some cash saved to cater for this. As you move out, you must acquire a saving culture since it will save you a lot from life frustrations. You may encounter some challenges like job loss, and your saving will help you get by in such situations before you get a new job.

- Transportation cost
  If you have a car, you need to consider paying for insurance, parking tickets as well as fuel money. Also, if you use public means, you might have to consider calculating your daily transport expenses and having some cash to cater for that.

- Monthly health insurance cost
  Yes, adulting now means you have to pay monthly health insurance e. If you get a job that caters to your health insurance, then consider yourself lucky. Otherwise, if your job does not cater to this, you’ll have to do it on your own. While searching for jobs, make this one of your major priorities.

- Your monthly contribution while staying with friends.
  While living with friends, there are a couple of things you need to agree on like how you distribute the monthly expenses. Discuss how you’ll cater to your monthly expenses and always hold up your end of the bargain by always paying your assigned bills on time.

Get a smartphone most likely with unlimited data it’s important if you cannot afford Wifi at home, and you can use it for entertainment like music or streaming.

With the many expenses, you may want to cut costs. This means sacrificing some leisure’s to cater for important bills. For instance, if you cannot afford home WIFI, getting a phone with unlimited data will serve you well. You can listen to music and stream hassle-free.

What should you know before moving out at 18? Don’t move before figuring out your monthly expenses and how you will cater to them. If at all you don’t put this into consideration, you will have a hard time adjusting, which may end in regrets.

6. How to move out on your own and afford it – keep expenses low

- Never pay for alcohol or offer to pay
  Being so nice might cost you. You might be out with friends, and you might feel the urge to pay for their drinks…but remember you have bills to pay. You’ll be in a delicate stage of your life, and you can’t afford to spend your money carelessly. The time will come when you can pay for their drinks, just not now.

- Be prepared to have a roommate or multiple roommates – to reduce rent expense
  Yes, we know you want your space, but can you afford it? Depending on where you’re moving to, the cost of living differs. If you are moving to a major city or town, you might consider getting a roommate or multiple roommates to cater to your expenses.

- Keep your entertainment expense low by eating at home and bring bug lunch to work
  You don’t always have to have takeouts, especially if you can’t afford them. Don’t stretch your budget when you can have home-cooked meals. Also, you don’t need to spend much on lunch when you can bug lunch to work.

- Make cheap meals.
  Moving out means that you’ll have to make some sacrifices. You may not have the capacity to afford the meals you had at your parent’s place and it’s totally fine. You’ll save a lot when you make cheap meals. Get to stock up on ramen, rice, pasta, olive oil, and pasta sauce/pesto.

- Cut costs avoid buying name brand items
  Having a designer bag is all cool and fancy as long as you don’t have to break the bank for it. Simply put, if you can’t afford it, leave it. But, make this a motivation to work hard and secure one in future.

- Shop at salvation army
  Shopping at thrift stores helps you cut costs by acquiring items at cheaper rates. You’ll be surprised at how you get quality items at very cheap prices.

Learn to cook, it will save you lots of cash as you will skip going out to eat all the time. Knowing how to cook will help you avoid takeouts and save a lot of money. Besides saving, you’ll have some healthy meals too.

7. Basic things you need when moving out for the first time

Write down some important stuff you’ll need. You’ll need important documents like your ID, birth certificate, driver’s license, and passport if you have one. Also, if you intend to work, you need to fill in your tax requirement.

For your new place, you might need a bed, TV, Sofa, Kettle, Cups, Knives, forks, fridge, and at least a mattress. To save money, you might consider buying used furniture from Habitat for Humanity .

Also, get clothes that are appropriate for your workplace. To avoid any problems, ensure that you pay your bills on time. Once you have this figured out, you’ll be unstoppable.

8. How to Move Out and Afford it – Post Secondary Education Plans

If You Plan to Skip University/College
If college/ university is not your cup of tea, don’t worry, life is full of plenty of opportunities. We don’t recommend dropping out of high school and moving out with zero skills or means to sustain your life. Let’s face it, with no skills, it might be really hard for you to secure a job, and if there is one, you can only go as far as securing an entry-level job.

Well, if you are not going to college, you might consider going to trade school. With minimal monetary investment, you can establish a great career. This way, you will be qualified for better opportunities besides entry-level jobs. It’s certainly a resourceful approach toward securing your future.

Here are trade or technical schools training you should consider if not going to university

Auto mechanic
HVAC
Dental hygienist
Computer technician
Electrician
Welder
Nurse

You may not have to go to college for this, but they certainly have a handsome reward. We may not want the same things in life, but what remains certain is that there is a space for everyone to flourish.

At the age of 18, life is just beginning. Your choices at this age will majorly impact your life. If you have the time to learn, do so. Trying to return to school at an older age might be harder than you think. So, it’s best to make use of every opportunity presented to you—the desire to live and not just to survive. There’s so much that the future holds.

9. How to Move Out and Afford It – Build marketable skills

Assuming at 18, you may not have a college degree; hence any job you get at this age is mainly dependent on your acquired skills. Before moving, you might consider building some marketable skills that may increase your chances of landing a better job to sustain your new transition and help you save money to buy a house or condo.

A marketable skill will be a bonus in your resume. Give it your best shot and make the most out of it.

Volunteer in as many projects as you can. In the process, you’ll acquire skills and have something to add to your resume. While at it, have many copies of your resume printed out-you; you never know when an opportunity might arise.

As you plan to move, it’s important to be already employed or at least have a job lined up.

10. Build credit before moving out of your parent’s home – get a secured visa

While moving, get a credit card or a secured visa. Getting a credit card is important to ensure your safety while purchasing items, build your credit score, reward points, and one-time bonuses, and also, most come with insurance.

Best practices to build good credit

- Get a secured credit card if you have no credit history built up
  A good credit score will be of great importance in the future, in the event, you would wish to secure a loan. Get a secure credit card that keeps you covered from fraud.

- Pay your credit card on time
  Don’t delay your payments. You’d rather have them paid on time to avoid reflecting negatively on your credit score.

- Pay it in full every month
  If you have the money, clear the entire balance. The more it builds up, the worse it gets.

- Keep a low credit balance of at least less than 80% use
  Don’t be accustomed to always taking credit. Make it a habit to maintain a low credit balance with at least less than 80% spent.

- Annually check your credit score-free to check with credit karma
  Even if you play by the book, it’s important to track your credit score. Anything can happen, so keep it safe.

Use your credit card as a debit card by paying it off fully every month.
Be aware that this is not free money; you are getting-you have to pay for it at some point, so spend wisely.

Related

- How To Move Out Of Your Parents’ House At 18
- 15 Essential Things To Do Before Moving Out Of A Rental

Save as much as you can before moving. Any time you earn an extra $100, put it in a cash reserve for emergency purposes. You never know, your car may break down and the $100 will come in handy while fixing it. Embracing a saving culture will help you in ways that you could not have imagined.

Build an emergency fund-have at least enough cash to last for six months worth of living expenses saved up

- It should be in liquid asset. This means owing something that you can quickly convert into cash and still retain its market value. It can be in form of cash, high-interest savings accounts, guaranteed investment certificate (GIC) bonds mutual funds, money market mutual funds, or government treasuries.

- Easy to take out on short notice
  Emergency funds are meant to be easily accessible, which is essentially why you require them when an emergency strikes.

- Generate some income e.g. interest
  Getaway to multiply what you already have in savings. You can do so by opening a savings account that generates interest.

Interest bearing asset
Invest in assets that acquire interest. The idea is not just to have some funds stored for emergencies but to keep growing what’s already existing. You might need the money to make major moves like opening a business. It doesn’t always have to be for emergencies.

12. How to Move Out at 18 and Afford It – Learn to budget- Use Apps

One thing that will certainly keep you afloat is budgeting. Don’t feel compelled to leave beyond your means, especially after you move to your place. It is wise not to live paycheck to paycheck.

Besides covering your rent, and household expenses, such as power, gas, water, food expenses, car payment, car insurance, have some money left for saving.

You can use budget apps such as wally or goodbudget to help keep your budget in check. If you like it the traditional way, you can have a journal, where you keep track of your expenses. You can embrace types of budgets like the 50/30/20 rule.

After paying your taxes, you get to spend 50% of what’s left on needs like rent, utilities, and food. 30 % on wants like clothing, or a piece of furniture, and 20% goes to savings and clearing out debts.

With proper budgeting, you’ll have an easy time.

To ensure success when you move out become a master in budgeting. If you follow it to the t, it will keep your expenditures in check. Therefore, less stress at the end of the month because all bills will be paid on time.

13. How Do You Move Out and Afford It – Moving Day

Finally, when the day comes, you might question your decision. No amount of preparation might have you entirely set for this day. I mean, the thought of moving means you assume responsibility as an adult, which, if we are being honest, you have not been accustomed to.

You’ve been living under their roof and protection for the past 18 years.

However, the good news is, you are not the first to make this move. Many have done it and they’ve managed. So, you’ll also be fine. The tips we’ve provided are enough to get you through this stage.

Wrap up – How to Move Out at 18 and Afford It

Moving out of your parent’s home, especially at 18, is one bold yet captivating move. Being responsible at a young and tender age will have a positive impact on your future.

Just the thought of how to move out and afford it seems daunting but if you’re well prepared, it’s totally doable. The only limits that there are in this world are the ones you set for yourself. You are capable of so much that you can imagine. If you are planning to move out, go ahead and chase your dreams. While at it, ensure that you are