R
Rococo
Guest
...I move in with my boyfriend? To add a little clarity to this story, my boyfriend and I will be graduating from undergrad this May. We are both attending the same school for 2 more years to finish up grad school. I am 22 and he is 24. We have dated for 4 years. We have decided to move in together both because it will be more cost effective and because we are ready to take that next step. We aren't thinking any further ahead than that (e.g. marriage, etc). We will both be paying for our rent (individual leases), tuition, and living expenses out of student loans and stipends. My parents are currently helping me with health insurance, use of a car and car insurance, and a cell phone.
My parents recently asked me if by moving in with him if I was ready to become independent, later telling me that doing so would have financial "ripple effects" on taxes, insurance, and my status as a dependent tax wise. As far as I've been able to find out, there's nothing legally that will change from my moving in with him, which leads me to believe that all this talk is simply their disapproving reaction to my decision. I think this means that they're going to stop paying for all the insurance and whatnot, but I can't get a straight answer out of them.
Regardless of whether or not I move in with my boyfriend, I'm left strapped for cash. If I don't, I'm left finding a comparable one bedroom apartment for a lot more money, or a much less nice apartment without many of the amenities I'd like to have (such as a washing machine at least in the building so I can dedicate my time to grad work and not laundry...). If I do, I have to take out a lot more money in loans to be able to foot the difference in what my parents aren't paying for anymore. And then I have to worry about how I can show proof of income to the leasing company without finalized loan information because I can't use them as cosigners anymore.
This is the most recent battle in a long, grueling fight to get my independence. I'm sure every teenager says that, but given my age and current position in life, I don't think I'm being unreasonable in deciding for myself how I will spend my own rent money.
Keeping in mind that apartments are quickly filling up, how in the world do I handle this?
My parents recently asked me if by moving in with him if I was ready to become independent, later telling me that doing so would have financial "ripple effects" on taxes, insurance, and my status as a dependent tax wise. As far as I've been able to find out, there's nothing legally that will change from my moving in with him, which leads me to believe that all this talk is simply their disapproving reaction to my decision. I think this means that they're going to stop paying for all the insurance and whatnot, but I can't get a straight answer out of them.
Regardless of whether or not I move in with my boyfriend, I'm left strapped for cash. If I don't, I'm left finding a comparable one bedroom apartment for a lot more money, or a much less nice apartment without many of the amenities I'd like to have (such as a washing machine at least in the building so I can dedicate my time to grad work and not laundry...). If I do, I have to take out a lot more money in loans to be able to foot the difference in what my parents aren't paying for anymore. And then I have to worry about how I can show proof of income to the leasing company without finalized loan information because I can't use them as cosigners anymore.
This is the most recent battle in a long, grueling fight to get my independence. I'm sure every teenager says that, but given my age and current position in life, I don't think I'm being unreasonable in deciding for myself how I will spend my own rent money.
Keeping in mind that apartments are quickly filling up, how in the world do I handle this?