7 Things You Can Do Now To Prepare For When You Move Out Of Home
Gearing up.

“How good is living at home with my parents?” said no one in the history of the world.
Sure, there’s a few benefits that come along with living at home: home cooked meals, free rent, maybe your laundry if you’re lucky. But all of that is nothing compared to the freedom of independence that setting out on your own can give you. Also, having your oldies up in your grill 24/7 is not ideal.
But as uni students with a next-to-nothing income, most of us have to suck it up until graduation. Why not make the most of the time you have at home by preparing to move out?
Here’s all the things you should brush up on to get you ready for that sweet, sweet moving out day.
#1 Cook One Darn Dish
If one of the best things about living at home is a home cooked meal, then you should definitely learn to cook for yourself. It’s truly not hard. In fact, it’s a general rule that if you can read (which you can, because you’re an educated person), you can cook.
Look up some free recipes online and start trying things out. Or, ask your parents to teach you how to make your favourite dishes. If you start making dinner a night or two a week now, your parents will be so thankful they’ll probably get off your back for being an otherwise filthy slob. Win/win!
#2 Invest In A Quality Mattress
If you’re still living at home right now, you probably have some room to splash out on a worthy investment like a mattress. Once you move out of home, the king single your mum bought for you in Year 8 won’t do the trick anymore, especially if you have some, uh, late night visitors.
Fork out a couple of hundred bucks for a good quality mattress now so you won’t have to deal with it later on.
#3 Clean, And Clean Well
Pulling your weight in the cleaning department is key to being a good housemate. Seriously, you could be an antisocial recluse or obnoxious weirdo but as long as you do your share of the vacuuming and dusting, all will be forgiven.
If you’ve let your parents pull the heavy lifting in terms of housework, it’s time to step it up. Get used to cleaning the house at least once a week and you’ll develop a routine. Set hygiene standards and live by them.
#4 Learn To Laundry
Here’s something we didn’t realise was a thing until our parents pointed it out: laundry is more than throwing everything in the machine and hoping for the best. If you want to take care of your clothes, you need to separate them and wash them according to their label.
When you move out and have a limited budget for new clothes, you’ll be way more invested in looking after them. Get into the habit now and you’ll be set up for good later on.
#5 Sort Out Your Car Costs
Living in the suburbs with your ‘rents means you probably have a car. How else can you go on Maccas runs?
But if you’re moving to the inner city to be closer to a job/uni/all the fun stuff ever, you may need to reconsider if you even need a car. If you do, make a budget for your rego and insurance so you’ll never be bamboozled by the cost. Because, legit, the cost is bamboozling.
#6 Save $$$ Like Your Life Depends On It
This one is probably the most important. Leaving home and entering the rental market pretty much means you can’t turn back. Your parents will more than likely turn your room into a dedicated craft room/man cave as soon as the moving truck pulls up. So, it’s either sink or swim.
If you save your little butt off now, you can not only put down a bond without blinking an eye, you’ll have a safety net in case things go pear shaped. In other words, money is a guaranteed floating device.
#7 Craft A Budget
If you’ve been avoiding a budget for, say, your whole entire life, then we don’t blame you. It’s genuinely hard to write down all your expenses and come face to face with your own destructive spending.
And while budgets feel excessively restrictive, they’re super helpful. If you get a head start on your budget now, you’ll find it second nature when you move out of home and really need it. Living in the world is expensive as hell.
(Lead image: SNL/NBC)