People don't suddenly change overnight. Not saying the bf is terrible or anything -- I don't know the situation at all -- but if he is a bad guy now, then he probably has always been a bad guy.

Many couples don't live together before they get engaged. It's not that uncommon

Yeah, but living one their own separately is one thing, still living at home with their parents is another.

My fiancée and I still live with our parents. I'm 22 and he's 23, were saving money to buy a house instead of wasting money on an apartment. We both have good relationships with our parents so there's no point in moving out, I'm sure were not the only ones like this...

Renting is spending money you're never going to get back. Buying a house is an investment. If Starfire is lucky enough to not have to spend however many thousands and save more money to buy a nicer house, that's great. Not everyone has that option, but there's nothing wrong with you if you have it and use it.

Just because we want a nice house and won't waste our money renting doesn't mean we don't love each other just as much. With a little bit of saving we can own something that we can invest money on improving and eventually sell back at a profit and get something nicer. Granted, we can do this because our situation is ideal for this, and if you want an apartment, that's fine, there's nothing wrong with that, but for us, we would rather just wait to save up for something nice. We just got engaged in September and have been together for six years, and my fiancée wanted to surprise me.

what do you mean, afford to move out and save for a house at the same time. if you are renting, and in Sydney that is in most places $400 a week or higher, that's money not going towards your house deposit. do the maths. depending on the buying/renting climate in your area, sometimes it's smarter to stay put and save. smart parents charge their kids board money anyway to help pay bills and teach kids about financial commitment.