Welcome to Adulthood! Wait, you didn’t know? Becoming an adult is not a stage in life as well-defined as becoming an adolescent or growing old age. Maybe it’s because we don’t know if it depends on age, maturity, your goals or if it's a mix of everything. So we decided to give you 21 signs to decide if you’re already on the bench of the adults or if you’re still in the courtyard of the youngsters making raves.
“Enjoy yourself. That's what your 20s are for. Your 30s are to learn the lessons; your 40s are to pay for the drinks” - Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City
1. You know that “Department of Treasury” isn’t for pirate treasures
Remember when adults talked about “the real world beyond school or the house”? Well, they were referring to the world of taxes: the white glove hit, the bucket with cold water, the wall you’re going to run into. Paying taxes is the number one on the list because it’s money that the government takes away from your work (that’s right, from your job) to solve everyone’s expenses. You can complain, but it’s better that you learn to organize your taxes, your bills, and make your declarations on time. It’s a matter of organization and responsibility that every adult does.
2. You have a budget
Costs an arm and a leg: money doesn’t grow on trees. Now you know the value of each dollar, that’s why you allocate percentages of your salary to cover your basic needs, fixed expenses and (if you follow the tips of Dear Money) save money. You may feel the pressure of living tight, but you know that it’s yours and that satisfaction…is immense.
3. You know your way around the kitchen
Maybe you don’t prepare all 3 meals a day, but when you cook, you have some recipes up your sleeve. An important part of adulthood is knowing your way around the kitchen and being able to prepare good dishes that seem “gourmet”.
4. You watch what you eat
If you are one of those people who avoid bread, fats, sugar and any other food with bad nutritional properties, you could be an adult. This is about knowing what you eat, knowing the nutritional properties of each food, reading food labels, etc.
5. You can handle yourself around
Doing your laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, cleaning your room, changing the fuse lights, buying your medicine, scheduling your doctor's appointments, buying a thermometer, pampering yourself when you’re sick…all of this and more is entirely up to you.
6. You are responsible for someone else
Whether you have a pet, a plant, or a family, you are now the person others depend on financially. Surely this influences a lot of the decisions you make, since your actions not only impact you, but someone else too.
7. You have your own place to live
Your childhood home starts to feel delimited from your personality and your lifestyle. Living on your own entails responsibility, but it also gives you the freedom to create your space the way you want to, plan your own day-to-day and gradually build your wealth.
8. You understand the value of a good night's sleep
Recovering from a hangover after a party is not the same as before, now it’s a more attractive idea to watch a documentary, a movie or take a walk in the park before going to bed. Your hours of sleep are sacred, or at least, you know that they are important for your performance the next day.
9. You redefine your weekends
Your weekdays are no longer for planning the weekends…weekends are now for planning.
As a teenager, saying “no” to an invitation would mean social exclusion (woah, that’s scary!). As an adult, what the heck does it matter? You know you have a plan to follow, going after your goals, being true to yourself. On this path, true friends will remain.
10. You start saying, “when you grow up”
You have a more holistic perspective of the implications of living. Now you are the one saying to young people: “when you grow up, you’ll understand”. You talk with your coworkers or your parents about “today’s generation” and say how things were different when you grew up.
11. No more spring breaks
Goodbye to spring break vacations. Hello, to collect vacation days (and ask your boss for permission to leave the job for a week). You even use your “sick days” to extend your beach getaway.
12. They call you “sir”/“miss”
At the gas station, in the supermarket aisles. When they call you “sir” / “miss”, something inside you is forced to climb a step towards adulthood.
13. You listen to vintage music
As much as Spotify introduces you to new music, now, and then you realize that what you listen to isn’t cool anymore…plus you start to appreciate music that isn’t necessarily from your golden era.
14. You have an immense email inbox
If you were to print out all the emails you’ve sent and received from work and put them side by side, you could cross the Atlantic to France or cross the Pacific to Japan.
15. You have a dress code for every occasion
You now know that wearing a hoodie everywhere is not always welcomed. Furthermore, you know how to choose the right bra, or you know how to tie a tie without watching tutorials on YouTube. You have clothes for every occasion, whether it be the beach, the gym, a business meeting or a funeral.
16. Your body suffers from lack of movement
You don’t run like before…what’s more, you don’t even wake up the same way. Your body starts to suffer because you spend most of the day sitting in a chair.
17. You take care of your car
If you’ve got a flat tire, you change it. If oil is low, you fill it up. If winter is coming, you add antifreeze. If you're going to drive, you have insurance. Daily transportation can be a blessing, but it can also be a hassle. A real adult knows about maintenance, insurance, holdings, and emergencies.
18. You know how to distinguish between luxuries and necessities
You know that it isn't necessary to buy a Starbucks every day or have all the cool gadgets. The things that didn't seem like a big expense before are now opportunities to save money and put it toward better purposes.
19. Having a chair can be sexy
If Ikea was in your city, you could live there. When you are an adult you realize that the furniture in your home is important, you get excited about buying a chair from a designer’s collection, a new refrigerator or a coffee maker with an alarm clock.
20. The word “debt” acquires new meanings
It’s not about owing money to the lady at the convenience store or to someone who lent you money for lunch. You know that debts are things that you must pay and that you will lose money because of interest. But you also understand that a debt can be good to buy an asset, to invest, or for common expenses such as your car or your house.
21. You want a predictable future
You have the ability and the habit of thinking what will happen in your life in the following years, and you project that life into 5, 10 and 15 years. This includes financial, personal, professional goals, etc.
