For those who live on their own

baby e

How do you do it AND go to school at the same time AND get good grades? Do you have a bf/gf or just simply have no life at all? Do you live on your own or with someone?

Im asking because I live at home and Im getting kinda fed up with it and want to spread my wings....but I still have the rest of uni to finish and just can not understand how students are able to live on their own (in a place that isnt a dump or anything) and are still able to get good grades and have a social life.

Plus, Vancouver just seems so pricey :( Grrr....

Kevin M.

I know EXACTLY how you feel. It gets frustrating living at home sometimes but after having lived on my own I know that both have their plus and minuses. The good thing about living at home is that your expenses are much lower because theirs no rent, groceries, bills etc to worry about but its at the expense of your freedom. Living alone is a great experience...I mean its hard as hell (try using the bus to do go grocery shopping) but it really makes you grow and mature as a person and you begin to realize family life a lot more. A lot of the people I know that live on their own and go to school have a roommate or do it with support from their parents (ie. they pay the rent). Either way, your social life has to be cut down but its all about sacrifice...and you sure wouldn't wanna sacrifice your grades

imelting

it sucks it feels like i cant even get outta debt living at home

school full time, work part time in the afternoons, live @ home, and the student loans are still eating me alive

what to do

baby e

I feel so trapped living at home. Im frustrated because of my mom mostly and for some reason she is completely power tripping me....my parents pay for my car, i dont have any rent (not yet anyway), they pay for my cell phone, groceries, etc. They always paid for my tuition fees.

But recently, my mom has gone so weird on me. Telling me that Im going to have to pay for my own cell phone, but yet she wont switch it over to my name :/ She says that she might take away my car, etc etc. And now she says that I have to pay for my own tuition fees too when she agreed to pay for them for the whole 4 years. I just dont get it.

So I'm thinking that maybe its time for me to just get out on my own, i mean, if shes gonna make me pay for stuff, i might as well. The downfall: I wont have my car paid for or anything else for that matter.

I just dont see how I can do it. :(

Malakaiii

I live on my own with my boyfriend.

Last semester, he worked while I went to school. And that covered our monthly expenses, so it worked out fine (I still have loans for my personal expenses and tuition). In September he's starting school fulltime too. So I'm going to work a parttime job to keep us from going bankrupt, as well as continue going to school. It should be an interesting experience...

gawdawaful

sorry Malakaiii, that just sounds so much like "get a sugar daddy" :P
seriously though, we dont all have a loving partner like you

noname

I live on my own. I'm way behind on my studies for the CFA exam, my social life consists of talking to my coworkers and going out to lunch with them, I'm in huge debt and I'm repaying my loans asap before the interest charges really fly high, and hopefully I won't end up failing my exam. I have a line of credit that charges me 9% per year and trust me, borrowing from that account is not fun especially when you owe close to 38k dollars.

The way I see it you're extremely lucky. I had to pay for my own living expense and tution. My parents were nice enough to lend me 40k to buy a car. I managed to pay them back 15k so far while I continue repaying them at $500/month. My parents are not poor or anything, but I had to pay my own way and it's really tough.

If I were in your position, I would just stick with your parents until you obtain your degree. Even with a degree, it can be extremely hard to find a decent paying job in Vancouver. The way I see it, you're mixing way too much emotions with your decision. You should budget everything out before you make that final decision. You do not wanna be in debt like me.

Malakaiii

gawdawaful;13270 said:

sorry Malakaiii, that just sounds so much like "get a sugar daddy" :P
seriously though, we dont all have a loving partner like you

She asked for people to share their own situation, so that's what I was doing. Not making suggestions...

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baby e;13268 said:

I feel so trapped living at home. Im frustrated because of my mom mostly and for some reason she is completely power tripping me....my parents pay for my car, i dont have any rent (not yet anyway), they pay for my cell phone, groceries, etc. They always paid for my tuition fees.

But recently, my mom has gone so weird on me. Telling me that Im going to have to pay for my own cell phone, but yet she wont switch it over to my name :/ She says that she might take away my car, etc etc. And now she says that I have to pay for my own tuition fees too when she agreed to pay for them for the whole 4 years. I just dont get it.

So I'm thinking that maybe its time for me to just get out on my own, i mean, if shes gonna make me pay for stuff, i might as well. The downfall: I wont have my car paid for or anything else for that matter.

I just dont see how I can do it. :(

I don't own a cellphone or a car. I use a house phone and travel by transit. Rent and groceries are covered by my parents paying my relatives of whom I am staying with. I have no social life except studying with classmates and exercising with a few buddies. Studying takes up all of my time instead of work.

Krazy_Konrad

Hey Ya'll!

I live with my room mate. Go to SFU full time, work a part time job and have a 2.5 year old son.

How do I do it? Work really hard, get lots of debt, and depend on the bank of Ma&Pa when things get tight.

But going to school is way better then not going to school and ending up working construction for the rest of my life.

meesh

as much as I want to live on my own, I'm also glad to be living with my parents even though we're dysfunctional 90% of the time. My sisters are all grown up and doing their own thing and I'm the youngest, and somehow I feel this obligation to stay and to look after my parents. I go to school full-time, I work, and I'm on student loans...so yeah I really don't know how some people can do afford to live on their own..but kudos to them, seriously!! Taking out student loans was my decision, even though my parents offered to pay. I know it may sound crazy but paying my way through school makes me feel quite independent despite living at home still.
Also I don't want to move away from the area I live in right now, because I love it so much :)
As for a social life, I have a really close group of friends and whenever I see them either for coffee or for dinner, well that's seriously all I need.

take small steps. I think if you could compromise with your mom, pay some of the bills, see how you do. If it's not so bad, add another challenge. It's hard to balance money, school, life, etc. all at one go.

baby e

Thanks you guys for all of your advise.

I honestly dont really know what to do. I want to get out on my own, but I know that with being in school right now its not really an option. But I feel like im always letting money stand in the way of what i want to do: example, i havent travelled much because ive never had the money. I havent moved out yet because i dont have the money. I feel like i will never have the money, and i dont want to be 26 years old and living at home like my brother still is (im 21 right now, about to turn 22 in less than a month).

I have a lot of thinking to do i guess, but I really appreciate what you all posted about your experiences. I guess im just confused and frustrated and want to get out on my own to experience life more....but i dont want debt to come along with that. I guess i cant have my cake and eat it too...?? :(

NukeChem

Living on your own is a challenge, but the independence is unparalleled. That having been said, it's a real money saver if you can live at the parental units' place while attending school. Not having to pay rent puts something like $9000 a year into your pocket, and it's an expense I sometimes really wish I didn't have to carry. Alas.

I agree that it definitely teaches you to appreciate the complexity of everyday life - paying bills, keeping everything running smoothly from a financial point of view and so on. :)

Malakaiii

Why not try to set aside the money each month that you would be paying toward rent? Even if you just try to set aside $500 a month, it will be really good practice for what it's like to live with less because you are trying to pay your bills (something I know very well).

The best part about this is that you will be saving the money instead of actually blowing it on rent. It'd be a good way to build up a savings fund that you can use toward travel or actual rent when you do move out.