Living with your parents might be comfortable and cheap, but you can't remain dependant on them your whole life. At some point you'll want to break free and look for your own place. Whether you do it alone or with your partner, living on your own for the first time can be an expensive business. But even if your finances are limited, you can still make your dreams of having your own home a reality. When you're getting your own place for the first time, you can spread the cost – including the deposit or moving costs – with a personal loan.

Still living at home? Think about putting some money aside for the future. That doesn't just apply if you decide to buy your own home. Tenants can also incur lots of extra expenses. Here are some examples: 

• Deposit: when you sign your lease, you'll have to pay a deposit of one to three months' rent. The deposit is intended to protect the landlord in case the tenant fails to fulfil all or some of their obligations.
  It's a good idea to keep your security deposit in a frozen account. The KBC Brussels Security Deposit Savings Account is a regulated savings account offered by KBC Bank NV, Belgium. You should read our key information for savers document before you open this savings account. Discover the benefits of the KBC Brussels Security Deposit Savings Account.
• Moving costs: allow for costs such as hiring a van and a ladder lift, buying packing boxes, etc.
• Furnishings: when you've moved into your own place, you're still not done. You can bring lots of furnishings from home or scour second-hand shops, but you might still be missing a few things that you have to buy new. That can cost a lot of money – depending on your taste: furniture, equipment, household items, ornaments... they're all part of your investment in your new home.
• Insurance: if you don't want any unpleasant surprises, you should take out the necessary insurance policies. Fire and family insurance policies, together with loan balance insurance, are essential.

Got a fixed income but not a lot of savings yet? Fortunately, you don't have to shelve your plans to get your own home. You can cover the cost of getting a place of your own with a personal loan, making it a bit easier to make those first investments. Instead of having to pay all of the costs at once, you pay your bank an affordable amount each month until you've repaid the amount you borrowed plus interest. 

To take out a personal loan for a place of your own – as for any loan – you have to be an adult. There are a few other things you should take into account. Apart from your age and a fixed income, the main conditions applying when you want to take out a personal loan are:

• You can borrow a minimum of 1,250 euros
• You must have a permanent residence address in Belgium
• If you're married, the application must be in both your names
• If you're not married, you can apply for an instalment loan in your name alone, or in your name and that of your cohabiting partner.
• If you're taking out a personal loan to live alone, you don't need to provide any evidence of the costs incurred
• The minimum term is six months and the maximum is 120 months

Remember: even as a young person, you can take out a personal loan to make your dreams come true. Fortunately, this doesn't always involve great financial risks. KBC Brussels will help you make sure you always borrow within your means. If our personal analysis reveals that the risks are too high for you to take out a loan at that time, we'll be honest with you

so that you're never faced with any unpleasant surprises. And you don't have to put your plans to get your own place permanently on hold. We'll look into the possibilities of first saving for a while with you. And you can also cut the cost by opting for a cheaper rental place, second-hand furniture, getting your friends to help you move instead of using a removal firm and so on. A little creativity goes a long way!

When renting a home and moving, there's so much to take into consideration. With KBC Brussels's renting checklist, you'll have a list of all tasks, and you'll be able to add them to your own to-do list and diary.