Remember when you were in school, and you couldn’t wait to grow up and be an adult?
Those were the days, weren’t they? Now that you’re an adult, you have to learn how to do what’s called “adulting,” a phase where you have to learn the basic things like renting a place to stay and putting food on the table, the things that your parents used to do for you that you wish they could do now.
So if you’re struggling with the expectations of being an adult, here are some life lessons on how to be an independent adult.
Basic Housekeeping Skills
Part of the journey in how to be an independent adult is learning how to keep your home in order.
Once you’ve achieved this milestone, you have to learn some basic housekeeping skills to keep your home looking neat and spiffy. Learn how to make your bed, how to do laundry, all of the little things that will go a long way to making your house feel like a home. Learning housekeeping skills is one of the prime examples of how to be an independent adult.
Keeping Up Your Car
You may have a car before you have your own home, so you should already know basic automotive skills that will keep your car humming like new.
In case you don’t, here are some basic tips that you need to learn just in case you find yourself in a bit of a jam. First, keep jumper cables in your trunk. You never know when your car will suddenly decide to stop running, and if the problem is in the battery, having a set of jumper cables will get you back on the road quickly.
Also, you may want to learn how to change a flat tire. Imagine that you’re driving down the road, and all of a sudden, your tire blows out. Make sure that you have a spare tire and some tools in hand to change the tire. If you don’t know how to change one, call a tow truck and have it delivered to a tire shop so that your car can be fixed.
Speaking of an auto repair shop, it’s handy to find one that will fix your car and not charge you an arm-and-a-leg. Have multiple garages in your phone directory for different needs, such as a collision repair center that’s great for repairing your car just in case you get into an accident. Or, take your car to a garage that is great at fixing car hail damage. Having car repair garages on deck will save you a lot of headaches in case you’re in the middle of a car emergency.
Home Repair
Breakdowns don’t just happen in your car, oh no. Your home can be prone to issues as well, which leads to another thing you need to learn how to be an independent adult: Do-it-yourself home repairs.
We’re not saying that you have to turn into Bob Vila, but understanding home repairs will save you a lot of money. To learn about doing basic home repairs, such as covering your gutters with gutter covers, home improvement stores such as Home Depot and Lowes offer classes that you can take so that you will be able to strut your knowledge in fixing that leaky sink by yourself.
Of course, there are some issues that you won’t be able to fix on your own, such as air conditioner repair, in which you need a Bob Vila-like professional to come in and fix. Outside of that, most minor home issues can be resolved by your own two hands, so it will help a lot to learn the basics of home repair.
Unclogging a Drain
It can be a disgusting job to do, but in your quest to adulthood, it is very important to know and learned the ways of unclogging drains.
True, this is a skill that no one wants to have unless you’re a plumbing professional who make a living unclogging pipes and sinks. However, it is an ungodly sight seeing your sink or toilet overflow and flood your house, which can lead to water damage that can ruin your budget thanks to mold. This somber fact should be your motivation to learn how to unclog sinks and toilets.
Luckily for you, many YouTube tutorials will show you how to get creative in saving your bathroom or kitchen from a flooding disaster. In any case, there is one item that you should have in handy at all times: a plunger. Believe it or not, buying the right plunger could be the most important household item you will ever make as an adult.
Communication
You may look at this tip and wonder why communicating better is an important step in how to be an independent adult, but let us explain.
When you grow older, you’ll have to talk to a wide range of people, some of whom you don’t want to deal with, such as a customer service representative or a police officer in case you get pulled over. Learning the art of communicating effectively will help you navigate through your adult life better.
Also, getting better at communicating will help you grow your relationships as well. Part of the reason why relationships break down is due to communication, so improve that as a way to grow and keep your relationships strong.
Protect Passwords
Depending on what generation you grew up in, you are probably already familiar with creating and maintaining passwords.
What you know about passwords as a kid will need to be enhanced as an adult. That’s because you will have more sensitive information that you will have to keep under lock and key, such as ATM PINs and documents. Think of a password like a virtual key. You wouldn’t get one key made that will unlock everything, would you? Of course not.
So when you’re creating passwords, don’t create one password that will fit all because if a hacker uncovers your password, they will have the keys to your digital castle.
Spice up your passwords and make them different; and in case you have a problem remembering all of those passwords, keep a hand-written cheat sheet where only you can find it, or use password management apps and tools that will help you manage your multiple passwords, and get you on the path on how to be an independent adult.
How To Write A Will
Hopefully, this won’t come to pass soon, but sooner-or-later, you’re going to leave this Earth.
To have your family a little more at ease, you may want to learn how to write a will. A will is a document that will detail who gets what of your possessions when you die, and while it may be a bit scary, doing it now will save you some time down the road in deciding who will get your car or home.
If you don’t want to do it yourself, you can hire a wills and trusts attorney who specializes in creating wills and trusts that will keep everyone happy, we hope.
Cooking
In your journey of how to be an independent adult, there is nothing more independent than cooking.
When you were growing up, you didn’t have to worry about cooking all that much. Your parents took care of that responsibility for you. Now that you’re an adult, it would go a long way toward your sustainability as an adult to learn how to cook for yourself.
No, you don’t have to be a regular Gordon Ramsey in the kitchen, and microwave dinners and takeout can still be options on certain nights. However, learning how to cook meals will save you a lot of money.
Keeping A Calendar
When you grow into adulthood, you’ll have a lot on your plate, especially maintaining your bills.
One of the keys to how to be an independent adult is being organized, which, when you were younger, was primarily reserved for keeping your room cleaned and doing your homework on time. Now, organization takes on a larger meaning in your life. There will be multiple things hitting you at one time, from prioritizing bills to scheduling service maintenance. Keeping a schedule will help keep your life organized and make things a little bit easier for yourself.
For example, if you have bills that are due, and on the same day have a dentist appointment, a schedule will help make your day go by easier. Organizing your life can be a bit of a hassle, but it will pay off in the long run.
Balancing Your Bank Account
Dealing with a bank can be a stressful experience, but it’s all part of being an adult.
More often-than-not, you’ll obtain your first account before you graduate high school, but you didn’t need to worry about balancing your bank account then because you lived at home. Once you’re on your own and “adulting,” you will have to learn how to balance your bank account so that you won’t overdraft your account and balance your finances.
Prioritizing
There are many tips out there on how to be an independent adult, but those tips won’t matter if you don’t have your priorities straight.
You see, being an adult means that you have to put the most important things first every day. According to Living Well, Spending Less, you should aim to do the most difficult tasks first and leave the easier ones for last. Sometimes, it can be hard to prioritize your life, which is why, if you are having a hard time, you should think about hiring a life coach that can help you learn how to prioritize.
Maintaining Contacts For Larger Issues
While many things in life we can control, there are certain things that you will have to call a professional for.
For example, if you need your roof clean, maybe it would be best to call a roof cleaning company. Or, if your heating goes out, call a professional to do heating repairs. Gathering and maintaining professional contacts is a big part of how to be an independent adult. Research and list the best companies available who can tackle the jobs around your home that you’re not able to do.
Maintaining a professional list doesn’t stop at home improvement, though. You will also need to have a list of professionals for everyday life, such as dental services or insurance. Maintain that professional list will signal that you are, indeed, an independent and responsible adult.
In conclusion, it can be tough being an adult, with a lot of heightened responsibilities that you will have to juggle to maintain yourself.
If you ever wondered why adults always mutter to themselves that they wished to be a kid again, it’s because being an adult is rough and a lot of responsibility. You will have to learn how to cook for yourself, how to keep a roof over your head, even maintain your insurance so that you can keep your car on the road.
All of the things that you didn’t have to worry about while living with your parents, you now have to worry about as an adult. This is why “adulting” can be hard, and you will also join the chorus of adults who will wish you never grew up so fast.
Then again, it’s exhilarating being an independent adult. You control your destiny, you have your place, your car, and you will achieve this with little assistance from others. There’s a certain amount of pride that goes into being an independent adult, and it acts as the perfect counterbalance to the hard things about adulting.
Even as an independent adult, we all need help to be a better adult, which is why learning how to be an independent adult will allow you to be an even better adult, from cooking to cleaning, to maintaining contacts for dentistry to how to do the basic car and home repairs, to even communicating better.
