Now that you are 24, you are one year closer to the end of your 20s. And of course one year deeper into the world of adulting. There is a lot regarding adulting that you should have a hang of now or at least be more aware of. This post will cover those things that you should start doing now that you are 24.
Enjoy the read and happy year 24!
Note that even if you aren’t 24 these tips are still super helpful!
Eating Healthier
Take the time to eat healthier. What you put in your body today shapes how you operate tomorrow. Simple as that.
Exercising Regularly
Meaningful exercise on a regular basis is an essential component of being a responsible and healthy adult. Doing just 30 minutes of exercise a day can help you live a healthier life.
And please remember to stretch regularly. You don’t want to be 28 and have all your bones crack when you move. Get and stay active.
Going to the Doctor for Checkups
Getting regular checkups helps us catch things early… hopefully. All the more reason to go to the doctor for those checkup appointments.
Organize Your Life
At 24, you need to have some type of organization in your life. From this organization, you can more easily build healthy habits that promote growth.
I have actually written an article that dives deeper into what steps you can take to get your life organized as an adult. The article is titled “How to Organize Your Life As A New Adult”.
Budgeting
Developing and maintaining a budget will help you solidify your financial standings. Budgeting will also help you develop new goals to improve upon your current financial situation.
Taking the time now as a young adult to build a strong financial foundation is integral to having future financial success and a good retirement.
So, look into budgeting and what tools or services are available to help you do so. I use a software called You Need A Budget (YNAB) and it has been the best adulting tool I have come across so far.
If you want to learn more about YNAB I actually have an article titled “5 Reasons Why YNAB Is My Favorite Adulting Tool”. In that article, I also have a referral code for a 34-day free trial at YNAB. So, be sure to give it a read.
Investing in Your Roth IRA
Just how it is important to budget and save, it is also important to put money towards a Roth IRA. That money is important for retirement and can be a major factor in how well you can live during retirement.
Because taxes are taken out before you make Roth IRA contributions, you get to withdraw the money in retirement completely tax-free.
The annual contribution limit on a Roth IRA is much lower than work retirement accounts. For anyone under 50 years old, the max you can contribute is $6,000. While anyone over 50 can contribute $7,000.
Everyone is not eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA. Who can contribute is based on your income. Check here to see if you qualify.
Note: I am not a financial advisor, nor am I giving explicit financial advice. This is for educational and entertainment purposes. Do your own due diligence before making any financial decisions.
Learn How To Do Your Taxes
You should take the time to learn about how to properly do your own taxes. Learning about this subject helps improve your financial literacy but also can help you save on taxes in the future.
If interested, I have an article titled “5 Tax Hacks That Could Save You Thousands”. It dives into tax advantage opportunities and other avenues to help maximize your earnings. Be sure to check it out.
Growing A Plant
Yes, growing a plant is one of the things that you should start doing now that you are 24 years old, especially if you are living alone, not in a relationship, or otherwise only have to consider yourself.
Taking care of a plant is a simple way to start introducing yourself to the thought of considering another living being. It might sound weird, but it can be really helpful towards the maturing process.
Building Business Relationships
At 24 you are probably in your first real job or about to enter into it. Now is the time to double down on building those business relationships. In other words, it is time to network more. Get to know your colleagues and superiors where appropriate and build a reputation with them that you can use to get you to where you want to go.
If interested, I wrote a more in-depth article on this topic titled “How To Network More As A Young Adult”.
Find A Mentor
If you haven’t already, take the time to find a mentor.
A mentor is someone who can serve as an advisor or coach to you. We all need one and frankly, the sooner we find solid mentors the easier some things in life will become. If you are looking to grow professionally, seeking the advice of a more experienced individual in your field can be a great way to learn how to move forward.
Become A Mentor
Give back in the same respect as you are gaining as a mentee. Become a mentor yourself and seek to add value to those who are coming after you.
Plan Your Next Steps (Job or Life Change)
Planning is one of the major things that you should start doing now that you are 24.
At 24, we are about to hit that time in our life where we are expected to have some type of plan for ourselves. While there is no need to have our life figured out at 24, it is important to have some goals set for yourself.
So, take the time to reflect on where you are in life and where you want to be. Then start planning your next steps to close that gap.
Get Better At Sleeping
Sleep is not for the dead. It is very much for the living. As we get older we need to properly rest so that we can give our body time to recharge and heal. So, we have to start adjusting our sleeping schedules to ensure we actually get a full 8 hours of sleep. Developing a bedtime routine can be a massive benefit for your health and overall long-term happiness.
Cook At Home More
Improve your culinary skills and see your home-cooked meals begin to taste better. Another benefit of cooking at home more is that you usually end up saving money when compared to eating out.
Plus the more you cook the food you eat, the easier it will be to control the ingredients that you consume and help your help.
Read For Entertainment
Say it with me! Reading is one of the things that you should start doing now that you are 24!
It is important! And I know, I know. It hasn’t always been fun.
If you are like me, you probably lost the enjoyment of reading because it turned from being leisurely to a necessity for school or work. Well, as we get older it is important to get back into reading for fun not just for work.
As we age, reading is an excellent way to keep our minds young and entertain ourselves with new and exciting stories. Don’t let the enjoyment of reading slip away any longer.
So let me hear you say it again! Reading is one of the things that you should start doing now that you are 24!
Build Your Credit
Your credit can make or break your finances and ability to get the things you want, at least in the U.S. You need good credit to secure financing for a car, home, furniture, heck a phone at a reasonable rate.
Otherwise, you will be charged high interest rates that can cause you to pay more over the life of the financing.
Check out this playlist I created to teach you about credit and credit scores.
Build Multiple Streams of Income
At 24, it is time to increase the number of ways you make income. We start off with working a 9-5 job as our only source of income. However, as we get older it is smart to look into other ways to make income.
Some of the most common sources of other income include AirBNB, Uber, DoorDash, YouTube, and pretty much any side hustle that makes you extra income.
Why should you have more than one source of income?
Well, to keep it short, you want to be able to have some form of income even if you lose your 9-5 job. This creates some security for you in case the worst happens.
So don’t overlook this as one of the things that you should start doing now that you are 24. It could even help you retire early and live a life where you don’t have to worry about money.
Build Passive Income Streams
Just how we should work to have multiple streams of income, we should work to have those incomes be passive streams.
Why do we want passive income streams?
Right now you are probably exchanging your time for money which is called active income. Yet, time is something that we can never get back. Plus, as we get older we are not able to do as much as we could when we were younger.
So, we have to develop passive income streams that do not rely on us exchanging our time for money.
So what are your thoughts? Are these helpful things that you should start doing now that you are 24?
Best of luck adulting!
And Remember,
Adulting Starts Here
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