Practice Moving Out

Practice moving out of home to test how you will go when you are on your own.

Hire an Air BnB for a couple of nights

Get some friends together and rent a house for a week that is somewhere basic and rural, so you can’t just pop to the shops or order UberEats.

Give yourselves a food budget of $250 for 4 people, $125 for 2 people . Work out what you are going to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Take note of the items provided i.e pots, pans, bottle opener, cutlery, plates etc.

Any alcohol you buy needs to come out of your food budget so that bottle of pasta sauce is going to have to go if you buy a bottle of wine instead.

Think up some activities that are not going to cost you too much money. A pack of cards, couple of boxes of matches and you’ve got yourself the tools you need for a game of poker!

I spent a week away with three of my best friends, we chose a place with no internet so we had to make our own fun. Each of us brought a favourite game from our childhood and played games most nights. The first few nights were pretty boozy, then we settled down and just enjoyed each others company – it was brilliant.
Sara

Going for long walks and having conversations along the way is a brilliant way to get to know each other and breath.

After a couple of day / nights your habits will start to show themselves and you will work out what you are so used to having around at your parents home.

Housesitting

Offer to house sit for family members, without inviting people over, is a great way to discover if you can handle coming home to an empty house day after day or if you crave the company of others. Watching a comedy on the TV might not be so much fun if you have no-one to share it with.

Give yourself a budget of $75 for the weekly groceries. Learning how to shop and cook for one is tricky – it’s amazing how quickly food goes off!

Go Camping

There is nothing that is going to make you wish that you had planned more than being out in the wilderness with a can of tomato soup and no can opener.

Going camping is a great way to test how you will survive with just the basics for a couple of days. Also switching off from the internet is good for your brain.

Don’t forget your sleeping bag!

Can you cook?

You don’t have to have any amazing skills to cook good food and you don’t need to speak hours in the kitchen to make a yummy meal. Learning how to make a simple Beef Ragu Sauce can be a life saver. If you make it in bulk you can freeze it and serve it with pasta, rice, potatoes, steamed veggies or on toast.