How to live on your own

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Step 1

First, you need to decide where, generally, you want to live. If you want to live in the city or in the country, if you want to buy a house or rent an apartment. Maybe, even live in a condo for a while? Have you figured out what area you prefer? There are many of these important things to decide first before you get started.
Step 2

Next thing is to figure out your finances. Do you have sufficient income to have stability today and in the future?

The housing economy is very strict nowadays, and so they are very, very picky; especially the banks, on deciding who can have their own property or for this instance, their own house/apt.

There is also a lot of bills to pay for; food, housing costs, bills, and misc bills such as cable, phone, internet, and such. If you're going to be flying solo with your ownership, you need to make sure you are ready to handle the stress that come with it, as well as pay for the cost of your living.
Step 3

Once you're sure you can handle owning your own house/apt/condo, it's time to look for specific places. Research on neighborhoods, visit apartments. There are many open houses and mostly they are open during the weekends.

Remember, that nobody is rushing you to buying your house NOW. You need to make sure that you WANT the place. Dont just buy it just because. You need to feel "at home" with the place.. you need to love it, because you are going to live there for many months.. and years.
Step 4

So let's say the bank lets you own the house already, it's now time to budget. Write down all the bills, and any other payments you need to be aware of. Set down a target budget and prioritize! So if your least priority is misc (shopping, eating out, etc), then you need to make sure you really are being careful with spending in this area.

You need to make room for all the other things you REALLY need like food, electricity, water, etc. These are what's really important and so as much as possible, SAVE, SAVE, SAVE.
Step 5

This is the fun part. Stressful, but probably the most fun.. just because it's finally sinking in that the property is yours, and yours alone! =] It's time to decorate and revamp the house.

Make sure that you clean it first. Sweep the windows, bathroom, bedrooms, mop if you have hardwood floor or tiles, vacuum areas with carpets. The key here is to make the house YOURS; and not have anything (ANYTHING!) left from the previous owner. You dont want to have hair from the previous owner in your bathroom, do you?

After cleaning, go ahead and paint if you prefer.
Then, it's time to also decorate it, according to your style. Put furnitures and decorations. Rememeber: keep it simple but elegant. It will go a long way.
Step 6

Of course, based on your income, you need to save. Like i said, save, save, save. This part is soooo important. You need to be prepared for whatever happens in the future. Accidents do happen and as well as unfortunate circumstances. Think of the possibilities; doesnt mean you have to be negative and a pessimist. YOU JUST NEED TO BE REALISTIC.

So prepare for whatever may happen in the future. Save money by doing little things like not eating out as much anymore, not going out too much, not splurging on things you dont necessarily need for now. You have a lot of things to pay for and it's much easier if you have money a long the way.
Step 7

This is your house! Keep it clean, keep it maintained. "Save money, live better." Be realistic, and enjoy. Make it your own. After all, it is yours.=]

How to live on your own

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