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MVCU, living at home, family
Home / Tools / Living at Home (With Your Parents)
Living at Home (With Your Parents) on 3/22/2021

Living at Home (With Your Parents)

think pink

When you graduate from college, one of the first things that you start to save toward is getting your own place. You just lived on your own for 4 years and had that taste of “freedom.”  You could go about as you pleased without having to tell your parents where you were going at 11:00 pm. And if your diet consisted of late-night pizza and mozzarella sticks then so be it. College is essentially a 4-year long sleepover with your closest friends but then one day it ends and before you know it you are back in your bedroom at home.

I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get a place right off the bat. I did a terrible job my senior year of college when it came to saving. I had a job as an HR Assistant throughout the year but I only worked 2-3 days a week.  Because I was going out every weekend, I got into the habit of buying new cute outfits and buying alcohol and snacks.  Then spring break rolled around and my savings account was doomed. There is no sugar coating it- I dropped the ball. So I knew once I graduated in May that I would be living at home for a long time.

For some of my friends, this was a giant “no.” They got a taste of independence and were out living in Southie by the end of summer. Funny enough, those friends moved back into their parents’ houses by the next summer. When asking them about it their reasoning was always the same: they needed to save money. It wasn’t even necessarily the rent that was expensive for them, but the temptation of eating at Boston restaurants, going to the bars each weekend, attending Red Sox games, etc. It’s expensive to live on your own!

To be honest, I was never jealous of those friends that lived on their own. I was seeing an increase in my accounts because I wasn’t paying rent, buying toiletries, etc. I bought the groceries that I needed for myself but in comparison to what my friends bought weekly- my grocery bill was nothing! I also was in a different headspace. I had goals set for myself and I wanted to reach those goals. I wanted to get a home, yes, but I wanted it to be one that I really loved and saved up for. Right now, I’m working at having enough in my savings account to put 10% toward a down payment for a house. I’m 3 years out of college and I’m still getting there. It takes time!

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Category: Think Pink: A Millennial Perspective



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