9 Important Lessons You Learn when You Live Alone ...

Sure, you think you're independent when you go off to college, but what happens when you don't have friends around and student loans helping out? One of the most important lessons you learn when you live alone is what independence really means. You discover you can take care of yourself. Every experience turns into this massive accomplishment that builds your confidence and improves your self-esteem.

Odds are, before you got your own place, you didn't really care about work that much. Now, you have bills to pay. Suddenly, you discover how important it is to find a good job and work hard at it. The last thing you want is to lose your job and your new place. For some reason, you seem to appreciate work more than ever before. You might even find you like it.

It's amazing how much more expensive food becomes when you have to fill your own fridge and cabinets. While you couldn't live without piles of junk food and name brand items, you don't mind skipping the chips or trying the cheaper store brands. You also tend to avoid eating out as much. You go from specialty items, odd ball diet foods and impulse junk food buys to only getting what you really need.

When you live on your own, you don't always have the money to go out every night with your friends. You start to discover ways to have fun at home. You watch more TV, take up new hobbies and invite people over. Suddenly, clubs, bars and concerts aren't quite as important. It may not seem like fun, but once you start trying new things at home, you actually have just as much, if not more fun.

Budget was probably a word you might have used in the past, but now you will learn to live by it. A budget becomes a necessity. It rules most aspects of your life. However, once you learn how to create and maintain a budget, life becomes much easier. Trust me, it's not easy at first, but you'll feel more responsible, mature and confident once you master it. Luckily, there are quite a few apps to help you out.

Living alone means you're probably on a budget. All those things you thought you needed before suddenly become rewards when you get a little extra money. Maybe you don't really need another pair of shoes or a purse to match every outfit. You learn what's really important to you. You would be surprised to learn what you can live without.

When you can no longer go out like usual with your friends, you learn who really cares about you. Your real friends don't mind hanging out at your place or theirs. They also don't mind helping out by bringing over dessert or spotting you a few bucks when you're short. Think of it as a great ways to see which friends care and which only liked you for what you did for them.

Before you live on your own, you feel like you're invincible. Why would you ever need to let go of your pride and ask for help? Things don't always magically work out. Maybe your fridge broke and you're between paychecks. What if you lost your job and didn't have money for food? You quickly learn to be humble and ask for help. Whether it's from your parents or friends, it doesn't matter. Trust me, it's okay to get help and it doesn't kill your independence.

While this might not seem quite as mind blowing as the rest, many women have no clue how to cook more than a microwave dinner until they live alone. Personally, I still love my microwave, but my meals have become a little more complex. You're forced to learn how to cook and be creative with your meals. It's amazing how quickly you learn to plan meals based around what's on sale.

Living alone is amazing, especially when you can do whatever you want. You also learn some valuable lessons along the way. But it's definitely worth it. What lessons did you learn when you got your own place?