Okay I'll play.

• Budget: Before you move out, save every penny you can. After you move out, your first priorities are to always pay your rent and utilities first. You must also put a portion of your income into savings and do not touch it. Your goal is to build up a 6 month to 1 year emergency fund that will cover all your living expenses. If you ever have to take money out of this fund, your first priority when you have money coming back in is to replenish your emergency fund.

Make a monthly grocery budget. Your goal is to never exceed that budget, and if you have money left over that can go toward purchases that benefit you long-term. Also set aside a few dollars every month into a social fund. This is to use if you must buy a gift for a wedding or any other obligations which require you to spend money on someone else. This way you do not have to go short on food to help someone celebrate their wedding, etc. - because if you don't have money set aside for this, spending money on these types of obligations can make you unhappy.

• Your housing - Do not get a corner apartment. For maximum quiet, many people get a corner apartment on a top floor. However, your concern at this point should be keeping expenses low. I live in a studio apartment and did not have to turn on my heat even once this winter. This is because I have neighbors on each side, and above me, who keep their apartments warm. Below me is the laundry room, with dryers that vent warm air below me. Result: no winter heating bill for me. On the rare occasions that I do need heat, it is much less expensive to use a small oil-filled radiator like this than the forced air heating built into the apartment.

• Kitchen/Food: Buy one good quality 6" chef's knife and a knife sharpener. Buy 2 chopping boards, one to use with meat and one for everything else. Always clean the meat board really really well with really really hot water. Make a grocery list before you go shopping, this will help you avoid impulse purchases. Do not go grocery shopping while you are hungry. If you must grocery shop while hungry, first drink a couple glasses of water so you will feel full. This will help avoid impulse purchases or over-buying. Only buy something not on your list if it is something you use regularly and it is on a very good sale. Think carefully about the package size of the items you buy. In general, you want to get the best price per pound which can mean a larger package is cheaper in the long run. However, if the item is perishable, buying a larger amount may mean you have to throw some away. Think about these things while you shop.

When looking at a recipe, keep in mind that spices are expensive unless you can buy them in small quantities or use them frequently. A recipe with bay leaves might sound great, but think about whether this will mean you have to buy an entire container of bay leaves, and how often you will use them when cooking other items. Try to buy spices on sale.

In general, it is less expensive to cook your own food. If your apartment has a refrigerator with a freezer, spend a couple of hours on the weekend and cook a large batch of soup or stew etc. which you can divide into smaller portions and freeze for use throughout the month when you are too tired or busy to cook. If you do this each weekend to start, then every two weeks, you can have a nice choice of foods to re-heat. This will also save you when you have an unexpected dinner guest. Consider using an ice cube tray to freeze homemade chicken broth or soup stock or spaghetti sauce so that you can easily and quickly make yourself a small portion.

It is generally less expensive to take your lunch to work than to buy it. In the evening, prepare your lunch for the next day, bag it and everything so you can just grab it from the refrigerator and go the next morning. Buy an insulated lunch bag.

• Bathroom: Make sure you have a toilet plunger. If you don't need it, wonderful, but if you do need it and don't have it, you will never let this happen in your life again. Examine toilet paper prices carefully. Think about the price per foot. Notice if it is one-ply or two-ply tissue. One-ply tissue does not save you money if you end up using more of it. Spend money on two good bath towels.

• Bedroom/Living area: Do not buy a cheap mattress. If you do not sleep well, everything else in your life will seem harder and more depressing. Pay for a decent mattress or futon, pay for comfortable sheets, pay for a good pillow. Do not sit on your mattress while eating food. Sauce and juice spills are nearly impossible to get out of a mattress. If you cannot get a couch, at least get a chair. You want to get out of bed in the morning, and stay out of bed until it's time to sleep. Spend money on one or two good blankets.

• Housekeeping and laundry: Your life will be much better if you spend half an hour each day on cleaning/organizing rather than doing it all on a weekend. Do laundry as needed, don't let it pile up in multiple loads. Buy a good laundry soap, even if it is more expensive. You can keep your white clothes whiter by washing them together with blue items, but do not put them in the dryer together. Black clothes and red clothes will both keep their colors longer if you wash them only in cold water.

Each night, prepare your clothing for the next day. Make sure it is in good condition (no missing buttons or hanging threads), clean, and not wrinkled. You can hang it on a chair so it is ready to grab the next morning.

Designate an area near the door, and put things there that you need to take with you next time you leave. This would be your house key, car key, wallet, bills to mail, book to read on a commute, etc. This way you will never waste time trying to find your wallet or keys and you will never forget to mail a bill.

Allow yourself a few small luxuries. For me, I buy really good hand soap, it makes me happy everytime I wash my hands. I also buy more expensive shampoos. If there is something small like this that does not cost you an enormous amount more and makes you feel happy, spend the money.

PUT TOGETHER A FIRST AID KIT. Don't bleed all over your things because you didn't have a gauze bandage.