The Financial Shock of Being on My Own After College

Like many young people, I lived in the comfort and protection of my parents' home until I left for college. Once away at school, I lived for one year in a dorm and almost the entirety of the rest of my college years within the confines of a fraternity house.

While the security of such living arrangements was nice, and often economical (receiving utility services, food, and board for one, all-encompassing price), the situations did very little to prepare me for the realities of financial life on my own. Such was my college and pre-college lifestyle that I just didn't have the proper perspective on what certain costs would be once out in the real world. It was a shock when certain financial realities began to hit home when I graduated.

Utilities

Having spent almost all the first 22 years of my life living in places where I didn't have to deal with or even look at a utility bill, it was somewhat of a shock landing on my own after college and finding myself facing a variety of utility bills each month. It wasn't that I was in a house or even a large apartment -- just a one bedroom, one bath place -- but even then, the cost of my utilities came as kind of a shock, especially that first winter when the electric bill shot up to well over a hundred dollars.

This might not sound like much money to a homeowner, but for a recent college grad with a low income and a small apartment, it wasn't the most pleasant of surprises. I quickly learned to put on a robe or an extra shirt to help combat the winter chill.

Food

Before I ventured out on my own, my food was largely either paid for by mom and dad or tied in to the cost of my room and board at school. Therefore, I didn't have to do much grocery shopping. This meant that the bills from those first few trips to the grocery store were a bit hard to handle.

Starting off on one's own can be pricey when it comes to food since there are often all those little things to stock up upon -- condiments, pickles, olives, herbs and spices -- that only have to be purchased occasionally once you have them. Add to these, the ignorance of not being familiar with common store brands, value buys, packaging differentials, and all the rest of those shopping tricks of the trade that come with time, and it was certainly a shock to discover just how much things cost when you get to the check out lane.

Over the next several months though, I was able to begin learning how to comparison shop, discover store brands, and start using weekly advertisements for sales and coupons to begin cutting my food costs.

Transportation

I had a used car when I was in high school. When I ventured off to college though, I stored it in my mom's garage for three years. When you're used to walking to class or taking the bus when away at school, sometimes one tends to forget just how much owning and maintaining a vehicle can cost. I know I did.

Therefore, coming out of school and having to foot that auto insurance bill again, pay tag and title fees, buy gas, and all the rest, brought the memories tumbling back fast. And while I was lucky enough to already have a car that was paid for, adding the price of a new or used vehicle can stick you with another financial burden in your young adult life.

Healthcare

When you're under your parents' wing, healthcare might not be much of a concern. I know that I rarely worried about going to the dentist, the eye doctor, getting a physical or whatever, since I wasn't paying the bill. Even in college it wasn't a big deal since I was covered under the university insurance plan and could pop over to the health center should I be feeling a bit under the weather. During summer break I could come home, and mom would shoot me over to the dentist and the eye doctor, and all was well with the world.

Once I was out on my own though, it was a whole different story. I quickly realized the costs involved in personal health care. First off there was my employer sponsored health plan, which way back then (all of ten years ago) was about $27 every bi-weekly pay period for my health, dental and eye plans. Add to this, co-pays for doctor visits, extra costs for eyeglasses and contact lens, and miscellaneous fees, and expenses in the health related category were a nasty introduction to the sad truths of health care costs.

Entertainment

I can find affordable ways to entertain myself just about anywhere I go. But after graduating college and not having those college town specials I was used to -- the convenience of walking to bars with dollar drafts and with awesome cover bands -- I had to slightly re-evaluate my entertainment budget. And even though I had already met my wife-to-be in school and didn't have to suffer the expenses associated with the dating scene, we still liked to enjoy the occasional evening out, romantic weekend trip or even head to a club every so often.

Gone were the days of free house parties, fraternity parties, and apartment get-togethers where the free beer was flowing like a mountain stream and electric lemonade was being served from barrels. But we found that if we did occasional outings, interspersed with a movie and pizza night in or Chinese takeout, we could still have nice times together, but not overdo it when it came to costs.

More From This Contributor:

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Disclaimer:

The author is not a licensed financial professional. The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. For financial advice, readers should consult a licensed financial advisor. Any action taken by the reader due to the information provided in this article is solely at the reader's discretion.