Moving out for the first time.

Have plenty of sheets and towels on hand.

Maintain decent relations with neighbors, landlords, apartment managers, and most especially, building handymen and repair people.

Be sure to have these on hand at all times- a plunger, candles, and any other stuff you would need in the event of a toilet/plumbing or electricity issue.

Go with your first instincts when meeting any prospective roommates.

You can skimp on some things a la the 99 cent store, but don't skimp on trash bags. Trust me on this. You would think that some people could learn this after embarrassing episodes.

I can't emphasize how important this point is

When confronted with a lack of toilet paper, consider these simple rules:

-Do not flush more than one paper towel at a time
-Tissues will tear as you wipe and stay in your ass
-Newspaper will leave printed material in your ass
-Glossy magazine pages don't flush at all

Develope a budget for yourself and stick to it no matter what. There will come a time when your friends will call you and want to go out, and you will look at money in your account you are holding for bills. Whatever happens, don't dip into it. Just get used to staying home or having them come over instead of going out. Falling behind in your bills is a losing battle that will always end with you making a phone call to someone for money. And making that call sucks balls.

Budget your money. It's the best thing you can do for yourself.