I am in my mid-30s. If ever you'll ask me what is the one thing I could have done in my 20s, I would probably answer is moving out/living independently.
For the past 31 years of my life, I was living with my family in Marikina. As in, my whole life I am with my mother, father, siblings, and dogs. We've been through a lot. "A lot" really means A LOT.
We're not rich. My family is not rich. To be honest, we were living paycheck to paycheck when we were young. My father used to work as a gardener. My mother is still sew clothes for her customers. I started working at the age of 21, but I haven't build my personal savings or investments. My sisters are also working and earning just enough for their needs too. And I have a sister who is still in school.
What I am trying to say is that, I didn't come from a well off family, with family inheritance or what not. I need to give some of my earning to my family to somewhat help with the daily expenses.
And because of that, I was not able to move out at an early age.
I can say this is also my fault. I used to spend my money on things that I really don't need. Or mostly in food, where I wanted to try almost every trending food or restaurants, regardless if it is expensive or not. I also go to places a lot before because of peer pressure. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed travelling. But I didn't even budget my expenses that time.
If only I had enough knowledge on finacial management, maybe I could have moved out, lived independently, and still manage to help my family financially too. I really think Financial Management should be taught in schools.
To think about it, moving out is a priviledge specially when you're wealthy enough to have your own place. It just so happen that most of us cannot afford even renting a place.
Eventually, I started to move out in a way because of work, just to prevent myself from being late and avoid spending too much on Grab/Uber. I lived 16kms away from home to work. And also imagine the traffic situation here in Manila. I barely had a time for sleep during my shift. My then-boyfriend (now husband) suggested that I can stay with their place during my shift days so that I could lessen my travel time and at the same time, I could sleep longer. Then in my rest days, I go home in Marikina with my family. I also agreed to share payment with the rent even for a small amount. This was my setup since 2016.
Even for that small span of time, I feel like I am living independently. I make my own food, I do my own dishes, I do the laundry, I go to the gym, do yoga, etc. Basically, I have my me time most of the time. I also learned how to manage my finances with the help of my then-boyfriend-now-husband.
Now, I am currently living with my husband in the same apartment he offered me to stay in 2016. Some of our former housemates have already gone in other places. We're the couple left.
Don't get me wrong. I still love my family even I want to physically separate myself to them. Maybe there are things that needs to grow and go out in their comfort zone. Just like my desire to live independently.
