[Sethro117]

Yea Ive done the bills before food thing before when I first moved out. Luckily my parents were only 30 minutes away and I worked at a food place so I could take home a lot of the stuff left over. That wasnt very healthy though lol.

This post has been edited by Sethro117: 12 April 2010 - 10:21 PM

[LoveIsNull]

Depending on weather or not he is involved in any higher educational programs and/or the particulars of the preexisting health care coverage his parents might have, he may be eligible for coverage while in school or through his parents until he is 21. Probably most family policies cover your children until they are 18, but some will cover until age 21.

Still, you're aware that in order for you to have a chance of living outside of home you are going to have to spend less time at home (because you'll be working, obviously).
But you also say:

Quote

I more or less live by myself here, the only difference is paying bills.

Why so eager to pay bills? You want to pay bills?!

If you haven't already you should try to get a realistic view of how much being totally independent costs. Fill out one of these budgeting worksheets:
http://frugalliving....ABudgetWkst.pdf
http://christianpf.c...dgetingform.pdf

This way you'll know how much money you would have to spend each month for everything.
You are going to have to work more so that you can spend more money to survive outside of the grasp of your stepmother (or whatever). You could just work more to ensure your time in that household is at a minimum, and have a lot more money in the end. Even just working another part time job could take up more time than you think, leaving you with a lot less time in general save for maybe a couple days off. You could either spend those days broke, languishing in your crappy apartment... or just freaking live with the 15 minutes a day you have to be in the presence of that bitter old witch and ultimately be able to save and possibly accomplish a lot more for yourself.
Even if you settled for living with two or more room mates and your expenses didn't exceed $400 a month; that's about $5000 a year you could have saved working that second shitty job and possibly been able to afford a car or a more secure transition to living independently.

[supersloth]

i moved out at 18. some people just wanna do that. it's a different priority. some people choose independent squalor over dependent luxury. some people get lucky and don't have to deal with either. the only thing is to be fully and completely aware of what each decision means, and then make the one that's best for the individual.

[no2pencil]

supersloth, on 13 April 2010 - 12:16 AM, said:

some people just wanna do that. it's a different priority.

Boy I'll say! I used to work with a racist whom lived with his mother at the age of 31. He would brag about his car & his Big Screen TV (this was in like 2002ish?) & all this crap that he had. Big deal. I'd much rather have no tv & a running car, than have to tell my girl to be quiet because mom has to get up early in the morning for work.

[Sethro117]

I had a family member or a friend of the family I forgot which it was exactly. Lived with his mom until 35 and was making around 80-100k a year. He saved all that money because she owneed her house the utiities were minimal so he didnt have to help out very much financially.

He was able to retire like at 40 and last I hear he was traveling in South America. True Story.

[Skaggles]

I joined the military right out of high school (this was back in 2001) and I admit that I did it for the college money at the time. Once I got out I found an apartment and a job to support myself and realized that working full time and going to school (even though the school was paid for by the army) was no easy task. Well, a new development arrived where my brother offered for me to stay with him while I goto school and I'm jumping on that opportunity. I'm 28 and not ashamed of living with family if it's progressing towards a better future for myself. The idea is the same with any area of life; don't be afraid to ask for/accept help... just don't become reliant on it and expect others to help you.

All that aside, if you want to move out and be on your own then great. Just be smart about it and listen to those who have experienced it first hand. Life, unfortunately, doesn't come with a user's manual. It's just something you got to figure out yourself, along with plenty of good advice in this thread. I don't think there's been a single thing said that I disagree with.

Lastly, HAVE FUN!! Don't be in a hurry to grow up.

This post has been edited by Skaggles: 13 April 2010 - 01:05 AM

[BenignDesign]

LoveIsNull, on 13 April 2010 - 12:55 AM, said:

Depending on weather or not he is involved in any higher educational programs and/or the particulars of the preexisting health care coverage his parents might have, he may be eligible for coverage while in school or through his parents until he is 21. Probably most family policies cover your children until they are 18, but some will cover until age 21

Actually, many insurances will cover a dependent child to the age of 25 if they are full-time students.

[LoveIsNull]

Exactly. But even if they are not continuing education they could still be covered until age 21, was my point.
Another thing to keep in mind is that assuming you had coverage in this manner, it very well could end up saving you thousands, which is wonderful. However, odds are you will still end up paying hundreds in co-pays. Especially if you have Blue Cross and try to get yourself substance abuse treatment at a methadone clinic only to find that a co-payment is assessed daily... so unless the habit is really getting out of control (not something you'll admit readily) you are actually spending about the same on the heroin! (This is especially ridiculous because methadone is just about the cheapest analgesic on the market)
Sure this probably wont happen to you, but what if you turn out to be an alcoholic or become addicted to gambling? While these are all great reasons to keep yourself as healthy as possible and be in control of your body and mind to the best of your ability, some things are unavoidable and so shit happens anyways. Medical bills can actually affect your credit score and should be payed off promptly.

When I was 18 I desperately wanted to move away from home, and I did for a little while but that's a long story. Eventually those feelings of desperation began to fade as I realized more fully and truly what exactly it was I wanted for my life and how those things could possibly be accomplished. Money is horrid and dirty and you're better off not really having to worry about it for as long as possible. Not saying people should live with their parents until they are 35, but a few more years at home could really help you out in the long run. Plus if you're really not spending a lot of time at home anyways, or when you are home you are for the most part alone then why not just suck it up for a couple more years?

[ForcedSterilizationsForAll]

Don't do it. Go work a full-time job for a while and a part time job if you want. Figure out what your monthly costs would be for living on your own and put that money into savings. Do this for 6 months to get an idea of whether you could live off what you make. If you have no problems with that tiny amount you'll have left over then you can see about getting a place on your own (and you'll have a nice bit of cushion).

Honestly, you'll save a lot more money living at home. I can understand the desire to want to get away, but once you do you'll realize how good you had it.

Work as much as you can if you want to get away, and just go home to sleep.

[BenignDesign]

Just remember: any woman who is worth your time will not date you if you are over the age of 30 and STILL living with your mother... so you need to figure it out and get the hell out of Dodge by then.

This post has been edited by BenignDesign: 13 April 2010 - 09:26 AM

[skyhawk133]

BenignDesign, on 13 April 2010 - 08:25 AM, said:

Just remember: any woman who is worth your time will not date you if you are over the age of 30 and STILL living with your mother... so you need to figure it out and get the hell out of Dodge by then.

Run in to this recently have you B9?

[BenignDesign]

skyhawk133, on 13 April 2010 - 11:28 AM, said:

Run in to this recently have you B9?

LOL!

Nah. Just a general rules for dating:

1. Be wary of a man over the age of 25 who lives with his mother.
2. Completely avoid a man over the age of 30 who lives with his mother.
3. If a man has passed the 30-year mark without ever being married, there is a reason for it.
4. If a man has been divorced more than once, do you really want to become his third ex-wife? Or his eigth? Fourteenth?
5. If a man under the age of 50 has been widowed more than once, run. Do not look back.
6. If you have children, do a search of your date on the Megan's Law website. If you find him there, DO NOT DATE HIM.

[Locke]

BenignDesign, on 13 April 2010 - 10:37 AM, said:

3. If a man has passed the 30-year mark without ever being married, there is a reason for it.

Being the logically oriented being that I am...I'm gonna add a giant "YA THINK?" to this one. But with a bit of contradiction. I'm assuming you mean because he's a total douchebag or something else of that nature.

I plan on making it that far, but not because I'm a jackass...well...ok...I'm a jackass, but only when I want to be. I plan on making it that far for other reasons. I think I'll be lucky if I have those little bastards we call kids.

[BenignDesign]

This all works conversely as well. Me, for example, I am over the age of 30 and unmarried. There IS something wrong with me. I just haven't quite figured it out yet.

This post has been edited by BenignDesign: 13 April 2010 - 10:14 AM

[KYA]

I was told I'm not allowed to get married until I'm 28.