Freedom 18
After having a discussion about this with my guardians, I noticed that my mom was pretty surprised with my surplus of $1,162. A surplus is how much money you have leftover after all your deductions and expenses. As surprising as my money decisions were to her she didn’t change anything because its my choice on which lifestyle I choose to have after moving out. When my mom moved out and went to college she didn’t have to pay for rent because she was an only child, so that is a big difference in our budgets as to when she was 18. Her parents paid her rent and sent her money for going to school. I was told that when you are a university student you are broke and being able to afford nights out with your friends becomes a big deal, so I guess my surplus will help with that. Is going out a need or a want though? Something that raised a huge debate because a social life is very important, but you don’t need it i guess. I will always live with putting my needs first and then getting what I want if it is within my budget, while also putting money into a savings account for the future! Living within your means is a phrase that means not going over your budget and just remembering to stay humble. I was told that my expenses and budgets weren’t realistic in a way that with how much money I’m thinking of spending on certain things would mean that I’d live in like a shack, but I think if I’m smart and work ALOT, also start saving money now, I will be just fine. This discussion did help me realize that living independentaly will be hard, but if i truly get a surplus as good as $1,162 I will be living like a queen.