21 Things I wish I knew for Adult-ing

This is a list of 21 things 21 people would’ve liked to have known before they graduated from college. So if you are about to graduate or are still in school this should prepare you for your near feature.
I wish I knew…
- Not to put pressure on myself when things didn’t happen when or how I wanted.
- How to market myself a bit better in an interview.
- That it’s ok to fail.
- Setup internet before you move into your apartment. Not all apartments come with internet!
- That most apartments are actually NOT furnished.
- That not all apartments have central air and some rooms don’t have lighting, you need to go buy lamps!
- Having real work experience! Because the jobs you want when you graduate might need 5+ years of experience. Try to get as many internships or research experience in college! But even if a position says 5+ years of experience, still apply, what’s the worst that can happen? They say no.
- That it is ok to not know an answer to a question. You just have to go find it.
- That your coworkers could make or break a job for you if you have to work as a team. The team you work with is really important because if you can’t trust/tolerate them, it won’t end well.
- Don’t sweat the small stuff. Life is almost overwhelmingly all small stuff.
- You should say good morning to people or you seem like you’re in a bad mood.
- How taxes work, especially if you move out of the state. Check out the state taxes section at the bottom.
- Live within your means, max out your 401K (and never dip into it or lower your contributions), and don’t be afraid to take chances. To help with living within your means check out my budgeting article.
- Max Roth IRA 1st, travel, jump jobs to learn and get paid. Don’t be grounded in a city/state. Go where the opportunity is at. If you get laid off don’t worry about it. Go to networking events. Only hang with positive people if u can. Not fake positive people. You’ll get slapped down from time to time but learn from it and flip it into a good thing. Girls /guys will come later. Don’t sweat that traditional stuff.
- Don’t get comfortable with your first job always keep exploring other opportunities. It will make it easier if layoffs happen or if you want to transition.
- Don’t be afraid to take on jobs that don’t fit exactly what you’re into. Being stubborn can pay off only to a certain extent and then be detrimental to your growth.
- After you’ve gotten used to your job, be involved some larger way with your community and your profession. That helps make it more fulfilling.
- More about finance in general. A book that really helped me out was Ramit Sethi’s “I will teach you to be rich.” He offers a lot of the information free on his website so you can check that out first before deciding if you want the book.
- Don’t buy a car or house right off of college, unless you know what you are doing and have done all the math that entails. If you are buying a house hopefully it’s as an investment. If you get a new car try to get a car, that will last you 6+ years. Pay that sucker off in 3 years. Look for finance deals as in 0% APR or a real low one. Do the math or the dealers will sucker you big time. Watch out if they play with your emotions. It’s a tactic. Hence why you should have a plan. — Cezar Go
- Build credit and if you do, pay your credit card all at once every month.
See credit card have like crazy 13% — 20% apr rates . so let’s say you have $200 and pay off only $100. Well next month it’s $113 (13%). It all adds up. — Cezar Go - Before you pay your bills each month set aside some money to pay yourself first. You should use this money for a savings or for your investments.
A part of all your earn is yours to keep. It should not be less than a tenth no matter how little you earn…Pay yourself first
-Riches Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
Some of these questions bring up other questions: like what is a 401k? What is health insurance?
401(k):
keywords:
Vested — how much of the money the company contributed will be yours when you leave the company
401(k) is a retirement account that invests pre-tax dollars from your paycheck. Usually, your company offers a 401(k) plan. They let you choose to a certain degree where your money goes for example: stocks, mutual funds, bonds, etc.
The company will usually match some percentage of how much you make, this means free money, so match it. Though keep in mind that depending on your company it will take X years for it to vest. If it isn’t vested and you leave before the vesting period you will lose the part of the money that the company added.
Health Insurance:
keywords:
Deductible — The amount of money you owe before insurance kicks in
HSA — Health Savings Account, a savings account for your doctor visits, uses your pre-tax money
Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) vs Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)
HMO cheaper but you can only go to certain hospitals and the doctor decides if you really need that test for that one thing that happened to you .
PPO — more expensive and you can go to any doctor. If kobes doctor takes insurance I can go to that doc and get that test and many more if I want. My choice.
— Cezar Go
Actually I’d say if you are a youngin with no family the best insurance to get is a high deductible plan (assuming you only go to the doctor and dentist the normal amount) you pay a lower premium and get to use an HSA (for things like yoga, massages and chiro) and you can role over the HSA and it acts like a secondary 401K
— Mike Rodriguez
State Tax
If you live in any state besides the ones below you will have to pay state income tax. So your paycheck will look a lot smaller depending on the rate in the state. So make sure you check that out before accepting an offer anywhere. States that have no income tax:
- Wyoming.
- Washington.
- Texas.
- South Dakota.
- Nevada.
- Florida.
- Alaska.
Do you have any other things you wish you knew? Comment down below.
