HOW TO MAKE THE BEST OUT OF MOVING BACK HOME PART ONE

Do you remember your most famous quote when you were in high school? Well if you forgot let me jog your memory. *Clears throat* “I can’t wait until I’m 18 so I can move out.” That statement was usually followed by a loud sigh, a curse word, and in some cases (depending on the house hold) a slammed door. Like most adolescences we long for the freedom that comes along with living alone or moving out of our parent’s house. It’s not until we actually get a taste of independence that we actually realize that it’s more than just staying out all night, having company, and throwing house parties. You know the part that the directors and writers conveniently leave out of the movies. What I’m talking about is upkeep and bills.

I moved away from home when I was 18 years old to begin my college career at Wayne State University. By the time I was 19 years old I was moving into my own apartment. I continued on my own until I was 24 years old. After giving birth to my first child and a set of unfortunate circumstances I was packing up all of my things, putting them into storage, turning my car back into the dealership, and moving into a room at my mom’s house. How could this be? After six years of being on my own, how could I end up back home? I’ve been working since I was 16 years old, so I’ve always had money coming in, but I still found myself back at square one.

Then it hit me. I had no type of discipline when it came to my finances, I paid my bills late, I had horrible credit, and all of the important things I should have been making sure I had done I dragged my feet on. That’s when I made a decision to make the best out of the 14 months my mom had gave me to stay with her and get back on my feet. At that moment I decided to look at this move as an “investment” oppose to a bad situation. I had an opportunity to save money and make sure I never was placed in this situation again. It’s been six months and I’m ready to share my 10 rule plan with others who may be in my shoes to help get back on your feet. Here are the first 5. Stay tuned for part two with the remaining 5.

Number 1. WRITE OUT A PLAN

In order to get any balls rolling in life you need to have a plan. This is a great opportunity to figure out long term and short term goals. How long will you be back home? How much would you like to save before leaving? What would you like to accomplish before moving? Having a well put together idea of your goals will help you stay active and focused on moving. I wrote all of the things I wanted to do and divided those things into the 14 months I would be home. This helped me concentrate on a handful of goals per months. This method helped keep me from becoming overwhelmed and actually crossing off task, both big and small every week.

Number 2. SAVE YOUR MONEY

To piggy back off of point number one, saving money should honestly be at the top of your list of goals. Saving should be the ultimate goal. Basically saving should be the GOAL OF ALL GOALS. Listen, if you are going into this situation with the mindset of shopping, going out of town, or frivolously spending your money because you have less bills and responsibilities you are only going to hurt yourself. Keep your eye on the big picture. I knew I got paid twice a month so I made a strict budget plan. I gave myself just enough to pay my bills and put gas in the car. I also gave myself a small allowance to do things I wanted. I opened two accounts at two different locations (a savings and a checking). My checking account had a debit card attached to it. My allowance went into that account. The savings account on the other hand was not in a convenient place for me to drive to and I had no debit card attached to it. The rest of my income went to that account. Out of site and out of mind.

Number 3. ACT AS IF YOU STILL HAVE BILLS

I’m telling you there is a method to my madness. The portion of my check that I did not touch, I acted as if I never saw it. Once again out of site out of mind. If you paid bills, you couldn’t call your landlord or cable company and say “Hey, can I get $50 dollars back for these shoes I want”. That’s the mindset I kept so that I would not dip and pinch off of my savings. After only a month of this I already had over $1000. Now, I know we all make different amounts and everyone’s responsibilities are different, so it will be up to you to decide what is the appropriate amount for your allowance and savings.

Number 4. ORGANIZE YOUR LIFE

This is the perfect time to organize your life and to get all of your ducks in a row. My main goals were to find major organization in my life so I could weed out all of the clutter and find some direction. I set doctor appointments, dentist appointments, met with a tax accountant, cleaned up my credit, shredded old paperwork, and wrote out a business plan. When your life has no structure it is so easy to become unfocused and that lack of focus is what leads ups to personal problems. I brought filing folder and labeled with the appropriate content that would be found inside. This method made it so easy to stay on top of my finances and my goals. A little direction goes a long way and helps you too the bigger picture.

Number 5. DON’T BE EMBARRASSED

Listen, we all have short comings and we all get into situations that we are not so proud of. THAT’S LIFE! It’s not really about how hard you fall but it’s about how you pull yourself back up. With that being said, put that pride to the side and do what you have to do. I know too many people who are living check to check and had an option to go home for a period of time and wont and to me that’s insane. If you have the opportunity to go someplace short term and save DO IT! It will put you in a position that will change your life! Do what’s best for you and don’t let anyone make you feel like you lose cool points.

THERE YOU HAVE IT GUYS!! THAT’S THE FIRST 5 RULES OF “Making the Best Out of Moving Back home”. NEXT WEEK I WILL BE POSTING PART TWO!!! Thanks BOOS AND BEAUS!