Adulting 101 – A Crash Course in 3 Important Areas

Finances

• Creating and following a budget (income vs. expenses)
• Understanding how credit and credit cards work (how to get a cc, pay off the balance, avoid high-interest debt)
• Filing taxes (how they work, what they’re for, how to do them yourself, or where to get help)
• How to open checking and  savings accounts (how to set up direct deposit and automatic savings)
• Understanding monthly bills (mortgage/rent, car payments, utilities, insurance, etc.)
• Reading and understanding financial documents (contracts, pay stubs, bills, and bank statements)
• Distinguishing between needs and wants
• Whatever else is important in your family

Nutrition

• Cooking a few basic, healthy meals on your own
• Understanding basic nutrition (protein, carbs, fats, veggies, and what each does for our bodies)
• Food safety basics (proper storage, expiration dates, and preventing cross-contamination)
• Groceries (coupons, where to shop, specialty terms like organic, GMO, processed)
• Whatever else is important in your family

Transportation

• Basic car maintenance and where to go for help (AAA or other services)
• Understanding car insurance and your specific policy
• Rules to safely using rideshare services like Uber/Lyft
• How to read a subway/bus/train map (and how to buy a ticket/pass)
• Knowing how to plan routes, estimate travel time, and have a backup plan
• Whatever else is important in your family

The term “adulting” first emerged on X (formerly Twitter) around 2008. Since then, it’s had stratospheric growth as a meme-theme and blogger topic.

Given that and the mounting number of college courses that are earnestly attempting to teach young people the specifics of how to be a successful adult, made us realize that too many parents are missing a key element in their relationships.

When you were a kid, didn’t you think to yourself, “I can’t WAIT to be an adult, so I can do anything I want!” Being an adult was going to be the best thing ever … an adventure, an opportunity, a gift.

But all of this generational anxiety around being a grown-up suddenly feels like families are really struggling with how to convey life lessons to their children.

The joy of being a grown-up has been replaced by fear. That shouldn’t be the case.

The list of activities above includes things you can do with your young kids or teens while they’re at home. That way, you don’t have to rely on (read: pay for) a university (or the “school of hard knocks”) to teach your children how to be adults.

Your Adulting 101 home course can be taught in a number of ways:

• Finances—next time you pay your bills or balance your bank account, ask your child to join you.
• Nutrition—this is a great discussion at the dinner table or while you’re cooking or shopping.
• Transportation— Next time you need to go somewhere, let your teen figure out how to get there or look at a map with your younger child and work it out together. When it comes to family car maintenance, take your child with you to the shop!

Ultimately, the best preparation for “adulting” comes from the modeling you do as a parent, the actions you take to engage them in thinking about their future, and the environments you expose them to.

If you can do that successfully, then the need for an adulting 101 session won’t be so dire and “adulting” on their own won’t be nearly so overwhelming. They can save college for classes in underwater basket weaving and/or organic chemistry … what college is really for.

Use the download below to start your family journey, teaching and modeling another adulting 101 skill, personal responsibility.