Moving out of home – Andy

“Move out of home” they say, “you’ll have all the independence you want”.  These are the words I often hear from relatives and friends.  I sometimes feel as though society demands that we must all move out of Mum and Dad’s house at a certain age.   However has anyone stopped to consider that some of our parents do not mind having us at home?  I can’t speak for everyone, but I contribute my fair share around the house.  I clean, cut the grass, pay bills when required and assist my folks with large expenses such as Kitchen renovations and purchase of a new car.  Furthermore as English is a second language for mum and dad, I take care of all incoming mail and admin work around the house.  Don’t think for a second though that it’s all my parents who benefit from me living at home.  I benefit as well as I don’t pay rent and mum’s cooking is the one of the best in the world, only rivalled by my lovely wife of course.

In my case it was because I continued to live at home, that I was able to save for a house. I realise that not everyone is in the same position as me so, given the opportunity I say stay at home for as long as possible and save as much as possible. Like most Aussies, I too found it very difficult to save enough for a house; however working in the financial planning space has assisted me in appreciating the value of budgeting and saving for my own place. I’ve since moved out of home and now live with my lovely wife and very active little son. So now that I’ve moved out of home, do I have all the “independence and privacy” I want? The answer is I don’t feel any different, as a matter of fact I found it strange living in a house with only 2 and half people. I feel as if the house is constantly empty. Over time however, I’m sure we’ll grow into it. Furthermore there are these little things called bills and mortgage repayments, which seems to constantly re-appear even though I pay them every week. I admit I never paid any attention to bills whilst living with mum and dad and would just pay them as they appear. Since moving out I would now analyse every bill I have to pay with a fine comb to ensure I’m not getting “scammed”.

I find there are merits to moving out of home and there are pitfalls associated with been “independent”, but not exactly what I had originally imagined. Whilst there were some things such as more house work which I expected, there were also some unexpected factors such the wife spending a fortune on flowers, which I never saw coming. Overall having my own place gives me a sense of achievement knowing I was able to save enough for my own house. Now it’s time to save for that house warming party everyone keeps asking about.