If you're new around here, I moved back in with my parents at the end of last month. At this point in my/our life, Josh and I are trying to save money for a house and a future wedding. (Weddings and Houses aren't cheap people)
It hasn't been easy, but it hasn't been terrible either.
If you're planning on moving back in, here are a few things to consider:
PROS:
Your parents will likely pay for a majority of your "living" expenses. For example: Electricity, DirectTV or cable, Internet, AC, water, and more! My parents also pay for my gas and groceries. Oh and they cook dinner!
You won't be lonely. There are people to come home to at night and if your family is anything like mine, there's never a dull quiet moment.
Think of all the money you're saving. I'm able to save a TON. I'm paying myself as if I were still paying rent, plus some. So while I don't technically have more money to spend on whatever I want, I am able to save more than I was when I lived in my apartment.
When something breaks, it's usually not your fault. If it is, your parents will still love you, won't fine you and will fix it. My parents (my dad) are the repair people. No more strange men, careless neighbors, structural problems that can't be fixed.
When I lived in my apartment, I couldn't have the shower, AC, TV, and lights on or the breaker would flip. My next door neighbors flooded my apartment thanks to an over-flowing washing machine, and my upstairs neighbors did the same except it was their AC.
It's temporary. You won't be living with your parents until you're 40. Sometimes it's best to swallow your pride and just do it.
Three more closets full of clothes. My sisters, my mom, and I are all about the same size. It's been great being able to grab outfits from each closet instead of buying new clothes!
Living at your parent's level/income. It took them about 30-40 years to get where they are and let's face it, living on recent graduate's ramen noddle budget sucks. When your parents have a pool and you can barely round up enough change for a Coke ICEE, you know it's better to live at home.
CONS:
You may have a longer drive to work than you're used to. It's an hour long commute to work in the morning and back home at night. It's the worst on Friday afternoons when it's the weekend, but I still have an hour to drive!
You really, really want your own place. Gosh, I really want my own place. Or I should say, Josh and I, really want our own place. I've been "house hunting" since I moved in even though we won't be buying or building for at least another year! P.S. Watching HGTV doesn't help.
Your parents might try to treat you like you're a child again. Thankfully this hasn't happened to me yet.
There's nowhere to put all of the stuff you accumulated in your one bedroom apartment. I had to get a storage unit and just got everything in there this past weekend! Our dining room was filled with boxes and it was driving my mom nuts
When I moved back in, I seriously worried what everyone would think of me (at 24) moving in with my parents. After all, at this point in life, you're supposed to be moving out. But I realized that it doesn't matter what everyone else is thinking or doing. It's really not a big deal and you've got to do what you've got to do.
