I find it hard to believe I’m already one year out of college. This thing called “being-an-adult” is tricky. There are a bunch of things to this lifestyle that I never learned in college. Like, insurance….what the heck is that? I do not like knowing I pay almost $300 a month for insurance (rental, car, health, dental, vision) most of which I never actually collect on. Part of me is tempted to go out and break my leg just so I can actually utilize my health insurance (which I am yet to capitalize on. I guess the most important thing to me is to make sure that I really do make a conscious effort to use every dollar of my insurance possible. I make sure to get my semiannual dental checkups, I get a new pair of glasses every year, if I feel really sick you better believe I’m going to be heading to the hospital. My advice to people….use your insurance if you can! Another one of my not-so-favorite hidden expenses…Income Tax. Unfortunately I live in California where we have income tax, sales tax, property tax, and life tax….okay maybe not the last one, but at times I sure do feel like there is. All through college I was considered a Washington resident, but in my first year of post-college life I made the transition to California residency. Unbeknownst to me, dibs were called on 9.3% of my pay check by the the golden state. I guess they have to tax me because the weather is nice year round and there are a lot of beaches…right? I don’t know, maybe I’m just being bitter, but I can tell you one thing…I am definitely not looking forward to further discoveries of these hidden treasures that will somehow find a way to snatch up every dollar of my hard earned pay.
I would be curious to hear if anyone else had similar experiences in their transition to adulthood. Any expenses you didn’t know would come to bite you in the behind? Or anything I’m missing out on that could enlighten me or prepare me for the future?
9.3% poorer than you,
I pay for a gym now, and I’m not used to doing that. But a 8-5 job everyday having me seating at a desk cannot be good for my health, so now i’ve got to fork over money and time to get exercise outside of my normal day…
Hey the cost is well worth it considering everytime you go to the gym you are just adding years to your life!
Luckily, for me, the learning curve was pretty friendly. My early adult rentals had a lot of “included” utilities.
At one place, I was paying for natural gas and cable for the first time.
Another place, I had my first water and trash bill.
By the time my husband and I bought our first house, we were already comfortable with lawn care and utility access.
The only learning curve was having to call our own repair services and contractors for jobs that needed to be done.