Adulting as a millennial? Wondering about tips to manage adulting as a millennial? Okay, so we all come from different backgrounds and are at different stages in our lives. But the one thing that we all have in common is that we’re all “adulting.” Who even came up with that word? Like I didn’t know “adulting” was an actual thing until I started having to do it. It never occurred to me that my parents had been doing it all along…. I guess that’s because they didn’t give it a name. Well this noun turned verb describes us all currently whether we’re enjoying the life-long task or not.
I’m fairly new to adulting, so let me give you a little look into my background so you can understand why adulting hit me the way it did. The biggest and main responsibility I had all my life was school. A few chores here and there, but nothing that would land me in too much trouble if I didn’t handle it correctly. Maybe taking the chicken out the freezer when I heard my mom pull into the garage instead of doing it when she called me and told me to, but the most that did was push dinner back an hour or so. Now don’t get me wrong. School was a big responsibility for me growing up because that’s just what it was in my household. Not too much pressure, but my parents wanted us to make good grades…. But I’m pretty sure it was more so that the good grades were linked to our understanding of information that would be important for us to live in society as adults. There goes that root word again lol. But that’s about it. On top of that, I was in college for seven years with pretty much no responsibilities other than school so that meant I was entering the world of responsibilities late. And I don’t know what “seven years of college” means to you, but I’ll tell you what it doesn’t mean, that you’re now prepared to live in society lol. I graduated knowing a lot about pharmacy, but that’s it lol. So, you can only imagine.
Any who, based on the experiences I’ve had, I’ve come up with a list that compacts many of the important overarching themes of adulting into five easy steps that can be started no matter where you are in life. Remember these are all basic steps, but as basic or easy as they may seem, they are things we don’t take the time out to do on the regular like we should.
- Prioritize financially
- Remember important dates
- Plan
- Set goals
- Remain teachable
PRIORITIZE FINANCIALLY
As simple as this seems, it gets missed a lot. Many times, it gets overlooked because we’re more focused on what it is that we want. I am a big-time shopper. Whenever I come across something that I want, which has been via Instagram lately due to Covid-19 restrictions, I take a moment to think about everything that needs to be paid. True story, if I haven’t paid certain things because the payment isn’t due just yet or I know I have a grace period, I’ll pay it right then and there just to make sure I’ve handled my responsibilities before making an unnecessary purchase, which is usually a clothing item that I probably won’t even be able to wear right now for real due to the world not being fully open. And I am not one to waste an outfit. By the way, I’m not pushing the part about the grace period lol. Don’t get in the habit of waiting until after something is due to handle it… technically that’s late, and habits are hard to break.
Tip: Budget and use autopay.
I know, I know. We hate autopay, but it can be very helpful, especially if you are not going to use any other method of reminding yourself to pay on time. If you don’t want to use autopay, set reminders on your phone; reminders that will actually go off with a sounding alarm. The only downfall to this method is what I’ll call human error. The alarm goes off, but we cut it off and say, “oh I’ll do it when I get back to the house.” You get back to the house and something else comes up that distracts you from doing it. Or maybe you had a lot more to do before you planned on heading back to the house, and by that time you’ve forgotten.
REMEMBER IMPORTANT DATES
This can be applied to paying bills, but I don’t suggest it. Remembering important dates refers to all the new things you’ll step into once being removed from mommy and daddy’s paperwork. Health insurance renewal dates (open enrollment or timeframes set by your job), car emissions, registration renewal. Those three things alone can have you dealing with more drama than is even needed. Private insurance can be purchased year-round but can be more costly, getting your emissions done late can cost you more money, and having old tags can get you pulled over by the police and fined.
Tip: Save these things as alarming reminders in your phone, and don’t wait until the last minute.
Don’t post it on the refrigerator that you never look at because you’re too busy thinking about what’s inside every time you visit. Don’t save it in your email. Do you know how many emails I have saved in the “Important” folder in my email? That I don’t even have access to via my work computer, which is the computer I’m on all day. Don’t wait until the last minute. Things always come up.
PLAN
Oh don’t we love spontaneity or to just “vibe”! Too bad we can’t possibly live life that way. Some things have to be planned. Big purchases. Big decisions. When things are planned you can better prepare for unexpected outcomes. Planning helps bring together all the factors of your life that may be affected by a decision. After all, the unexpected is what you want to be prepared for. Of course you can’t plan for what you don’t know is coming, but you can be better prepared for possible outcomes.
Tips: Invest in an agenda or journal.
I prefer journals because they give more space for writing notes.
SET GOALS
Having goals to meet keeps you going. Not that your life should be meeting deadlines that you make up for yourself, but goals help you hold yourself accountable and keep you moving in a forward direction. Think about it as if you’re playing a game. After you reach a high score, you want to beat it. It’s just the next natural move to make. Not that life is a game, but you should definitely be aiming to progress in it and enjoy it like one.
Tip: Invest in a journal.
Having a journal will allow you to document and keep track of your goal setting. Unless you’re old school like me, it would mainly be for planning and documenting your goals, because depending on what the goal is, there are many new ways of tracking them like calorie trackers, fit bits, etc.
REMAIN TEACHABLE
You’re never too old to learn something new. The way I see it is if it’s not your area of expertise, then there is definitely someone in existence that you can learn from. Even if you choose to read a book or watch a video on how to do something, you were still able to acquire knowledge that you did not have prior to.
Tip: Don’t focus on the deliverer of the information but the information itself, and remain humble.
You are never too good to learn from anyone, but if you focus on the information itself, it won’t matter who is giving the information if it is valuable and meaningful to you. Especially if you sought out that information. At the end of the day, you now know what it is that you are looking for.
For example, not too long ago Robert Kiyosaki, author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad” was criticized for certain personal opinions. However, I can’t act like I didn’t learn a lot from his book and that it didn’t put me in the right mindset to do and have interest in some of the things I do now.
*** BONUS ***
Have fun with it! You’re still living life, which shouldn’t be a bore. Make it fun. Do certain things with a friend, and turn it into a friendly competition. After all, your luxe life and journey should be enjoyable!
These may not be starter steps for you, but they can help no matter what stage you’re in. You may have already amassed a pile of debt or be trying to fix your credit, but these steps can also help you clean up. If the goal is to get out of debt, plan out the steps to get it done, prioritize financially so that you’re keeping on track with your goal, remember dates that are important in helping achieve this goal, and learn new tips and tricks along the way from others who have done or are in the process of doing it. See how I did that there lol? Hope these steps help. And remember….
EVERYDAY SHOULD BE A LUXE DAY !
Subscribe below for more helpful tips and follow the social media accounts to keep up to date with what’s going on.
Latest posts by Dalin (see all)
- 3 Things to do to Close Out the Year 2022 - December 21, 2022
- Becoming Her: How to Become THAT Girl - December 15, 2021
- 3 Things to do to Close Out the Year - November 26, 2021
[…] 5 Easy Ways to Manage Adulting as a Millennial […]