Adulting 101 Guide: How To Adult And Build Life Skills

During our early twenties, we go from being told that we are now an adult to feeling like we are a lost child. We don’t know “how to adult” just yet, especially right after high school. There is a lot about adulthood and the art of adulting that is unknown to us as young adults. The good news, though, is that older adults are still figuring a ton of these basic skills out as well. However, there aren’t readily available educational sessions on these types of things. So don’t feel discouraged if some basic life skills don’t feel so basic to you. That is okay and why Adulting Starts Here was created for young people.

This beginner’s guide is your answer to how to adult. It will give you the practical advice that you should consider when it comes to adulting 101. So keep reading to learn how to start adulting!

You Have Control Over The “New Look” of Your Life

Are you pulling the wagon or is the wagon pulling you?

You want to know how to adult? First, understand that YOU have control.

We spend the beginning of our lives being told how to act, where to go, and what to learn. Once we hit adulthood it’s now on us to chart our own path in the real world.

Yes, we definitely have the world still screaming at us about what we need to be doing and where we ought to be in life. However, we DO have control over how we decide to proceed.

We are the captains of our ship on this sea of life. How you decide to steer and where you decide to sail is up to you.

The most important thing to realize though is your mindset. The way you view life and its ability to influence your actions is important and has a real impact on your everyday life.

In its most simple form, you can either view yourself as a victim or a hero. Your viewpoint determines if you hold yourself accountable.

Someone who takes the victim mindset believes life happens to them, often placing the blame elsewhere, makes excuses, and avoids taking responsibility. Often someone with this mindset can be heard saying “it’s not my fault”.

The victim mindset focuses on what one cannot control.

The hero mindset, on the other hand, focuses on what you can control.

Someone with a hero mindset sees themselves as the hero or heroine of their own life. They believe that they make decisions that determine how their journey will play out.

They are the captain of their ship.

Having a hero mindset means taking accountability for your life and what happens in it. Instead, of focusing on the things you cannot control, you focus your energy on shaping the life you want through what you can control.

It is no longer okay to blame others for what is happening in our lives. We write our own story.

If life is not going the way you planned, take a step back, re-evaluate, and make a change.

You really do have the power.

Embrace accountability and you will put yourself in a better position to accomplish those “adult tasks” and master adulting 101.

Practice Good Money Management

It is so important to build financial literacy. Start learning how to properly manage your money for the present and future. This is arguably one of the hardest adulting skills, especially in the beginning. Now I’m not going to say you need a bunch of bank accounts or need to use this one specific credit union. There’s no magic way to build a strong financial footing. However, there are important steps that you can take to create easier access to managing your money.

So, what’s the first step in managing your money?

It is learning how to budget. Knowing how to properly budget can be a make-it-or-break-it skill when it comes to adulting. Practicing budgeting can greatly improve your financial journey, while not following a budget can leave you in financial turmoil. I’m talking about you – credit card debt!

Budgeting

As I like to say, the best personal budget is the one that you will actually stick to. Simple as that. Create a personal budget where you detail your needs and responsibilities and stick to them. But the numbers in the budget are not set in stone. They will change as you re-evaluate your finances periodically and understand how you truly spend your money. Do you spend more money in the grocery store compared to take out? Well, your budget should reflect that difference.

Recognize that your budget is a reflection of your current state in life, and as you progress throughout the months and years, your budget should change to meet your needs. However, this does not mean that you should be breaking that budget every month with the excuse of “things change.”

Remember, your budget is a spending plan that you create for yourself.

You should actively work to remain within the budgetary parameters that you create. It will only hinder your financial journey the more you break them.

Now, there are plenty of ways to budget. You can do it by hand with paper and pencil, use Excel, or whatever else suits the way you operate. You just have to choose a budgeting method that you will actively use and stick to it.

If you are like me and want to use software to budget, I use You Need A Budget (YNAB). It is an intuitive and thorough budgeting software that has helped me greatly improve my financial life.

If interested, I have a referral link for a 34-day free trial of YNAB. Yes, it is worth every penny.

BUT if you are looking for a basic Excel type budgeting method, I have a FREE Excel budget that you can use. Just fill out the form below and you will get it sent straight to your email!

No matter, what you decide to use to budget, the most important step is building one. Of course, the second step is following it!

Start Saving and Investing

Once we know we need to budget, it is important that we include saving and inventing as a part of our budget. When we save we are putting money away for later. This could be as simple as putting $20 into a savings account consistently.

One savings account that we should all strive to have is an emergency fund. It is extremely important to have one if you want to build financial independence in the long run.

Having investing accounts is the flip side of that coin. You should have investment accounts that are geared toward retirement – like a 401(k) and Roth IRA. This is money that is going into the stock market to multiply and grow for your retired you later down the road. Outside of retirement accounts, it is also important to have a regular brokerage account for investing. Of course, being sure to diversify your own money is a key pillar for building a nest egg for future you.

I won’t get into much detail here, because I am not a financial advisor.

Regardless, though, start educating yourself about the world of saving and investing. Set financial goals and create a plan for yourself.

Your older self will be so thankful you did.

Build an Emergency Fund

Create an emergency savings fund for yourself. It is a must for proper adulting. You will need to look beyond your checking account for this one. The earlier you start, the better and easier it will be. Waiting until later in life to develop this fund means you will need to save more because you will probably have more responsibilities.

As a young adult, you probably only have to take care of yourself. So your expenses won’t be as high compared to when you have a mortgage and a family. So start building now little by little.

If you do not know anything about emergency funds, I wrote a detailed article here explaining how to get started developing your emergency savings account. Check it out!

Build Your Credit Score

A credit score is connected to so much more than just credit cards. Your credit score can make or break your finances. It is central to your ability to get the things you want at a reasonable interest rate, at least in the United States. You need a good credit report to secure financing for car loans, mortgages, furniture, and even a phone sometimes.

Otherwise, you will be charged high interest rates that can cause you to pay more over the life of the financing.

To give a clear idea of just how important your credit score is check out this video below. It explains just how having a high credit score can save you thousands of dollars when it comes to purchasing things like a car or a house.

Learn about The World of Insurance

As a young adult, you might not be familiar with the importance of certain insurances like health insurance, life insurance, and auto insurance. These are things that as college students or high school students your parents might have handled for you. However, now that you are on your own, you will soon have to get your own insurance for the first time. So let’s talk about each of these types of insurance just to give you a brief idea of their importance.

Health insurance is a must-have for everyone. I mean it is actually illegal in some states to not have health insurance. So you want to make sure that you are always covered. The good thing about health insurance is that you can usually stay on your parent’s until you are 26 years old. So you should have some time to start learning about health insurance and what you might need covered. Essentially, you will want to select a plan that covers the health conditions that you go to the doctor most often. That’s really the most basic idea of it. However, I explain health insurance and what types are out there more at this Read More link below.

Read More: How to Choose A Health Insurance Plan For Young Adults

Life insurance is something that you should have if you have any dependents. So as a single young adult now, you don’t have to rush out and get life insurance. But as soon as you find a life partner or start a family, you might want to consider life insurance. It is essentially insurance that would provide money to your dependents if you die unexpectedly. The money would be used for things like your burial service and helping your family cover living expenses.

As for auto insurance, well that is the one that you are likely more familiar with compared to the others. Auto insurance is important because it can help cover those expected car repairs and accidents. However, it doesn’t really cover the basic car maintenance things like a flat tire. Regardless, it is important to always have auto insurance no matter if you are driving a new or used car. You never know what could happen and you don’t want to be uninsured if something does go wrong.

Manage Your Time So That It’s Beneficial To You

Time is the one thing that we truly cannot get back. Therefore, it is extremely important that we use it wisely and I am by no means saying that you should plan out every moment of your day.

I tried doing that, but it was horrible, and I always felt overwhelmed. So, I would never suggest it.

However, if that kind of time management works for you then go for it.

It just did not work for me. Now, I like to do what’s called block scheduling. It allows me to plan out my days by block instead of by task.

This way I have a little more flexibility with my time while staying within parameters to keep me focused.

Either way, you want to be sure to figure out a time management method that is beneficial to you and the goals you are trying to reach.

Plan For Your Future

Now that we are adults, it is up to us to choose our path in this obscure reality.

Currently, you are on the path of learning how to adult. But there is more to it than that.

What do you want to do on a daily basis? What do you want to work towards? Are there things that you want to have accomplished in 15 years? These are questions to think about.

You definitely don’t have to have everything figured out now. Anyone who tells you that you do is usually speaking nonsense.

However, it is helpful to have a sense of trajectory in life. So, take the time to sit down and really think about what you want to spend your time and energy on building.

Definitely take the time to learn how to organize your life as a new adult. It is one of those core important life skills for young adults to learn. I talk about this process in detail here.

Build Healthy Relationships

It is a lot harder to make friends in adulthood. Outside of the workplace, there are very few shared spaces where you naturally meet people – at least nothing comparable to being in grade school or on a college campus.

Therefore, it is important to get out and go do things. Meet people.

Everyone is busy with something, so it will take intentional planning to spend time with people and build healthy relationships.

The days of just meeting up on a whim in the cafeteria or at the campus coffee shop are over.

Likewise, romantic relationships are even harder to build today.

With social media, the increased likelihood of dealing with long-distance relationships, and a myriad of other factors, maintaining a romantic relationship is not a simple task.

It takes a lot of time, energy, commitment, and communication to build a romantic relationship. There’s no easy way or one solution. What works for you and your partner will be unique to you and your partner.

Figuring out what the collaboration looks like is tough. However, if having a romantic relationship is something you value then it’s important to not give up.

No matter what though, build relationships that interest you and help you grow.

Remember To Have Some Fun

This one is simple but can be easily overlooked when learning how to adult. It’s important to have fun. Adulthood sucks enough as it is, but it can be fun. So, don’t remove fun activities from your everyday life. Whatever you enjoy doing, keep at it.

Yes, it is not the best idea to spend your twenties binge drinking from bar to bar, but that doesn’t mean you should never go out.

We all need activities that help us recharge and relax.

Plus, everyone’s definition of fun is unique to them. Bars aren’t really my thing. I find them loud and hot. I’d much rather go enjoy a movie at a theater.

There’s no right or wrong answer here. There is only the question of “What brings you joy?”

Think about it, and go do it.

So, what do you think? Do you know how to adult better after reading this article? Be sure to continue reading what Adulting Starts Here has to share. There is a ton of valuable information being created for you.

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Best of luck adulting!

And Remember,

Adulting Starts Here

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