Adult.
The word strikes fear in the hearts of twenty-something's around the world. At least that's what I tell myself to feel better. If you're like me, that word is so weird. Technically, in the eyes of the law, I am fully an adult - in fact, I have been for almost three years.
When I was a kid I would look up to people my age and think that they had it all together and knew everything. I thought it would be so awesome to be like that, and get to do anything that I wanted to do. HA. Sure, I can do anything I want, but guess what! I don't got the money honey. Plus, I have no idea how to do anything without asking my Grandma first.
Who knew you weren't supposed to use metal utensils on nonstick pans? Not me.
Being an adult is definitely not what I thought it was going to be and I'm probably not even an actual adult considering the fact I still think buying a rotisserie chicken counts as me cooking. Fortunately, I'm not alone. In the past few years millennials everywhere have been asking the same question:
"What the heck is 'adulting' and how do I do it?"
I started researching this question a lot back when I first started college and here is what I consider the first little baby steps to being a real life grown up.
1. You need a credit card.
In order to do anything by yourself in this world, like buy a car, a house or rent an apartment, you need credit. Sometimes you can get someone to "cosign" you, or basically vouch for you.
If your parents have good credit they can sign with you on the contract, saying that if you don't make your payments they will. However, if you're like me and your parents aren't too thrilled with the idea of possibly paying your bills, you'll need to build your own. And one of the only ways to build credit is through a credit card.
More than likely your bank will have its own credit card that is either prepaid or has a low limit. If not, a CreditKarma account is a good resource to tell you what your credit looks like and what cards you qualify for. The account is completely free and tells you what your credit is and ways to boost it if need be as well.
Just make sure you don't go for a huge credit limit and that you only use 40% of your card's available funds. You don't want to have a huge amount of debt and if you max out your card it can make you look like you are desperate for money. Try using your card only for gas and paying off the full balance each month.
2. Get an oil change…and learn how to change a tire.
I got my first oil change ever this year, after having my car for almost 4 years. Needless to say, the mechanic was very clear about the next time I needed to come in. It's important to take care of your car so it runs well for a long time.
Part of that is getting your oil changed and making sure all other fluids are at proper levels. One way to keep up with this is to keep a crate of all the different fluids for your car in your trunk that way you always have some on hand. You can keep the tools for your car (a jack, a tire iron etc) in it as well.
Along with this, you need to know how to change a tire. I got a flat not too long ago and I had to wait an hour for my grandpa to get out of bed and come help me (thanks Pop). I had all the tools so if I would have just known how I could have done it myself. I learned how so that in case I'm ever out in the middle of nowhere I won't be stranded.
3. Have an emergency fund.
One of the scariest things (to me at least) about being an "adult" is having to take care of myself in case something goes wrong. I mean, both my grandparents and my dad have always been really good about helping me out but the majority of the responsibility now lies on me.
Take it from someone who's car continually has something wrong with it - you need an emergency fund. As long as you can have at least $1,000.00 or the equivalent of three months of your bills and living expenses saved up you won't be completely destitute if an emergency arises or you lose your job.
This has proved invaluable to me, especially when all four brakes and tires need to be replaced in the same weekend.
Yay me.
4. Start thinking about retirement.
I know this seems incredibly preemptive, but it's not. More and more research is showing that millennials are not saving for retirement at all and with social security hanging in a balance, they may not be able to retire.
I don't know about you, but I sure as heck don't want to be working till I die. In fact, I'd like to retire sooner rather than later. According to Walter Updegrave, you should start saving for retirement as soon as possible, even if it's not very much.
Not only will this help you create a habit but when it comes to the amount you will have for retirement it can make a big difference.
For more information about retirement for millennials, check out his article here.
5. Learn how to cook.
This is probably one of the staple parts of being a bona fide adult, but sadly it's a skill that is becoming obsolete. With the abundance of fast food that is available, it's easy to resort to eating out all the time. Not only is this bad for your health, but it's bad for your wallet too.
Even if you live at home, you should make an effort to learn how to cook things you actually like to eat because there will come a day when you don't have someone cooking for you or even helping you. And no, "cooking" that pizza you bought at Walmart doesn't count (I know what you're thinking, I just said I buy rotisserie chickens. I'm working on it!)
Challenge yourself to learn to cook whatever type of food you really enjoy. You can Google a ton of recipes or ask someone who's food you like to teach you. It doesn't have to be boring if you cook something you want to eat and make it fun. I make my boyfriend help me so it's kind of like a date and plus then it's super funny when it doesn't come out right instead of just being depressing.
Hopefully, these first little steps will make you feel more comfortable with the idea of being termed a grown up. Maybe if I do them I'll stop looking for my Grandma when people ask for the responsible adult.
