ILLUMINATION CHALLENGE 100 — DAY 17

A Class Called Adulting

Important Life Lessons You Never Learn in College

A cousin of mine was moaning that her daughter will probably take a gap year since she wants the “full college experience” and online classes do not offer the same level of joyous camaraderie. This made me ponder about the many important life lessons that college never teaches you.

We just launch our kids into the grown-up world with no clue about important topics like money, parenthood, office politics, and other crucial concepts expecting them to have picked it up by osmosis watching their parents. (Like we parents know everything!)

Why don’t we have a class called “adulting” before graduation?

If we did, this is what I would want to see in the curriculum.

#1. The Basics of Money.

The basics of money — expenses, income, and investments. How to trim expenses, how to improve your skills to get a higher paying job, how to invest your money in safe instruments like ETF funds, inflation, the power of compounding, and of course, saving money in your 401k or other retirement accounts.

#2. How To File Taxes.

Seriously, this one is important!

You don’t need to know every deduction and tools like Turbo Tax are fantastic, but you still need to know some basics. It will also help with topic #1 above, so you do not end up paying too much taxes, or too little of it.

#3. How To Be Happy.

Yes, we all face stressful days. We all face sorrow in life, but knowing how to be happy without spending tons of money is important, too!

Some FREE ways to boost your mood include a walk in the park, meditation, watching a funny movie on TV, reading ancient classic texts, talking to your family members.

#4. How To Make New Friends.

It is amazing how many adults have absolutely no clue how to walk up to a stranger and say hello or introduce themselves without sounding creepy or crazy. Many do not even know how to respond if (God forbid!) someone does gather the courage to take the first step for you!

So many people get absolutely panic and tongue-tied attending networking events. Many will never step in without a wingman! Smartphones do not make it easier because you can hide away behind your phone and pretend “Busyness” instead of acknowledging your dismal social skills.

#5. Cooking simple healthy meals.

I will be honest — I had extremely rudimentary cooking skills before I turned 25. I am still not a foodie, but I can dish up drool-worthy recipes for 10+ people without breaking a sweat.

Our kids (girls or boys) do not need to become Cordon bleu chefs, but everyone should know the basics — cutting veggies, cooking simple rice and lentils, or steaming veggies with simple herbs and lemon. Viola! A complete meal by itself. A full-blown healthy, amazing, delicious meal!

#6. Resilience and facing failure.

As kids, we have the luxury of knowing that our parents have our back and can fix most things. While that is a huge confidence boost for well-adjusted, happy and independent kids, they also need to know how to deal with failures.

There will be times when parents are not around or situations when we parents do not have the power to fix a mistake (even if we want to!). There will be things like natural disasters destroying your neighborhood, pandemics averting college plans, recession cutting thousands of jobs, or just stupid mistakes that you cannot easily undo. Knowing how to take responsibility is important as also how to rectify them (if possible) and learn from those mistakes so you do not repeat them.

You can plan all you like, but sometimes life throws a curveball. Our kids need to know resilience so that they can overcome those obstacles and still shine!

Sadly, we do not have such classes for kids (or adults). Until we do, I am definitely planning to teach my kids explicitly on all these topics.

What about you? Have you taught your kids about money and goal-setting?