It has been a month and a half since I have been living on my own, and let me tell you, it hasn’t been easy. I still have another month of living on my own until my roommate moves in, but the next month doesn’t threaten me in the same way that the first month and a half of living alone did. I’ve learned so much about myself in only a short month and a half, and I have gained a bit of knowledge and useful advice for anyone who is about to live on their own, even for a short time.

First of all, you will go hungry if you don’t cook for yourself. I know this might sound dumb, or even obvious, but it’s true. For the first two weeks of living on my own, I didn’t cook for myself really at all, I wasn’t even eating at restaurants. I kind of just ignored the fact that I wasn’t eating except for at work, and with not eating, I was getting sick. I was tired all of the time, and extremely run down. The biggest piece of advice I have is to make sure you are taking care of yourself and making sure you are not letting your health decline.

Let me tell you, living on your own, you will learn to budget pretty quickly. I was already pretty good at budgeting my money, and I have always been a saver versus a spender. However, living on your own, you have to spend money on things that you might not want to, but rather things you have to. What it comes down to is the majority of your paycheck will go to rent, electricity, food, bills, gas, and any other thing you can think of that your parents used to cover. At first, you will hate having to spend your paycheck on bills, but eventually something will change. It only took me until the second month of paying bills for me to realize that supporting yourself, for the most part, is actually pretty rewarding. You will find yourself being fairly proud of yourself for working, going to school, paying bills, and making it though all of it on top.

I cannot stress enough how much more you will appreciate your parents. Chances are, your parents have supported you for 18 or 19 years. They have paid for everything for you, cooked for you, and cleaned for you. Once you live on your own, you will learn to appreciate all your parents did for you, especially when you have to pay your bills, cook your own meals, and clean your entire apartment. Oh, and don’t forget to thank them, it will mean the world to them.

When it comes to your friends, you will cherish every moment you have to spend with them. Between the time you are at work and when your friends are at work, there is not a lot of time to spend with friends. However, when there are those few days out of the month when you and a friend’s schedule align, and you finally have a chance to make plans, you will cherish the time you spend with your friend. Don’t forget to make time for a social life either, it is so important for your mental health to stay social and maintain a social life.

In the end, you are going to be pretty proud of yourself. When you look around at the end of the day, you will see a furnished home that is yours and only yours. You will have paid your bills, and made it through some breakdowns, because let’s face it, living alone is not easy by any means. Don’t forget to give yourself a pat on the back and be proud of what you have accomplished, it’s a milestone worth celebrating.