I moved out my parents house when I move to the other side of the world. Yes it was a bit extreme but it was probably the best thing i did. I was 24 and I felt like I need to get out explore and grow as a person, so I though why not move to the other side of the world and throw myself in at the deep end and learn. Im not back in New Zealand and no have moved out again of my parents house in to my own flat with my boyfriend. I feel like now I have moved out twice I feel like I can give some great advice to those of you who are either thinking about doing it or have already planned to, I thought I would pass on some tips I think might be helpful when moving out for the first time!

First things first can you afford it?
Before looking at any flat check wether you will be able to afford it, wether it will be a flat by yourself a flat with a friend or a flat with multiple house mates. you need to do you budget to find out what you can afford. before moving in to any of the flats I have been in Ive always done a budget first, used online calculators to check average house prices average bill payment etc.

The last thing you want to do is to get yourself into something you can't afford and be stuck in a 12 month contract with no way of paying the bills. Remember, you will be required to pay a deposit, first months rent and agency fees up front before you move in so make sure you have some saving put aside even a whole extra month rent just incase.

Secondly Budget, budget, budget.
This goes hand in hand with being able to afford it. When you have all the research on average prices together, create a mock up budget then create a budget of how much things would cost if you were in the worst-case scenario. Once you have an idea whether or not you have a real idea if you can move out or not. I then did a bunch of research on how much houses were to rent in my area, what the council tax would be, food, bills etc. and subtracted that off my final monthly amount. You want to make sure you have more than enough left at the end of the month because you don't want to be living month to month with not a penny to spare. You never know what life can throw at you, your car may break down, your laptop might stop working, you may drop your phone. It’s better to have more than enough left over for saving just because of these life hiccups.

Thirdly Ring around
Before I moved out, I had a rung around to get prices for everything. I had the best deals from everything- gas, electric, broadband and compromised on things like Freeview instead of paying for my TV etc. You might find that some of the cheaper services aren't worth the hassle in the end, but that's something you can decide when you know how much you'll have to spare. I had a set amount for how much I would spend on food and travel etc. and the most important thing- I stuck to it. There's no point making a budget plan if you're just going to ignore it and over-spend.

Fourthly Ask around!
My second house was unfurnished, I didn't have any furniture and I didn't have much money to spend as I had just moved back from the UK and sold all my furniture there. I asked my friends and family if they had any furniture they either didn't use or were going to throw out and it will surprise you how many people have the odd thing lying around that they will happily give to you! I managed to furnish an entire 2 bed house and the only things I bought were a mat, some kitchen things, a hoover and an iron. Also, try Trade Me and eBay for furniture. You will be required to pick-up most of the items but you can find some great bargains because most people will just be happy for you to get rid of it so they don't have to!

Lastly Set up your bills
As soon as I moved out, I set up all my bills on a direct debit to come out at the beginning of each month. When you've got a house to maintain and a job, child -whatever it is- you don't want to have to worry each month about remembering to ring up and pay your bills. Set it up to go out the day after you get paid and then you know there will be enough in there to cover everything.

I hope this helps anyone who might be thinking about moving out! If you have any tips, leave them below.