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Preparing for adulthood is a scary process because no one teaches you how or what to do. In most cases, it feels like one day you are a student whose only worry is their homework, and the next day you have to think about taxes! Luckily for you, we are here to help. We made a guide with the basic life skills or tasks you need to master in order to set up for a solid future and prepare for adulthood.
We moved out and to a different country when we were 18, so we had to learn pretty quickly how to become “adults” since our parents weren’t there to help us out. Even if that was hard and a huge leap between being a high schooler and an adult, it wasn’t even close to the real deal! Adulthood is much more than doing your groceries and making sure your laundry is done. It is all about thinking ahead and making the right choices now to set you up for success in the future.
It might seem like a lot, but if you take it one step at a time and organize yourself things get easier. They start making sense as you go and somehow each task will help you with the next, that is why it is all about preparation. We think that a huge part of being an adult is having the tools and mental capacity to solve anything. No matter what comes your way, you have what it takes to overcome it and carry on. If not, you will figure out a way to do it.
It is also important to mention that no two lives are the same. Everyone has different experiences at different times. That is why this guide aims to provide you with the basic skills or tasks that can help you prepare for adulthood. Hope you like them!
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TIPS BEFORE YOU START ADULTING
TRACK YOUR EXPENSES
Write down everything you spend, no matter how small. By doing this you will become hyper-aware of how you spend money so you can make better choices. This will influence how you save, where and if you can invest and it will help you create a budget. This will also help you have an idea of what your salary needs might be so you can create reasonable expectations, especially for your first job.
You can use a planner like this one to do so and organize your life. As you might know, we love writing everything down and keeping track of what we do, so this might be a great option for you!
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If your mother tells you this it must be for a reason haha! Just as you work towards improving your professional skills, work on yourself. It might be just as important or even more than working on anything else. We think there are no better investments than those you do on yourself. Plus, it will provide you with a space to grow, disconnect, and relax. It can also open new doors to things you might like but didn’t know about before.
EXPERIENCE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
When you graduate from high school chances are you don’t know what your passion is (if you do then you are really lucky!). That is why we recommend that you experience as much as possible, to see what is out there and expose yourself to a wide variety of people, things, and cultures. Sometimes even after college things might change and you might take a whole new route than the one you expected. For example, I (M) took a gap year after my freshmen year in college and completely changed my major after that year of adventure and new things.
Eventually, you can follow your passion once you find it. But don’t worry about it at the beginning.
SKILLS/ TASKS TO START PREPARING FOR ADULTHOOD
We hope these make your life easier and hopefully open many opportunities for you. As we said before, preparing for adulthood is all about thinking ahead and not missing out on opportunities or things that might come in handy later on in life.
HOW MUCH TIME IT TAKES TO MAINTAIN A HOUSE
Most of us often underestimate how much time it actually takes to keep a house relatively clean and running smoothly. That is why while preparing for adulthood you need to take this into consideration. These are boring chores very few people actually enjoy, so make sure not to leave them at the bottom of the list or ignore them altogether. Your life will be much better if you live in a well-organized place. If you want to learn more about creating a relaxing home make sure to check out our post about it!
The best idea to make sure these things get done is by putting them on your calendar as part of the rest of your activities. You can batch them, do a little bit every day, or however it works for you. Once again, you can use this planner to organize your days and plan ahead.
THINK ABOUT YOUR INSURANCE
This applies to all things that need to be insured: your car, home, electronics, and your HEALTH. This is one of those things that is really annoying to think about when you have to pick a plan, but that will be very important in case you actually need it.
As mentioned previously, a huge part of being an adult is having the tools to solve any problem that comes your way and this is one of those tools. It might seem silly to pay that much money for insurance, but trust us, if you ever need it you are going to be glad you made that investment!
Don’t cheap out and pick the first one just to get it over with. Make a balance between your needs and finances (remember the budget from tracking your expenses? This is one situation where it comes in handy). Assess the situation based on you and your family’s needs, health concerns, and make a smart choice. There are many many plans out there for everyone and their needs.
FINDING GOOD HOME ITEMS
The first time you move out to your new adult space, chances are you are going to realize how expensive furniture and home goods are. Luckily, we are here to help you since you are reading this before buying a ton of things!
The most important thing is to know that you can thrift or buy most of your furniture second hand. Places like Facebook marketplace, Bunz, Wallapop, etc., offer a great alternative for you to buy things like couches, tables, and chairs.
You can also look into yard sales. Most of the time, people get rid of perfectly good items just because they can’t bring them or they don’t fit their new place.
As for mattresses, the best way is to look at them as an investment. They might seem expensive, but given that you use them every day for at least 8 hours, it doesn’t seem that bad. Plus, your life quality will be better and they usually last 10 years or more. You can check out these mattresses, they have amazing technology, design, and comfort. You can flip them depending on how hard or soft you want/need it.
Our best advice here is not to get the cheapest furniture possible. Chances are you will end up throwing it, breaking it, or changing it because every 20-30-year-old has the same. It is also incredibly wasteful and bad for the environment.
LEARN HOW TO DO YOUR TAXES
If you are not following the 9-5 working norm, you are a freelancer, or have multiple sources of income then this is going to be really important. Doing your taxes wrong can get you in a lot of trouble and cost you a pretty penny, so make sure you are on top of this.
If you don’t or can’t do it yourself, you can always hire someone to help you out. Yes, it might cost you money, but that person might also help you save money! You can also hire them once, learn all about it and then do it yourself for the next year.
DECIDING WHETHER TO RENT OR BUY
This depends on your needs, income, and situation. It is a pretty big decision so really think about it and what other things it might entail later on, like a mortgage, loan, or putting in all your savings.
For us, it makes more sense to rent since we move quite often, and right now it is not in our plans to stay in one place. However, buying could also be an investment opportunity and a source of income if you rent the place.
INVESTING
The trick is to start as early as possible. It might sound scary and too big, but investing is not exclusive to old rich people. The biggest advantage you can give yourself is starting early, even if it is with a little bit of money. With time, that small amount might become an important one that can sustain you or provide you with new opportunities in the future, since you knew what to do to prepare for adulthood.
We are just starting to get into this ourselves, so we can’t give much advice as to how to do it. It is a learning process for us too.
THE COST OF GOING OR HAVING A WEDDING
We all know or have a vague idea about how expensive a wedding can be. However, most of us are not married or haven’t planned a wedding yet. Of course, it all depends on the couple and the type of event they want to have, but in general, you should try to set aside some money for these events at some point or another. Maybe none of your friends want to get married, but there is always that one cousin… haha! Jokes aside, the dresses, transport, or even the gift can take a toll on your finances if you are not prepared, so think ahead.
On the other hand, if you are the one getting married think about the financial constraints your bridal/groom party might have or even your guests. Just be aware of this and don’t be that person who makes everyone wonder how on earth are they going to pay for this.
COMBINING YOUR FINANCES WITH YOUR S.O.
Whether you are in a long-term relationship or you are just moving in together, combining your finances will happen to a certain extent and it is important to talk about it with each other.
We said it once, and we will say it again, part of preparing for adulthood is having the tools to solve problems that come your way, so plan ahead and create strategies to avoid them. We made a guide that can help you start or even have this conversation about finances with your partner, in case you might need it.
The more you grow with someone the more this is relevant. Therefore, your finances will eventually become one, so any decision either of you makes will affect everyone in the family.
Thank you for taking some time of your day to read our blog, we truly appreciate it. We hope this guide on how to prepare for adulthood helps you and gives you an idea of what to do. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Instagram for more ideas and tips.
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diciembre 17, 2020 at 3:42 pm[…] Read in English 🇺🇸 […]