Most of us have to devote a huge portion of our incomes to housing costs each month. Whether you rent a home or pay a mortgage, you likely need to shell out thousands of dollars a month just to have a place to live. Of course, there are definitely ways to cut down on housing expenses. Indeed, I had roommates and lived in less-expensive housing during my student debt repayment saga in order to save money. However, if you are not living with parents while paying off student loans, you will probably need to spend a large amount of money each month on housing costs, and this cash could instead be devoted to paying off student debt.
Some lucky people do not need to pay for housing expenses on their own. Certain individuals are fortunate enough to have family members who will take care of their rent and other living expenses, and others can live with parents to save money on housing costs. Of course, living with parents while paying off student loans can impair your social life and potentially strain relationships with family, but these sacrifices are usually worth the money you can save by living at home.
During my student debt repayment saga, I did not live with family members. My father did not live close to where I worked, and my grandparents did not have enough room for me. However, if living with parents while paying off student loans was an option, I would taken it. The benefits of paying off my student loans earlier would have been worth any drawbacks I might face.
Even with a roommate, I paid between $1,3750 and $1,725 a month in rent during my student debt repayment saga. I also paid a few hundred bucks a month in utilities, although it could have been less if my roommate didn’t require an insane amount of cable channels! In addition, I spent more money on food and other expenses than I would have if I lived at home, since I only know how to cook four dishes and had to eat out several times a week. If you add up all of these expenses, I spent around $20,000 to $25,000 a year on living costs that I could have eliminated or greatly reduced if I was living with parents while paying off student loans.
When you do the math, I could have saved an unbelievable amount of money by crashing with relatives. As previously mentioned on this website, I earned around $40,000 a year from side-hustles alone during my student debt repayment saga. However, when you consider taxes, I could have put just as much money in my pocket by living at home and saving money on living expenses.
In addition, I would not have needed to crash with relatives for very long in order to make a huge impact on my student debt. Even if I lived with family for two or three years, I would have still paid off an additional quarter or more of my student debt. In addition, paying off my student loans sooner by living with family would have eliminated interest payments I would not have needed to make. All told, living at home even for a few years could have shaved a year or more off of my student debt repayment saga.
Of course living with parents while paying off student loans can impact your social life, and I hope that some of our guest writers will soon tackle this topic. It is more difficult to hang out with friends if you are living with parents (especially if parents are in the suburbs and your friends are in urban areas). It is also undeniable that living at home can impact your romantic life, and I’m just going to leave it at that! In addition, living with family can strain relationships with your relatives, and can enable your parents to have more control over your life than would be the case if you lived on your own.
Furthermore, some people are charged rent even if the live with family. I have heard of some parents charging hundreds of dollars a month in rent to their kids as long as their children live with them. Most of the time, parents charge rent to incentivize their children to mature and find a place of their own, but I believe this thinking is misguided. Parents should encourage their kids to make sound financial decisions, and living at home can empower children to pay off their student loans much faster than they otherwise could.
In any case, if your parents charge you rent to live at home, for whatever reason, this could impact whether living with parents while paying off student loans is worth it. However, even if you have to pay some rent, you will likely save more money by living at home than you would by finding your own place, and you should still live at home if possible.
In the end, I think everyone should consider living with parents while paying off student loans so that they can save money and pay off their student debt faster. As I can attest to from firsthand experience, living on my own delayed me from repaying my student loans for years, and I wish that I had the chance to live with family and save additional money. Of course, living at home has a number of drawbacks, and crashing with family can affect your social life and strain personal relationships. However, if you can handle these issues, even for just a few years, living with parents can help you pay off your student loans.