<prompt> Human: Finance noobie here. Im a 21 year old about to be a senior in college.I posted this a few days ago but left out some important information which lead to some people making some very ignorant assumptions about me. So I wanted to write it over and repost. I have barely any money to my name but also not many expenses as my parents have so generously payed for a lot of my foodgassome of my collegeect. The money I make I am pretty much free to spend how I want. My plan is to move in with my boyfriend once I graduate college. I will graduate in May 2017, so I have roughly a year to save money up. I currently work 20 hours a week at a minimum wage job. This summer, I am getting certified in personal training and have an almost guaranteed part time job in that come August. I will be a fitness class instructor 3x per week and each class pays 85. I will work both jobs during my senior year. I am well aware college is not needed for PT. unfortunately it wasnt until recently I realized this was my true passion, and Im not gonna drop out of school with less than 25 credits to go. I refuse to give up my happiness and passion just to work in my degree and make my debt somehow more worth it. So if you intended to comment that, please just leave this post now. Anyway, it is my goal to save 80 of my paycheck to put towards rentutilizessecurity deposit. I hope to over the next year, save at least 6 months worth of rent. The only sucky part of my situation is I will be graduating with about 60k in student loan debt 25k will be in my name, the rest will be in the form of a parent plus loan that my dad took out but I promised to pay it since he was generous enough to do it. Yes, Im well aware I could have gone to a state school and saved money. I wanted to be close to home and there is only 2 state schools near me. One I didnt get into and the other didnt have my major. I will never regret my decision to do this, for many reasons, but mostly because I got to spend quality time with my grandpa before he unexpectedly died. Anyway, my grandma has hinted that she would pay my portion of the loans as a graduation gift meaning I would only have to worry about paying my dad back 35k or so. I have no other debts. This will be my first time on my own and I really want to be prepared. For the time being, it will be only me saving as my boyfriend is about to have major surgery and wont be able to work for at least a few more months. I guess Im just looking for advice in general when you have no money and are about to be on your own! What do you wish you had known before being on your own? If it helps, we will probably be living in the Washington D.C. Area Maryland. I have looked online and have already found numerous affordable apartments especially considering the rent would be split.  <response>: Some things I wish I had known before being on my own for the first time...Get a credit card in your name if you dont already have one and build credit history. The older the credit account with a high limit and no debt, the better it will impact your credit score.Learn about the things that can positively and negatively impact your credit score. There are things you can do to improve your credit over a short time and having better credit will serve you well in your early years, especially when you start to think about buying a house or a new car in your twenties.Frugality is a habit. Simple things like turning off lights, fixing a running toilet, and buying store brands will add up over time and build good habits. Many people learn to be frugal after theyve gotten themselves into debt and need to scrimp to save money. Start building those good habits early and you wont have to shift gears later to rescue yourself.Keep a budget for all of your spending. Something that lets you look back and analyze your recent spending habits. There are a host of free and cheap sites and apps for this. Its easy and will quickly become one of the good habits you need to be successful in life. Never let a month go by without depositing money in your savings account. No excuses. Even if you took money out of your savings to cover something, find some cash to deposit that month. One thousand dollars, one hundred dollars, five dollars, it doesnt matter. Always deposit SOMETHING.Lastly, learn when it is appropriate to spend money. Maintenance on your car is important. A full service oil change might be pricey and when moneys tight, it can be hard to justify it. Mechanical repairs cost more and the car wont last as long if not cared for. Things break and need to be fixed, but often times you can spend pennies on the dollar up front to maintain something before it breaks and becomes a problem. Good luck in you future endeavors. May the fitness gods spoil you with happy clients and full schedules. 