I live in a rather nice area, rent is not cheap. I’ve looked at rooms on Facebook, cheapest is around 600-700/month. Interview for a job tomorrow that pays 1500-2000 ish a month. Need to figure out finances asap, no idea when parents are officially giving me the boot. They’ve been telling my sister and she’s been relaying info.
I owe 2 grand on my car (to my parents) which I would like to have paid off before I’m out so I can cut all ties.
Parents kicking me out at 18, best advice for living cheap?
byu/josepharete inFrugal
Posted by josepharete
29 Comments
Do four years in the military (I recommend the Air Force).
Is the car in your name / do they have a legal contract with you for the car?
Ask any friend or cousin you’ve ever had if you can crash there for a month or two while building up some money, would be my number one piece of advice. Second id say look on Craigslist or a local Facebook group for someone who is offering a room for $400 a month or something like that. You can even make a post asking for it and if you’re lucky a kind old couple will say ok.
Join the military. Free education. Free healthcare. Do it for a couple of years, save money, and get out in a better place.
can’t your sister help you out for a bit? or a friend , an other family member?
when you move out don’t buy anything before checking or even asking on: freecycle , no buy groups etc for the essentials … then look for second hand stuff. start with the minimum of stuff .
look for rooms other than just on fb… some websites are specialised in that.
cook for yourself , avoid eating out, try to keep 1/3 of your salary if you can.
do you really need the car? if you can do without sell it … also are you sure they will let you keep the car?
Try the military?
I would never normally recommend this but: Join the military. Air Force if your fitness is lacking, coast guard if you can swim.
Go military. Get in a field you like. Such as if you want to go IT, then go IT in the military. Keep your clearance and when you get out you’ll be able to walk into a six figure job.
If you can, go cloud.
You need to get in writing from your father. Whose name is on the title that as soon as you pay it off they’re going to switch the title to you or however that works. Otherwise, I would forgo more payments on it unless you know that he’s giving it to you. It would serve you better to save that money for moving out. But I wouldn’t make a proclamation that you were gonna stop paying because the car wasn’t yours. I would just keep using it and saying oh I’m a little short this week or whatever. I’m sure you’re smart enough to work out something.
You may or may not get the job that you are interviewing for. And my experience in these situations, people have a tendency to pull back on other money making opportunities because they see a job or an opportunity coming up and I think because you need to create a nest egg you want to make sure that you are constantly earning money. I would sign up for everything Door Dash, InstaCart, Lyft, task rabbit. I with the person who said if there is anyone’s couch that you can sleep on while you save up money do that. If you can nanny, you can sometimes work out a boarding situation where you are live in. You can ask if someone has a room for rent in exchange for house or yard work.
If you have a bank account but share it with your parents open up bank account in a different bank or a credit union. Do not join the Armed Forces. I would look at learning a trade. Go to your school counselor and talk to them about going to trade school or learning a trade and scholarships. Try not to take out a loan for schooling if at all possible. I think we’re entering a time that you have to kind of pay as you go.
Ask your parents if you can pay $400/month to them in order to stay long enough to get the car paid off and get a bit of savings tucked away.
Is there a reason why they want you to leave? Can you pay rent to them in order to stay?
JOIN THE NAVY!
The military is always hiring.
Join the military, seriously it’s your best option at that age if you don’t have any help with your education or well-being
Study up on the branches and the jobs. Don’t just join up for whatever. You can get specialized training, for example my girlfriend finished her lpn while she was enlisted and became an RN once she got out all paid for on the GI Bill.
Any parent that kicks their kid out at 18 is not likely to provide a lot of help so you’re going to have to fend for yourself. This is a somewhat simple way to get yourself into a six-figure salary job down the road, put a roof over your head and get you training
It’s a much easier option than many of the alternatives you have like renting random rooms, working tons of hours at random jobs, that’s just hell
Also reading a couple of your posts it sounds like your family is not mentally well. Even more of a reason for you to get away from all of this. There are fairly major differences between the army, air force, Marines and navy, start doing your research and see which one appeals to you the most. One really cool part about the Navy is being able to see so much of the planet during your time in
Cook your own food.
Delete your Amazon account.
There’s a lot of advice if you search “kicked out”. Here’s a wealth of information.
https://www.reddit.com/r/homeless/s/ikhe6mymbe
One thing that someone mentioned was that it might not be legal for your parents to just kick you out.
In many places (in the US) they have to give you a 30-day notice to evict you, even if you weren’t paying rent.
If you care to say where you live, I can look it up for you. Even if you have 30 days, that will be better for planning than having to leave like today or tomorrow.
You can call 211 for information about social services (in the US).
Join the military
If the job you get/know for certain you will get lets you comfortably afford the room price then feel free to stay there. Otherwise don’t be shy about looking at cheaper areas.
Limit eating out and cook food at home. If you don’t feel like manning a stove then pop food into the oven. You’ll only need to season meat and maybe add a bit of oil and flour before popping it in for 20 minutes – 1 hour.
Check MVNO for phone plans.
Those will be your largest monthly savings, aside from transportation. For transportation it would depend on the transit in your area.
Others are sharing the immediate advice on how to navigate the situation. But I will share simple tips for living frugal once you are up and running:
– Don’t spend money on things you don’t really need. Sounds simple enough but this also includes sometimes getting the less known brand than a name brand. You don’t need that (w/ some exceptions).
– Price match everything. Do quick online search for some purchases to see if it’s cheaper elsewhere. For example, even going into a PetSmart is $2-3 more expensive sometimes than online shopping. Price match both their own online website and competitors.
– Spend some times looking for coupons or deals. If you want to go out to eat, use BOGO uber eats deals for pickup, if you have T-Mobile, then use their weekly deals, and absolutely use fast food apps to find the best deals. Additionally, definitely use the grocery stores apps too for free items from Safeway or Sprouts. Time your purchases to align with deals. Spending $6 on cereal is wild to me but it’s sometimes $1.99 coupons on Safeway that makes it affordable at times.
– Remember to ask yourself, do you actually need that? Do you want the name brand to look cool or for practicality.
Welcome to the frugal lifestyle. Save a ton, be smart, and soon you’ll be more rich than those who get paid a lot but are actually broke.
Work two jobs and save money. I encourage you to apply for jobs in a LCOL area. Can you move in with a grandparent or other relative? Do you have friends in LCOL areas? Contact them about applying for jobs and staying with them until you can find other housing.
I was out at 16. Found a free place to stay at a house that was for sale, and the realtor wanted someone to broom it, wipe down windows, etc. Exchanged my cleaning duties for a room. That was good for about 3 months.
Check out Jobcorps
Make sure to get any and all IDs. Birth certificate, vax records yada yada.
Also, If you need to sleep in your car for a month or two. Just work 2 jobs & exercise/wash at PF. That’s a whole day of stuff to do. Off days, research housing, finances, better jobs, jobs that pay to train you. Use free resources like the library, food banks, etc.
There‘s an app for couch crashing i think, try it and do something (like a chore) for the person you‘re crashing at so you‘ll get nicer reviews or stay for longer per person.
Try and save as much money as possible by buying cheap foods that will also keep you atleast somewhat healthy. This is important cause getting sick is expensive and more likely with deficiencies
Go on r/frugal for tips to save cash overall
Maybe move to a cheaper area if possible, though 700/mo seems pretty good
Have an agreement that when you make that final $2K payment, they will immediately sign the title over to you. I would not trust them.
If you’re still in high school they may still have a legal obligation to house you, regardless of age. Nonetheless, you may be considered a “tenant” in which case they *should* go through the formal eviction process, which would give you a little bit more time. Both are less than ideal situations, but give you time to figure out your next step because things like joining the military don’t happen over night. Best of luck to you, I sincerely wish the best.
I went to work at a national park. One of the year round ones that offer housing. There are resorts that do that also. It’s a good way to build up savings.
I just don’t understand how parents could kick out an 18 year old. Assuming you did nothing horrendous to deserve this, and they’re being irrational, maybe ask your friends if you can stay over for a bit and rotate through them until you have enough saved. Check with your friend’s parents if ok for you to do this. If one of my son’s friends got kicked out at 18, I would totally let him room with my son and feed him for a few months. I’m sure many parents out there would. If you did do something terrible to deserve getting kicked out, then apologize profusely, seek advice from your parents on how to set things straight and get them on board to help you with a sound plan to independence.