One of the first thoughts that everyone has when graduating college is “where do I go now?” After experiencing live on your own and having the freedom of being away at school, many people hesitate to consider moving home and living with their parents for a while. Trust me, I am in that boat, as I am unsure that I will have a job lined up for after graduation and may not have another option. But it is ok! Moving back home is not something to be ashamed about. According to an article from USA Today, 37% of Millennials in college say they have or are planning to move back home once they earn their degree, according to TD Ameritrade’s Young Money Survey in 2017. You are not alone!
There are many pros and cons to consider, but moving back home for a little while can be a great way to save up some money when you are first starting out and the student loans kick in. Here are some tips that I have heard about moving back home.
- Make a Plan– By moving home indefinitely, you are more likely to get stuck in the rut of staying there for much longer than you should. Set an amount of time that you think would best suit your needs and then hold yourself to that. For example, I have a friend that moved home after graduation because the job that they were starting was close enough to commute. They wanted to be able to save some of the money they were earning, but on top of that, they wanted to make a dent in their student loan payments. By not paying rent or utilities for a year, they were able to create a bit of a cushion and make larger payments toward their student loans once they kicked in in December. Now that the Spring is rolling around, they are planning to move to an apartment within the next few months. I also have another friend who moved home temporarily, just until they found a job at the end of the summer. They were able to move out about 3 months after going home once they got their first paycheck. By setting a timeline from the start, it made them both more comfortable about moving back in for a little while until they were on their feet.
- Talk things out and set expectations– It is great that many parents are so willing to allow their children to move back home after graduation. But the tension can rise in the house when you are so used to living on your own at school and your parents have a certain idea of how it will be now that you are back under their roof. I think it is very important to sit down and talk about what expectations they are going to have of you and you will have about living there as well as setting some boundaries from the start. You are not the little kid that they used to have at home that they have control over but you also don’t want them up worrying until you walk in the door at 3am. By being upfront, it can prevent strain on your relationship down the road.
- Help out– Since they are essentially doing you a favor by letting you move back in, we need to understand that they are allowed to have certain expectations of you as another body living in the household. They may ask you to pay a little bit of rent or some money toward utilities or groceries. Even if they don’t expect much of you, consider buying groceries once in a while for the family or helping out with household chores (preferably before they even ask) to show your appreciation.
- Continue to grow– Just because you decided to move back home doesn’t mean that you are back-tracking. Make new friends and maybe even rekindle some old friendships. Explore new places because even if it’s a house that you have lived in your whole life, I am sure that there are restaurants you have always wanted to try and never gotten around to or places or towns that you’ve driven by a million times but never stopped to look around. Who knows, you may discover an opportunity that you would have never considered before.
- Enjoy it– Now that you are a different person than you may have been when you left from college, take the time to develop a new relationship with your parents. Spend some more time with them, learn from them, and best of all, enjoy being able to live with them again while you have the chance!
Sources: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/08/07/millennials-move-back-parents-save-house/512027001/
Turning the Tassel 