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Montclair | Career > Her20s

Can We Afford to Live in Our 20’s?

Alyssa Angel Student Contributor, Montclair State University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Montclair chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

As prices rise as does our age and currently I feel as we grow older, it’s just getting more expensive to live. The cost of living in this day and age has skyrocketed, especially when you think about how cheap it was when our parents were our age. Gas prices alone in the 90’s never once went higher than 2 dollars, now it’s damn near 5 dollars a gallon. Generally, groceries are higher, dinner’s out are higher, rent is 2,000 just for a 1 bedroom apartment, literally everything you can think of. 

As a 20 year old in college, going on 21, and graduating next year now is usually when one begins to start thinking of moving out and starting her career and full adult life. Although, if prices persist it seems like it will genuinely be impossible. It’s really an unfortunate and partly saddening feeling because I want to thrive and move out of my parents house and begin my life as my own. Thankfully, I have parents who help me out when I need it and are gracious enough to allow me to stay home and save my money. I feel they deserve a huge shout out when it comes to this because a lot of people aren’t given the luxury that I’m given and I’m very grateful for it. 

Something I’m trying to do more of going forward is saving money and cutting back on unnecessary spending. A little going out every now and then won’t hurt, guys I’m still a 20 year old girl who needs to live, but just not excessively. Putting my money into a high yield savings account and not touching it all is a big thing as well. You gain interest on the account the longer your money sits so saving makes you money! Making food at home is also a big thing because ordering out genuinely does add up. It’s also healthier to make your own food. I’ve come to realize that changing your habits can really benefit you. I’ve got this, and we’ve got this.

Alyssa Angel

Montclair '27

Alyssa is currently a junior at Montclair State studying Film and TV. Her goal is to become a Film Screenwriter and Producer as well as one day, have her own production company. In her spare time aside from watching numerous series and movies on basically every streaming platform, she loves to hangout with her friends and the people she loves, get (or make) a delicious sugary iced latte, and doing things that bring her happiness. Alyssa loves to write and analyze pieces of work to help better her writing style.