When you’re young and you have your own apartment, it can feel like you’ve got the world by the tail. You suddenly find that you have some freedom, some independence like you’ve never had before. Chances are, you realize you have more “friends” than you ever thought you did, too. Especially if you get your apartment while most of them are still living with mom and dad. Still, you’re responsible. You pay your own rent, have your own renters insurance (you do have renters insurance, don’t you? More on that later), and are generally starting to make your own way in life.
At the risk of sounding like a protective parent, be careful out there. There are all kinds of ways for you to get into trouble when you’re young and you have your own apartment. Here are a few things to look out for, some of which should be obvious, and others which you may not have thought of:
- Avoid the credit trap. Now that you have your own mailbox and your own address, you’ll find that companies will come out of the woodwork looking to loan you money. Credit cards are a big temptation. Used the right way, they can be very convenient and helpful, but if you’re not careful to pay off the balance every month, you can end up in a world of hurt when high interest rates kick in and interest starts piling on top of interest. Remember this: no one gives you money for nothing. You’re almost always better paying cash when you can.
- Avoid the friends trap. We’re not saying don’t have friends, or even that you shouldn’t have them over. What we are saying is be careful about “friends” who want you to let them do things that are illegal in your apartment. You’ll no doubt have a friend or two who wants to use your house to have an underage drinking party, or to smoke weed, or any number of things their parents won’t let them do. The thing you have to consider is this: will it still be fun if we get caught? Some things carry legal consequences that are just too stiff to mess with.
- Get renters insurance if you haven’t already. You might think you don’t have much, but trust us on this one. If you start adding up the value of your stuff, it doesn’t take long for it to reach thousands of dollars. Have an agent help you determine how much coverage you need. We know you think fires and other disasters are things that happen to other people, but trust us, it could just as easily happen to you.
Enjoy your apartment and your new found freedom. Just enjoy it responsibly. These first few years of being on your own can be the most enjoyable of your life. Or, they can leave you in a mess. It all depends on what you do with your new found independence.
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I had moved recently and i want to say that feeling of being responsible is great, I have a job and i pay all required things, it’s nice! You’ve made here a list of “pitfalls” that may appear, but if you have no brain then even an ant can cause you problems, sure illegal things can end up badly.