These are questions every young adult finds themselves asking: when should I start managing my own finances without the help of my parents? When should I move out? Is it time to start making my own income and paying my own rent?
In our culture, as Egyptians and Arabs, we tend to be more family-oriented than Western cultures- our home is our everything and parents hold on tightly to their children. Thus, it is quite socially acceptable to find a 30-something year-old living with their parents simply because they are unmarried.
With newer generations though, the idea of moving out once you’re a legal adult is becoming more and more popular. Perhaps, in this day and age, we are more exposed to other cultures and, thus, have more freedom and a bigger sense of independence.
To get my answers, I sought the opinions of none-other-than young Egyptians, in their early to mid-twenties, who have either already moved out, are considering moving out, or want to share their two cents on the matter and here is what they had to say:
“Being 22 and having a job, I still find it hard to take that step because it’s a huge financial responsibility, and takes considerable courage seeing as how I’m a girl. Yes, sadly, all kinds of gender-related complications surface where you have to face the issue of “mafeesh banat tseeb el beet ela 3la beet gozha”, Injy El-Sheikh, 22.
“It should definitely happen one step at time and in coordination with the parents themselves. I’ve been working for 2 years now and once I started, I stopped taking any money from my parents. Two months ago, I decided to move out and manage things on my own. Yes, it sometimes got a bit hard, but mostly it not only made me feel more responsible, but has also been equally fun. You’ll learn a lot,” Hassan El-Far, 23.
“Even when I’m completely financially independent, I will never move out of my parents’ house. I’m not living with them to have my expenses paid; I want to live with them even when I don’t need their financial aid anymore,” May Abbas, 21.
“When I’m financially capable of wholly supporting myself, I’m going to move out. It has nothing to do with how much I love my parents; it simply has to do with wanting to be independent in all facets of life,” Farida Hussein, 20.
“When you’re in college, you should start covering some of your expenses by getting a part-time job. Once you graduate and have an adequate job that provides an adequate income, you should start covering all of your expenses without your parents’ help- it’s all gradual,” Omar Oraby, 20.
“When your dreams are too big and too weird for them to fulfil and accept,” Farida El Maghraby, 21.
“It’s not a red line you cross; as soon as you find a source of income, start gradually cutting parental financial ties,” Yasmin Helmy, 21.
“As soon as humanly possible regardless of your sex/cultural background, it will allow you to make your own decisions without anyone forcing their ideals and beliefs down your thoat,” Mahmoud El Boghdady, 21.
“I think by the time you’re 23, you’ve probably had a job long enough to figure out how money works. It’s also the beginning of most people’s quarter life crisis; the oh God, why do I exist? Phase starts around 23. It’s a good time to be on your own,” Eman El Deeb, 23.
The previous opinions are anything but similar; everyone sees ‘growing up’ differently. What I can, however, tell you is that at some point, I really do believe we all need to fully depend on ourselves: not on our parents, not on our spouses and not on our older siblings or relatives, but solely on OURSELVES. It’s not about showing off and feeling all kinds of ‘older and wiser’; it’s about allowing yourself to truly explore your potential when it comes to taking full responsibility of your own life.
