Living on your own, especially for the first time, can be both liberating and scary. It’s your first real taste of adulthood, offering you a newfound freedom along with a fresh set of responsibilities.
Now, you must properly handle everything by yourself, from your first-ever credit card application to paying your rent on time each month. It can feel overwhelming at the beginning because of all the new things that you have to learn and do, but thankfully, there are five tips that can ease some of the burden from your shoulders.
Plan Out a Budget
Many first-time renters underestimate how much their monthly expenses can pile up, especially during the first few months of moving into their new space. Ideally, you should set aside 30 percent of your monthly net income for rent, 30 percent for essentials such as utility bills, 30 percent for non-essentials, and the remaining 10 percent for savings or stock options.
Keep in mind that your first few months of living on your own can be more expensive than usual. This is because you may need to purchase new furniture or stock up on food and other essentials at the beginning. It’s wise to allocate more money for emergencies at the start. Eventually, your budget will balance itself out, and you can play around with it to suit your needs without going over your monthly salary.
Another thing to consider is the Philippine rental market. Today, most apartment owners require a one-month security deposit, one to two months’ worth of rent, and several post-dated checks depending on the length of your rental contract before you can move in. Make sure you have enough cash to fund all that instead of making a rash decision to move before you’re ready.
Pay Your Bills on Time
Creating a budget is one thing, but implementing it is another. One of the most important factors in successfully living on your own is staying on top of your financial obligations.
It is crucial that you pay your bills on time, especially your rent and credit card bills. This prevents you from paying late fees and high interest rates that may pile up and eventually become too burdensome for you to bear on your own.
According to a 2021 study conducted by Forrester Consulting, seven out of 10 Filipinos are struggling with debt. While there are a variety of contributing factors, one of the most common ways for people to get into debt is by borrowing more money to pay off a loan. It is a vicious cycle: You borrow money to pay off one debt but incur interest on another. To avoid this, most financial experts recommend buying only what you can afford and paying monthly expenses in full each time.
Learn How to Cook
While food delivery services are incredibly convenient, they can eat up a large chunk of your budget if you use them once a day or more. To save up on costs, it’s a good idea to learn how to cook even basic dishes such as adobo and tinola.
If you can’t cook every day, consider cooking and meal-prepping every weekend or every three days. Cook your meals in bulk and then portion them out into appropriate serving sizes that you can simply heat up as needed. This makes it easy for you to enjoy home-cooked meals and avoid needing to order in or buy takeout. Apart from saving you money, preparing your own meals allows you to make healthier food choices as well.
Slowly Stock up on First-Aid and Emergency Items
Living on your own also means knowing how to take care of yourself. This includes being able to change lightbulbs and do basic plumbing fixes for your toilet, bath, and sink. You can save a lot of money when you can perform some fixes by yourself, but you will also need to invest in getting the necessary tools to do them properly.
You don’t have to do this right away, but slowly build your emergency tool kit, including basic first-aid supplies, several screwdrivers, different types of nails, a hammer, and a plunger, among other things. It’s also a good idea to know how to operate a fire extinguisher in case of an emergency. Most apartment complexes have one to two fire extinguishers on each floor, and you should know how to access them during a fire.
Time Management is Key
It’s important that you know how to allocate your time, including when you need to work, cook, clean, do your laundry, and rest. Just as the phrase suggests, living on your own means being independent. There are a lot of chores and other maintenance activities that come with having your own space, and as the sole tenant, all of that responsibility will fall on you. While you can always call your family and friends for help, it’s better to know how to resolve these concerns on your own.
You don’t have to get it right the second you start living on your own. It’s okay—and completely natural—to make mistakes along the way. As with anything in life, living on your own is a way to grow into yourself and learn new things about what is most important to you. So, learn to enjoy the process and always practice self-kindness!
