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Adulting is hard,” says Bellaire. “The adulting mindset is acting like an independent person and proactively managing your responsibilities (financial and otherwise) on your own. It also means taking care of yourself—maintaining a clean apartment, going to the dentist, meal prepping, doing laundry, going to bed early—the things we all associate with being an adult.” One of the biggest steps a young person can take toward successful adulting is to look past the short-term of today and begin to plan further out. Retirement is one area that can feel so far away to someone just starting their career. But in the bigger picture, it just doesn’t make sense to ignore it. Focus on priorities - Emphasis what is important in life so teens and young adults continue to place emphasis on top priorities.
At the same time, Bellaire says that sometimes the best first step toward creating a retirement fund is first paying down any ‘bad debt,’ like that stubborn credit card balance. “Getting out from under debt like that should take precedence over retirement savings, as it has implications for your credit score and long-term financial picture,” she says. Start adulting today One thing parents can do is help older children learn the difference between small and big problems. Morin notes that teens and older children sometimes don't discern between the two, everything to them feels like the end of the world. Helping them to decide if something is a "get help now" problem versus a "this can wait," problem is a life skill that they will use forever. alright, that's if you've made it through week one, congrats! I promise, it gets easier from here, I figure, let's start with the hard stuff and then the rest will feel like a breeze! Day 8: Set appointments for health. Nobody likes bed bugs or a nasty gal * or maybe we do? I can’t keep up with is nasty girl a good thing or bad thing these days?* Anyway, just clean your sheets. Especially if you’ve been breaking out on your face, it’s probably a sign your pillow case needs to be washed! RELATED] 5 Financial Boundaries You Need To Set With Friends [+ How To Do It!] Day 26: Practice mindfulness.Older children on the cusp of leaving home also have to learn to trust themselves. Morin suggests parents model working through problems with older children. In teaching young adults to better trust their assessment and judgment of problems, they have to be able to think to themselves, "Can I solve this myself?" Always being there to provide answers doesn't instill critical thinking skills needed for life outside of mom and dad's house. RELATED] Cheap Grocery List + Meal Plan for Family On A Budget Trying To Grocery Shop Once A Month Day 16: Dump expired stuff. Because of the Great Recession, life has never been more expensive. Getting an education and setting forth on a career path is not cheap. Young adults often struggle to create financial stability entering the real world. Besides being at the mercy of the inflated economy, it is hard to grind it out day after day when one can basically live with mom and dad for free. Parents often think that providing a financial safety net is a gift to their older children, but in many ways, it is a hindrance. Why go for something when it can be handed to you with little effort on your part? Create routines in your home - Routines will change, but the basic theory behind them will stay with children well into adult years.
Teach teens to write out their schedules - Make sure they know to include key information like times, dates, and places. Morin suggests that parents consider sharing with their growing children the financial hurdles and burdens of life rather than hiding them. It is an instinct to want to shelter children from the adult stressors in the world, but discussing budgeting and finances in their presence can be quite helpful to this aspect of their development. Having money conversations with older children present does several helpful things. Focus on a few basic meal recipes - Scrambled eggs, pasta dishes, grilled cheese, and baked potatoes are all things that even the most clueless chef can create in a kitchen. Is this the year you're finally going to pay off that big credit card? Or better yet, start saving for that home? Take the time today to create a game plan for one of your financial goals. Look at how much money you need to reach your goal, then figure out when you'd like to reach that goal. Figure out how many months that'll give you, then divide the total funds needed to reach your goal by the number of months until your goal date. Viola! You now have a plan and a fixed number to put into your budget!
On the flip side, success is always around the corner. Kids who grow up thinking that true success is unattainable are more likely to shy away from it. Another failure? It's almost too much to bear. There are a few strategies that parents can use to prepare their older children for the workforce. Have teens and young adults help with home repairs - Before they leave home, make sure they know their way around a hammer and nails, a screwdriver, and a drill. Teach time management - They won't learn it by osmosis. Time management skills must be taught and modeled while children are younger so that by the time they are ready to live independently, it is a more natural process. Today's children are growing up with a genuine fear of failing. Morin points out that the fear of failing is often two-fold. Kids are either being raised in a world of participation ribbons, where everything is a celebrated success and everyone is a winner, or they are growing up in a world where success isn't an option, so why try? As parents, it is your job to teach both sides of failure. Yes, in the world of adulting, failure is most definitely an option. It stings and it is no fun, but it is going to happen. That said, just because you might sink doesn't mean that you don't have to get in the pool. Today’s attitude is gratitude and it feels oh so good. Send someone a thank you note. Pause to compliment or express gratitude to someone who has helped your recently – especially if it’s out of the blue or face to face!
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