Anne Halliwell, co-weekend editor
I wish I would have known saving money always comes with a time cost — cooking at home, walking to campus or taking the bus, bringing a lunch, maintaining my house, looking for cheap furniture, even making my own tea — I spend a lot of time prepping things over the weekend for the coming week and WAY more time packing in the morning.
Casey Jellison, copy editor
Don’t procrastinate on any issues with the property that you’re renting. If you need to do a maintenance request or have a question about a bill, take care of those concerns immediately.
Carley Lanich, investigations editor
Even after you move away from home, your parents and loved ones will still be there with advice.
Hannah Alani, editor-in-chief
I wish I knew how important it is to budget food. When you don’t have a meal plan, you have to think about how much groceries cost, the time it takes to cook, etc. I would have told my sophomore self to set stricter meal cost and time plans.
Kate Halliwell, co-weekend editor
I wish I’d known how to cook before moving out! I still haven’t bothered to learn, and my usual diet of cereal, bagels and yogurt gets old fast.
Lindsay Moore, managing editor
I wish I knew how much maintaining a house was. Both just general cleaning, like dishes and vacuuming, but also what happens when something is stuck in the garbage disposal or the hot water stops working?
Sarah Gardner, region editor
If you see something, say something. If there’s something off or unusual about your house or if you don’t understand your lease or if you suspect something dangerous, do not hesitate to ask somebody to help you figure it out. You don’t have to deal with it alone.
Sanya Ali, arts editor
One thing I wish I had known coming into independent living is how housing offices or landlord relationships work. There are a lot of hoops to jump through if you want any maintenance work done and often those tasks take forever to accomplish.
Dominick Jean, campus editor
Moving out is a crazy experience for a lot of people and it’s important to remember that you’re the one in charge of your life at the end of the day. You decide where you go, what you do, where you eat and everything else. Don’t overburden yourself with too much but do explore and find things out for yourself.
Harley Wiltsey, special publications editor
I wish I would have known how expensive it is to move out on your own. At first it seemed that I could just move my bedroom in my hometown to Bloomington and I’d be set, but soon the cost of stocking a kitchen, bathroom, refrigerator, pantry, and living room quickly stacked up. I was left needing to buy a long list of things (on top of rent, utilities and a deposit). My advice is to start saving as soon as possible & really keep an eye on your budget. While food is a necessity right now, that coffee table you’ve had your eye on for the past month can wait a little longer.
