What’s your honest advice for a young person struggling with rent, money, and finding a job, still relying on parents financially right now?
Not looking for “just work hard,” genuinely curious what actually got you through a phase like this, and how you dealt with the guilt of relying on parents at this age.
I just feel like I’m running behind something, not even sure what exactly, money, stability, proving something to myself, maybe all of it at once. Curious if anyone else has felt that and figured out what they were actually running from, or toward…
It’s scary how fast recurring costs add up. Little changes in lifestyle habit can genuinely make a big difference when added up over a year. One example of something surprisingly easy to cut down is electricity usage. It’s also just expensive to be poor, so once you’re over the hump of getting everything from the dollar tree and holding even a small balance on a credit card everything gets a lot easier.
As for rent I don’t know how anyone gets by without a roommate anymore, but there’s definitely no shame living with parents if you have that option. In most of the world multigenerational households are still normal, and considering rent is by far the biggest expense that’s a huge shortcut to getting on track for retirement if available. I wouldn’t feel guilt or shame for that, parents want to see you succeed and particularly if you’re staying there to build savings or get out of debt that’s more along the lines of something to be proud of.