Help an Aspie become Independent

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Hello World,

my name is Marc and I have Aperger Syndrome . Asperger Syndrome is a form of Autism that I was born with. It has made everything in my life considerably more challenging but I have learned to live with it.

I am 21 Years old and have recently started working full time for the first time now. It is challenging but manageable.

I now am at the stage of my life where I need to become independent. That means moving out and getting my own Apartment.

This is where I need your help. I need assistance in funding the Security Deposit, Furniture and everything I need to get started.

Becoming independent has been my dream my whole life. Please help me make this dream a reality.

Sincerely,

Marc

http://www.gofundme.com/ft2o2w

Thanks for your post, but please could you tell us why you should be given special funding. You need a better reason than most if you want people to reach into their pockets for you.

_________________
Health is a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity I am not a jigsaw, I am a free man !

Diagnosed under the DSM5 rules with autism spectrum disorder, under DSM4 psychologist said would have been AS (299.80) but I suspect that I am somewhere between 299.80 and 299.00 (Autism) under DSM4.

I think your dream of independence is laudable but I'm more likely to dispense advice than money. You work free time so you already have more money than I do. Why not just save your wages?


Signed,

the unemployed broke aspie

Independence is great, but asking people for money is not how you embrace independence.

I'm independent. I work full time myself, drive to and from work, pay all my bills, ect.

What you want to think about is first, how much money monthly will I need to make before I can truly be independent?

You know your income. You also may be somewhat aware of costs of various things such as housing, utilities ect. in your area. If not, get yourself some estimates. For example, I live in an appt. that is $525 a month. Util is covered in the rent, and I also pay 50$ in internet, around $50 for electric (more in the summer), $140 for car insurance, about $180 for gas, $50 for credit card, and around $100 for food (not including special stuff I buy for fun). That's almost $1100 a month. I make a couple hundred above that so I have a bit of wiggle room, but since sometimes my hours aren't tracked 100% properly (my fault) I can get less which makes things stressful. These things will change in your situation (for example I work 30 miles from home and drive a minivan I inherited from my parents)

If you earn less, try to get a roommate. Make sure you can trust this person though, I had a roommate for 2 weeks (was helping him out) and he was really inconsiderate.

A deposit on an apartment if usually the same cost as first month's rent, if you have no history of credit or leasing. So make sure that you have DOUBLE of your first month's rent available before you even think about getting an apartment. Make sure you have a little extra as well because you will need it.

Furniture? If your parents have furniture that they don't want anymore, always go to them first. Usually they'll give it to you for free and/or for a very small price. I also got some furniture from my neighbours for that price. After that go to charity stores like Salvation Army/Goodwill and they sometimes have furniture for cheap prices. If you see any garage sales in your area DO IT. Estate sales are also good for picking up furniture. After that, if you live near an IKEA, IKEA is great for cheap furniture (they have simple tables for like 10-20$). With these things considered I would budget $500 for this - you'll probably have stuff left over but it will allow you to get what you need for sure. Shipping it is probably not an option though. IKEAHacks is a good website for building your own furniture from Ikea things as well.

In reality you only really need the following furniture:
Bed, Dresser, Chair, Table

But more stuff is always nice. Furniture is more of an amenity than anything. Also, if you can't afford a bed, get an inflatable mattress - use a soft throw to cover the backing, then use another blanket as a regular blanket. Yay!

If you're working full time and living with your parents, you should really save around $2000 before you get started. But if you're living with your parents this shouldn't take more than 6 months. After that, you'll be really well set and fully independent.

At around $1400 I live in a small apartment with a few pet birds, have some nice food sometimes and have internet. If you make around that much, in many situations you can live the same sort of lifestyle.

It almost sounds like as if you're a bit hasty. Save your money for a couple of months, and then you should definitely have the resources to be fully independent.

EDIT: Just noticed you're from south africa lol. Most of my advice still applies, but be noted that examples (including IKEA) are regional and you'll have to find resources in SA that are similar. The deal is pretty much the same everywhere though.

This sounds like a scam.

This sounds like a scam.

Jeez, if you're working and living with your parents, you should have the security deposit in no time. You don't need furniture at first - in my first apartment I started out with a sleeping bag and computer on the floor.

I will help you become independent.

1) Save up your money. You will have a security deposit in no time.

2) Get cheap or free used furniture. I hope people in South Africa aren't as wasteful as Americans, but still, I'm sure you can find furniture people don't want any more or make it from stuff people threw out.
When I got my first place, I started out with a bed and couch my grandmother got rid of, a table my dad didn't want any more, and a bunch of scrap lumber and cinder blocks. Learning to scrape and make do is part of being independent (and begging for money is not).

3) While you are waiting, if you can't do it already, learn to cook. And take over housekeeping chores from your mom. She will love you for it, and tell you how independent you are becoming.

Learning to cook is really important. You will spend much less money if you can cook.

Furniture need not be expensive. Just yesterday I bought this really great lounge set from an op shop for only $10. It even has a recliner!