The financial advantages of living at home after college graduation

I talked the other day about how a friend of mine set himself up well during college while putting enough money together for a down payment on a house (Click here for that article). Because I didn’t do that, I decided to go another route to help myself and my eventual family save up for a down payment for a house. It may not have been the greatest option ever but I decided to live at home after college graduation for a few years.

Let me stress that this is not for everyone. And since I only have one parent and a mom who wants to she her son as much as possible, that made it a lot easier. I was also in a serious relationship with my eventual wife so it was not like I was staying out late at night and coming home drunk all the time. I had enjoyed the freedom that college had afforded me but enjoyed the savings that living at home provided for me as well.

My situation was also unique in that my wife was two years behind me in school and the college was only an hour or so away from where I was living. I often made the trip to the school and spent more nights than I want to remember sleeping in a twin bed. Regardless, it was a good choice for a few different reasons.

The first was that I was not exactly confident with what I wanted to do in terms of a job. Unlike my friend Mike in the above linked article, I had a lot of question marks about what field I was going into and where I was going to live. I also had a girlfriend still in school and she was from out of state. There were a lot of question marks at the time and few that I really could answer.

During those two plus years, I spent a lot of time traveling for my jobs (I also spent one winter coaching college athletics) and did also finish up my master’s degree. While I earned anywhere between $20,000 to $35,000 in those years (Which is not all that bad for a recent graduate), I left home with a large lump sum in the bank, $20,000 in undergraduate student loans paid, and my graduate school completely paid off.

The reason I was able to do those things was because of my mom. I basically had zero expenses while living at home. It may not have been the coolest thing that I have done (Bringing your girlfriend at 24 home to your parent’s house is great) but it was a smart investment. I could have wasted money away living elsewhere but decided to go the cheap route. It wasn’t always easy but my mom helped me through. I was focused on my work that time flew by and it was sad when I eventually left.

For those that have this option, it may be worth taking. There are a few things I must mention before doing this. If you have two parents and potentially younger siblings still in the house, it is going to be much harder. My mom worked third shift so her schedule was not the normal 9-5. Regarding the siblings, the more people in the house, the harder it is going to be. My wife had some problems with her younger sister when she moved home after college and that definitely made things more difficult in the long run.

Some parents may also want to charge rent. Sometimes this is done just to make sure that the kids are in the working force. My mom was fully aware of how hard I was working and just wanted to help me get a head start on the rest of my post college life. If they want to charge rent, and it is fair, then talk about a price. If it costs the same to live at home as it does sharing an apartment/house with a friend, then you are likely going to take the route with the friend.

As I mentioned above, one of the easiest things about this was the fact that I already had a serious girlfriend. Because she wasn’t around, that usually meant I didn’t go out a whole lot. If you are still single, it is never cool to bring home someone to your parent’s basement. There is just no way around it. Also, the awkwardness of getting caught could make things very strange for a long time.

One of the reasons that parents and children clash every summer of college is the fact that the kid has few rules while away at college. Once they get home, the parents want to run the show again and the kid doesn’t like that. If you haven’t lived at home in quite sometime, it is important to talk about rules and things along that line. Obviously any 22 or 23 year old thinks they should have no rules but it is really up to the parent on that.

If you really feel that it won’t work, then don’t do it. The last thing you want to do is hold a grudge from your parents regarding something so small. If the pieces are in your favor, then go for it. It is a great way to save money and be around your family as much as you can. Once you get older, it will show you a little more how important that family is. And if you move away, you can look back fondly at that time.

There will eventually have to be a time when you should move out so that may be another area that you discuss with your family. The more things you get out in the open early, the happier you will be regarding the arrangement.