For most people, adulthood, or more colloquially known as “adulting”, begins after college, or once they started working. We were so excited to reach this phase of our lives as children, thinking that as adults, we’d have our life put together, and we’ll just be super awesome.
But alas, adulthood turns out to be one huge, lifetime trap. While we don’t want to stay pessimistic about it, the real world can bring out the worst in us. If you’re in your early 20s and doing just fine, try to maintain your high spirits, because things may get rocky in a few years. This article won’t thwart your positivity, though, but just help you manage your expectations for the peak of adulting struggles.
Without further ado, here are the problems you’ll face once adulthood sinks in:
1. Saving Money
Saving money as an employed individual is way different from saving money as a student. You’re lucky if your parents still give you allowances regularly, but most people don’t have that luxury. They become financially independent once they step out of their nests.
Perhaps when you were younger, the idea of financial independence greatly appealed to you. But in reality, earning your own money forces you to tone down your spending instead of the opposite. If you expect that receiving a salary will allow you to buy whatever you want, you’re probably mistaken. Often, you’d rather keep your take-home pay and endure a little discomfort before making a mighty purchase.
Adults find it hard to save money not necessarily because their salary isn’t enough, but because it costs a lot to live in the first place. If you’re renting a place, you’d automatically deduct your rent from your paycheck. Add in your groceries, phone bill, credit card debt, and student loan. These money problems can start in your early twenties but may worsen in your mid-20s if your earnings didn’t grow.
2. Finding a Place to Call Your Own
People in their mid-20s normally start planning to buy their own home, regardless of whether they see themselves getting married in the future. After all, a home is an investment.
But when you start shopping around for a home, you’d need to consider a long list of factors, including your budget, the size of the home, the location, the age, etc. Applying for a mortgage is another story. A prospect lender will scrutinize your credit history, which your approval depends upon.
3. Managing Your Goals
You can list down as many goals as you like, but if you don’t change your bad habits now, you’re not getting any closer to any of your targets. Whether that’s a health goal, financial goal, or career goal, your progress depends on your actions and decisions. If you don’t do something about a habit that clearly impedes you from reaching a goal, you’ll stay stagnant.
However, changing your habits is easier said than done. By the time you reach your mid-20s, you’re already attached to the habits you’ve acquired in your early twenties, like drinking, smoking, or clubbing. But as fun as those activities are, they also deplete your savings and health. So start shifting to a healthier lifestyle now, before hitting rock bottom in your mid-20s.
3. Maintaining Your Home
The adulting problems don’t stop at finally purchasing a home. If you noticed your parents frequently dealing with issues around your home, like leaking faucets, broken water heaters, and punctured roofs, prepare for the same maintenance problems in your own abode.
People who live alone commonly struggle with damages and repairs around their home, so as early as now, find a reliable plumbing company, gutter cleaner, and other home service professionals you can count on. You don’t want to only start Googling them when your toilet is already overflowing.
4. Loneliness
You can have everything — a successful career, a nice house and a car, and healthy relationships — but if you’re home alone at night, you may still feel lonely. So keep sustaining your relationships and forming new friendships in your early 20s, so that in a few years, you can always have someone who will ease your loneliness.
5. Watching Other People Succeed
Countless adults in their mid-20s feel pressured by their peers, who seem ahead of them in everything. This insecurity may start in your early 20s, but if you don’t overcome it then, it may weigh you down further as you get older. Sadly, many adults have fallen into depression because of this.
Adulthood is never easy, but you can absolutely enjoy it. You’re more in control of your life than you realize. Start by being grateful for everything you’ve achieved so far — getting a stable job, having a roof over your head, and paying your bills without going hungry. Those accomplishments may sound simple, but they get you through every day. Focus on the journey, not the destination, and you’d always thrive, whether you’re 25 or 65.
