Has Adulting Changed With Newer Generations? – Episode 375

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[00:01] Hey Kim. Are you familiar with the term adulting? I am because I just got to spend a week with my adult children who rolled their eyes at every adulting comment that I made. Well, at least you weren’t the mom that was on Instagram, hearting all the things that they were taking pictures of. This is true. So today’s conversation, we’re going to talk about adulting. And I will tell you, that was somewhat of a newer word for me to learn a while back. And we’re going to talk in terms of prosperity and go over adulting. So first, let’s discuss one, what is different between the generations coming up now versus old generations? And then we’re going to dive into the details. Well, from my perspective, the generation that’s coming up now is split with a pretty

[00:52] clear line in the sand between those that have adopted the adulting thing and have embraced it and are figuring it out and knocking it out of the park and those that have basically resisted it. And it doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about finances, health, just good habits, mental aspects, mindset types of things. All of those areas of life have the ability to be adulted or not. And so just in case you’re not clear about this word, and I agree, Spencer, when I first saw it, it’s been a while, but it’s not tough to figure out, but it does make you take a second look. And it’s basically anything that you, as a younger person, and of course, young could be in quotes, look at and feel like,

[01:42] oh, only older people do these. Oh, shoot. I’m one of them. I need to get my act together. I need to adult in this category. So adulting could be around finances and having good savings habits. Adulting could be around homes and possibly purchasing homes or even being responsible for homes that you haven’t purchased. But maybe it’s an apartment now and you’re actually cleaning it. That could be called adulting. Cars, of course, same kind of scenario, responsibility and acting adultish. And is that boring sometimes? Yes. However, the bulk of society will adult for, I’m going to say a good hundred years, because we’re going to be living at least to 120, possibly 140. So if you figure the first 20 years, you’re clearly not

[02:30] adulting. That means the second hundred years you are. And it’s been super interesting to watch the generation that’s currently just getting out of college and getting into their careers and whatnot. And how well some of them adult and how well some of them don’t. That is so well teed up. So this list, some of it’s comical, some of it’s eye opening, and a few of them actually do make sense. So we’re going to go through the top 20 signs of being an adult. So the number one is having a budget. What’s your feedback on that? So as a lot of our listeners know, I say scrap the budget, just save first. However, I guess having a budget is better than nothing. Not doing anything, not paying attention to

[03:12] finances at all. And I’ve got young adult children that are just now getting into careers and they’re awesome at saving first and then they just spend the rest. So that’s my suggestion. Like it. That makes it a lot easier. Okay. Second one, buying a house. So I have one that just has bought a home and I didn’t think he ever would. It’s been hilarious listening to all of the quote joys of home ownership that he’s going through. And so while financially it’s clearly better long-term, I’m a big proponent of if you don’t know where you’re going to settle, don’t buy. Like go ahead and rent and stay flexible for a while because I’ve got another one that literally decided to up and move states here in another

[04:04] month. And that’s awesome. And they’re able to do that because they’re renting for a while. So we don’t need to rush into these things. I like it. And wait until the conversation is about the roof of the toilet. You might be thinking a little different about buying the house, right? Okay. The third one is filing your own taxes. Oh yes. This is fun. Especially if your parents have family and mid partnerships or some type of thing that has caused K-1s that are now causing extensions, et cetera, et cetera. But frankly, first job, first full job. I’m not talking about an 18 year old that’s working in a restaurant, but first full job means filing your own taxes, figuring out how to do it, whether that’s using TurboTax or some other

[04:52] online system and going through the learning that occurs. That’s fabulous learning. A little boring and detailed. Oh yeah. It’s good for you. It’s adulting. All right. Next one, understanding and monitoring your credit score. Yeah, I love that. So it’s something that I think this generation is so much more aware of. Holy cow. They’ve been doing some advertising around that. So that’s awesome. Let’s get it figured out. Let’s not bury our heads in the sand. And if it needs help, then let’s get the help. So this is a cool thing. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So here’s the next one. I kind of know where it’s going, but I’m going to throw it out there still investing in a 401k. Yikes. So yes, I realized that all of the typical financial planners on the face of this

[05:40] earth in America at least are going to recommend that along with most of your friends at your work, the water cooler discussions, the mentors that you have, everybody wants you into that 401k plan. I cannot disagree more. I so strongly disagree with immediacy into 401ks and 403Bs. When you are 22, 25 years old to lock money up until you’re 59 and a half. When in today’s world, you desperately need liquidity and flexibility. Look at what just happened in the year 2020. We had people lose jobs, lose homes and apartments, need flexibility and liquidity and pivot capability like you read about. The 401k contributes to none of that. So my recommendation is please, please, please build your emergency slash opportunity fund first before you get involved in a 401k and then

[06:41] only get involved up to the match level. And there are so many companies these days that don’t match MATCH. So if there’s no MATCH, then you shouldn’t be MAXing it. Oh, that’s a, that’s a really good phrase, Kim. I like that. All right. So we’ve got a couple more of the coming up that made me scratch my head and say, what? So here it is doing your own laundry. That’s adulting. My sisters children were doing that at like age eight. Here’s the next one. Scheduling regular doctor appointments. Yes. Welcome. Welcome to adulthood. And we got another couple here that make me scratch my head, but then we’ve got one that you may just want to hold onto your stomach. So here we go. The other one is making a list to take when going to the grocery store.

[07:32] Okay. I find that valuable. We use a groceries app. It’s legit. Yeah. And you know what else is nice? A lot of us have these things on our counters where we can say, Hey, and I’m not going to say that person’s name because I don’t want it to go off in your house, but you know what I mean? The next one is this cooking dinner most of Monday through Friday adulting. That’s interesting. Yes. And I think my adult children do a better job of that than I do. So well, you also have a chef built into the house. So that works out well too. All right. So here’s the next one on the list. This is the one that is nails on the chalkboard adulting watching the nightly news. Oh, please don’t tell me that’s on the list. That’s on the list.

[08:15] That’s sad. So that is, that is a habit that so many people are into. And you know, it’s interesting. I have a term that I like called reverse parenting when the quote younger generation think people in their fifties and sixties are now parenting the quote older generation. Think about people in their eighties. And I had to have a conversation with my father about watching too much news because he was getting all tied up in it and it was affecting his daily life. This is a habit and it’s one that you can choose not to have or certainly one that you can control in a way that will not negatively impact you because the news is negative. The whole, if it bleeds, it leads is real. And so I really

[09:06] encourage you to be conscious of the habits that you have fallen into often unconsciously. So just look at all the stuff that you do that’s habitual and ask yourself, is this serving me? Is this helping me be the best human being that I can be on this earth? And if it’s not, I encourage you to add in a different habit. You don’t want to try to necessarily quote, stop something or get rid of something because that’s the wrong focus. Instead, fill that space, add in a habit that will just shove the bad habit off the table. So add in reading, add in exercising, add in cooking dinner with the TV off, preferably add in going for a walk with the dog, add in whatever you’d like to fill the space. And then the news will not be so prevalent. And that was very well said. I’m going to touch

[10:07] on just a few of the remainder things. One, I’m going to grab some of them that are really kind of insightful. So one of them is this adulting is hosting dinner parties or gatherings with friends. I thought that was kind of neat. That is cool. I love it. And then we’ve got another one here, which is making the bed every morning. It made me laugh. This is funny. And we all are probably aware of the amazing speech that was given by somebody in the military. I’m sorry, I don’t know which branch, about how valuable that was, because then you had done one good thing for the day, et cetera, et cetera. And so again, this is a habit. You decide if it serves you well. And if it does, awesome. Otherwise, don’t judge. Absolutely. And I’m going to grab one last one,

[10:56] a part of adulting, which is starting the morning with coffee. Oh, sorry. Well, that’s not my personal preference. However, I have adult children that love it and a sister that does too, and a husband that also loves it. So without judgment, hey, if that works for you, awesome. Again, though, find what works for you. I have tried to like coffee numerous times and I don’t, unless it’s coffee ice cream. It’s the only kind of coffee I can handle. And believe me, I try not to have coffee ice cream for breakfast. So this is something that you just have to look at yourself and your own situation and what works for you. And if you are feeling like it’s beneficial and gives you energy and contributes to how you want to live your day, then awesome. My husband is a bulletproof fan.

[11:44] So he adds protein and MCT oil and butter to his coffee. And personally, I like tea, hot tea. So I add all the bulletproof stuff to that and have bulletproof tea instead. There you go. And I think what you just commented on is finding what your morning routine may be. I think we’ve talked about here on the podcast before, but you know, one of Kim’s favorite parts of the morning is hanging out with him a dog, giving him a dog a pet, you know what I mean? So work that in. Yep. Animals are awesome. And again, what works for you, right? Some people can’t deal with animals. Absolutely. So listeners, there is our episode on adulting. And I think that depending on where you live and how you were raised, that’s going to vary. All of it

[12:38] comes down for some of the things you mentioned in the very beginning. And I think the piece about the 401k makes so much sense where a lot of people are just following the herd and they’re not actually doing some critical thinking and using logic and thinking about what is going to be the best for their life. So thanks for going over these with us, Kim. Yeah, how fun. I hadn’t seen the list in a while. I loved it. Well, we’ll make sure to put that inside of the show notes. And if you guys like this episode, make sure you subscribe. And if you feel like this is a five-star podcast where you’re learning a lot and you’re entertained and it’s helping you out with your finances, please leave a review. And if it’s not five-star, let us know so that we can get there.

[13:22] So thanks for listening to this episode. Thank you for listening to the Prosperity Podcast. To take control of your money and have it work for you, visit us at partnersforprosperity.com. If you liked this episode, make sure you subscribe and leave a review.