Hello lovelies!
Can you believe I moved out of my parent's house on 13th April, that's over 6 months ago! Time really does fly. It feels like we've been in our little flat for ages, but at the same time, not that long at all. We are currently half way through our tenancy, then we have to decide whether to stay another year or move out. James & I are still discussing this & the we quite like the idea of getting a bigger place, so we'll have to see how we're feeling after Christmas.
I wanted to share with you a few things that I've learnt over the past few months since moving out.
It's expensive
Ok, so I had a rough idea of how much renting would be. I'd budgeted, done the maths of the rent, bills, food & living etc, but I never expected it to feel so.. annoying! Gone are the days where I used to be able to browse ASOS & add multiple things to my basket, where as now I have to ration myself in Primark to one jumper per visit & only pick up essentials when I'm literally scraping the barrel. It's a whole new ball game, but one I'm managing to keep on top of, I just would love to go out & buy ALL THE CLOTHES.
Vouchers / coupons / loyalty cards are your friends
A while ago, I sat down with Elisa (who is the master of finding deals & bargains!) & we went through all her store cards that are free & that can save you money. A lot I already had, such as a
Boots Advantage Card,
Tesco Clubcard & multiple coffee shop cards, however when your starting to make your space your own, having an
Ikea Family Card was one of the best deals we found! You get discounts on sale items, food & on selected products. Not to mention free tea & coffee when you shop! I also got a
Waitrose Card, which (to be honest, I rarely shop there, but still) means you get a free tea or coffee when you buy groceries & scan your card at the till. Makes popping to get milk a little bit more enjoyable! & finally a
Nectar Card. I've never had one of these because we always shop in Tesco as a rule, but since we do have a Sainsbury's in town, it was worth getting. However, the best part of a Nectar Card is you can link it up to
eBay & earn points by purchasing items on there! So I already have a nice stack of points building up just from buying random bits & pieces each month!
You have no free time
This may sound like a silly one, but have you noticed how little I've posted since the beginning of April? It's because I literally have no time. I'm sure this is just something I've managed to do to myself, but if I'm sitting on the sofa & I spy a cobweb or something needs dusting, I have to sort it then & there! & sure enough, once I've finished cleaning every room, it all needs doing again! I barely manage to do anything other than work, clean & think about cleaning..
You do adult things, because nobody is going to do them for you
Yup. It's true. Mum is no longer going to 'drop that to the post office for you' as it's on the way to town. Your going to have to go to the post office yourself. Your going to have to ring your agency because your freezer door won't shut properly. Your going to have to do the Tesco shop with one of the scary trolleys that don't turn corners every week. I don't like having adult responsibilities.
You don't take anything for granted
When I was writing out points for this blog post, one of the first things I wrote was 'dishwasher withdrawal symptoms' & it's true. I think we get used to having all these luxuries when in fact when we move out, we're almost starting from the bottom & working ourselves up again. I don't mind doing the washing up, however I would like to put my feet up for 20minutes as opposed to standing looking at a wall while cleaning the pots & pans.
You build stronger relationships
Most of you know, I moved in with my partner James & even though we've been together nearly 5 years, we've never lived together before. Obviously this has affected our relationship, but it's made us appreciate the other one a lot more. I actually love the feeling of coming home to him at night, when he's hopefully got the dinner started (he finishes work at 6pm, I'm usually 8.30pm) & just knowing he's there is such a nice feeling. I'm kinda hoping he feels the same, when he comes home from work & I've spent the day cleaning / tidying & I'm there to jump on him as I've missed him all day. I also wanted to mention my relationship with my family as well. Moving out has definitely brought me closer to my mum in many ways. As I've mentioned above, I've been doing things I wouldn't usually do, but that doesn't mean she hasn't been there every step of the way, holding my hand if needed. I find when we do see each other (usually twice a week) we have a lot more to catch up on & it's nice to visit my doggies & have a cup of tea & cake with her.
& finally, I just wanted to write about why I decided to blog about this. At the end of September, my parents went on holiday for a couple of days, so I stayed over at my old house, with Honey & looked after the chickens. While I was there, I was totally happy don't get me wrong, but I knew I wasn't home. I was thinking about the flat & if James had remembered to put on the washing (he had, yay!) & all the bits I needed to do there. I was missing it & it felt weird to get into my 'old bed' as opposed to our one at home. Of course, my parent's house will always be special to me, however, I'm so overwhelmed by how much I missed our flat, it made me really happy to know that we made the right choice to move out when we did & that the place is extremely special to me.
Spreadsheets & budgeting really do pay off!
