Are you thinking about moving out for the first time? Are you sure that you can handle the whole moving out thing without losing your mind?
Earlier this week I told you that it’s about time you moved out. I received some obvious criticisms to this idea. Don’t worry, I realize that it’s not that easy.
As reader Jordan pointed out:
“I want freedom so bad but I also want to save a ton of money that can go towards a down payment on a house rather than rent. My situation is great right now. My parents don’t want me to contribute to their monthly bills. They also want me to save as much money as I can. Yes my social life and freedom suffers but I’d rather save money. I can have fun in a couple of years.”
I know that moving out isn’t easy. This is why I wanted to look at horror stories that I’ve seen unfold right in front of my own eyes when it comes to moving out and how the whole move can go awfully wrong.
Jumping into home ownership far too early.
Moving out for the first time is really exciting because you’re out on your own and totally free. You can do whatever you want now. What’s even more intoxicating is the feeling of buying your first home.
This is exactly what happened to my friend Alex. Him and his girlfriend decided that they wanted to move out, but it made no sense to rent to them. They wanted to become homeowners. So they bought a condo together. They didn’t really perform any calculations. They figured that everything would just be okay.
That’s not exactly what happened. The condo was perfect. However, the bills came fast and furious. It became difficult to keep up with the bills. In order to cover the expenses, they both had to work two jobs. Working multiple jobs led to less time together and less time to enjoy the condo. They were both aways working and always miserable because they never had enough money.
After a few months, the girlfriend wanted out of the relationship. Turns out that breaking up when there’s property involved isn’t all that easy. They had to make some decisions. They decided to sell the condo.
There was just one huge problem: you lose a ton of money when you sell a condo fast or are forced out of a property abruptly. The legal fees came back. The bills associated with buying the place and then selling it added up really quick.
When the condo was sold and the dust settled, they were both down financially and thousands of dollars in debt. They jumped into home ownership way too early, got crushed with the bills, ended up in debt, and couldn’t handle each other.
Now it’s time for the second moving out for the first time gone wrong story…
Falling in love and moving out blindly.
Do you fall in love easily? My friend Adam did and decided to move in with his girlfriend of, catch this, three months. Some people wait years to move in. Not them. They made the move after three months.
Renting a place isn’t too much of a commitment because one party can easily walk away and you don’t have to worry about legal fees. This situation wasn’t so bad. However, they only lasted five months together until the girlfriend decided that she needed her own space and kindly asked the guy to leave.
What was lost in the end here? The money spent on moving in and out, brand new furniture, and the emotional stress (shame) of being forced to find a new place to live after moving out.
I hope that those mentioned in these stories don’t get offended. We all make mistakes. I’ve made so many mistakes that you can easily put together a book on them. The good thing about making mistakes is that everyone can learn from them. These two stories should hopefully guide you and prevent you from making the same mistakes.
Moving out for the first time is pretty scary. It’s easy to get blinded or to approach the whole process the wrong way. I don’t want to see you make these same mistakes. I want to see you learn from others. You should take a few minutes to read my piece on how you can finally move out.
Do you have any moving out horror stories that you would like to share? Have you ever seen moving out for the first go terribly bad?
I once had a roommate long time ago who was on psychotics! That was kinda scary. He moved out soon after thank goodness!
I thought we weren’t going to talk about the time we lived together haha!
I had a friend who met a girl he thought was mighty nice, a real New York city tough-gal who knew how to navigate high-society, and was a model by profession. He was smitten, they started dating and four months later she had moved in. Happily, he reported that allowing he to share his studio apartment rent free (with him paying all the bills) was working out just fine, thank you very much. Three months later he notices her computer is on with her email up and curiosity overcomes him: he digs a little and finds that in addition to the day job, she is a call girl on weekends (“nighttime” promotional gigs was the cover story). Needless to say this living arrangement didn’t work out.
Moral: do your research
Wait a minute– she’s making all that money as a call girl and she couldn’t chip in on the bills?