Getting through engineering school is a tough challenge, we’ll give you that. But starting to live life on your own is definitely even harder. What school doesn’t teach you is that life after it isn’t that easy. Adulting is daunting if you don’t know where to start. That’s why we’re here to give you a quick insight on what you need to get your adult life started.
Source: The Federalist
Looking for a place to rent
Venturing out into another city to work is a very common start on your journey of adulthood. One of the hardest things to do, however, is looking for a place to live. Make sure you check everything when choosing your new home or apartment. Check the traffic during rush hour, the safety of the neighborhood, or even the network coverage on your mobile phones. Having a checklist on-hand when doing house visits is a good start to check if a home is suitable for you.
Doing your taxes
It’s a good thing that you took up math in engineering school because you’ll need it. There’s no way to get around paying taxes, as soon as you start working, you’ll have to do them. While there are some companies who do this on your behalf in form of payroll tax, there are some who’ll have you file it yourself. Try to learn some courses that are applicable to where you’re residing so you’ll have an idea on how to do it yourself.
Planning for retirement
If you think planning for your retirement this early is too sudden for you, you’re off to a bad start. Make sure that when you accept a position at a specific company that you know how much they are matching your retirement fund contributions. There are some organizations who also offer “vestment”, where employees get part ownership of the retirement fund matched by their employers. When an employee reaches 100% vestment (or ownership) of this fund, they can take all of it when they leave a company and the company cannot do anything to take it back.
Healthcare
Taking a risk of not having any health coverage is ill-advised. You won’t know when an emergency occurs and if you’ll have enough to cover it. Check if your employer has healthcare plans available for you. This usually entails deductions on your salary, but is highly recommended for insurance purposes.
Save your money early
We know that it’s nice to always have the latest phones or the coolest gadgets. And we also know how easy it is to lose track of your expenditures. Plan your money spending and budget your paychecks properly. If you don’t need something, don’t buy it. Also, try not to do shopping while you’re hungry. A research from the University of Minnesota stated that shopping hungry can lead to you spending more money (up 64% as per the study findings).
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