7 ‘Grown Up’ Behaviors That Waste Your Money

The older you get the higher the expectation is on you to be able to spend money. When you are a broke college student, all the norms associated with you are budget-friendly and affordable: eating cheap food, drinking cheap alcohol, wearing cheap clothes, etc. However, once you get your “Grown Up” job and start making your “Grown Up” money, the norms associated with you are the complete opposite. These grown up behaviors actually waste your money on a daily basis.

In reality, being an “adult” has very little to do with how much money you spend. Adulting should be defined by:

• how well you budget
• how emotionally mature you are
• how much you value relationships
• how well you can prioritize and compartmentalize the important things in life

5 Habits You Need to Perfect In Your Twenties

5 Money habits you need to perfect in your twenties

It’s essential to make the distinction between the behaviors that society associates with being a grown-up and the behaviors that actually should define adulthood.

We’re bringing you a complete list of the norms or behaviors associated with 20-somethings that are extreme money pits, and what alternate behaviors SHOULD ACTUALLY be associated with being an adult.

1) Having an Elaborate Wardrobe

Unless you are a lifestyle influencer, a fashionista, or a youtubeer (something fashion related), you don’t need an outfit for every occasion.

Millennials today (or, actually all generations) own way too many clothes than needed. I am a victim of this expectation too. In college, nobody expects you to have different clothes for different occasions. You can show up in the same dress for every fancy occasion and nobody will bet an eye. They know you don’t make any money.

There is no reason why this behavior should change once you start making money. That is not say that you shouldn’t upgrade your life from the broke college days, but you certainly shouldn’t feel obligated to have an outfit for every ocassion.

The so called adult norm of having and elaborate wardrobe will only waste your money.

Adulting should be about:

1. Knowing your style
2. Knowing what clothes make you feel comfortable
3. Having hand-picked jewelry and accessories that complement the clothes you already own
4. Having experimented enough with your wardrobe to come up with different outfits from the pieces you already own
5. Taking pride in wearing your favorite dresses again and again

2) Traveling More Expensively

Traveling on an extreme budget is considered cool when you are a young adult. However, as an adult, you are considered cheap for staying in hostels and sticking to street food when on vacation.

Don’t go to fancy restaurants when on vacation just because that’s what you are expected to do as an adult. Do not stay at a $100/night hotel if you’d rather spend your money on experiences. Don’t take a taxi if you are comfortable taking public transport.

For some reason, as an adult, you are expected to be taking adulthood-defining vacations such as:

• traveling to foreign countries
• traveling to fancy cities for fancy alcohol and dinners
• Staying at wineries

In the long run, a fancy vacation will feel like a waste of your money if you didn’t do it in a way that fit your budget and personality.

Traveling as an adult should be about:

• Knowing what you value during traveling
• Spending more money on experiences
• Spending less money on aspects of traveling you care less about
• Taking vacations you actually enjoy – cities that have activities you like
• Basically not changing how you travel because of societal expectations

3) Dining Out at Fancy Restaurants

Paydays matter a lot more to adults who don’t budget compared to those who do. Payday is irrelevant for those who budget as it is no different than any other day. They already have budgeted and planned for the upcoming month, and that planning doesn’t rely on the payday. [This feels like it came out of nowhere, but it’s relevant, trust me!]

Dining out is a great way to reward yourself for the hard work that you do, but don’t feel obligated to do so. Dining out at fancy restaurants and blowing your budget on one meal is not for everyone. If you are someone who budgets and plans for meals, don’t feel obligated to behave any other way.

You will be surprised how much paydays are used as an excuse to spend extravagantly by many adults. This is not because these adults find great value in this spending. It’s because that’s what they think they are supposed to spend their money on.

Personally, I don’t always find fine dining to be worth the cost. These experiences are delightful once in a while for special occasions. However, definitely not on a weekly basis. If you are not dining out at fancy restaurants on a regular basis, it doesn’t make you any less of an adult. You are entitled to spend your money on things that matter to you, not what your peers define as grown-up behaviors.

4) Buying a Big House

Nothing can put you in a bigger financial hell hole than being in a living space that is way beyond your needs. More space means more expenses in filling it up with things like decor and furniture. A bigger space means more time, energy, and money in maintaining that space.

Buying a bigger house than you need doesn’t just mean paying more for the living space, but paying higher for all costs associated with a living space:

• Higher Mortgage
• Higher Property Taxes
• Higher utilities
• Higher insurance
• Higher renovation expenses

Remember, you are paying these high prices for a living space that you aren’t even utilizing to its full potential.

Would you rather own a living space that is just big enough for your needs that you can comfortably pay off or a living space that is the cause of your daily financial worries? Is buying a bigger space just because society considers this a status symbol really worth it? Over time, this big purchase will just feel like a waste of your money.

Being an adult should be about:

• Saving up for a living space that fits your minimum needs
• Buying a house that you can comfortably pay the mortgage of each month
• Finding ways to fully utilize a small living space to fit your needs

5) Drinking

In today’s society, you are almost looked at as a prude if you don’t drink. There is nothing wrong with drinking, but a lot of the social norms around drinking are also immensely costly and a waste of money. As an adult, you almost always feel the need to order a drink every time you are dining out. That’s just what adults do. Right?

You are expected to order drinks at countless other social activities. The drinks at restaurants and clubs are expensive.

If you truly enjoy high-end alcohol, it is a lot more cost-effective to buy a bottle from a grocery store or a liquor store and share it with friends at home.

There is nothing wrong with social drinking. Just don’t feel obligated to order drinks every time you are out. You shouldn’t be expected to order just because you can, especially knowing how much these drinks can add up to by the end of the night. In the end, it will feel like a waste of your money.

Adulting should be about:

• Ordering drinks only when you actually want to
• Ordering drinks when you can justify them in your budget
• Having friends over and drinking at home instead (It’s more fun that way anyways)
• Knowing that every fun activity with adult friends doesn’t have to even involve alcohol

6) Thinking You Have to Absolutely Love Your Job

There are very few people who truly enjoy every part of their job with a passion. For the majority of people, there are parts of the job they love and parts of the job they have to tolerate. This is just the reality. This is especially true when you are just starting out in your career and don’t have a lot to leverage for the job you want.

Unrealistic expectations of adults about a dream job cause them to hate the weekdays and desperately wait for the weekend. This means you will very easily justify frivolous spending during the weekend.

When you start your career, you will go through jobs that aren’t dream jobs. However, these jobs will be the stepping stones to finding that dream job. These experiences will give you the leverage you need to get a job that can allow you to truly pursue your passions. You will have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find the prince.

Finding a job that you always imagined you would have right out of college is not the norm. This mindset can cost you a lot of opportunities. This mindset can waste a lot of money as you won’t invest time and energy into a job you don’t deem important in the first place.

If you aren’t making an effort to make your job meaningful, you will spend your money on making your weekends more fulfilling. You will feel that you deserve to spend on yourself because you put yourself through a dreadful job all week.

Being an adult should be about:

• Appreciating parts of your job that are valuable and fulfilling to you
• Not live just for the weekend
• Negotiating very early on to ensure you are getting paid appropriately for your work
• Not having unrealistic expectations from your first few jobs

Bonus Tips

• Buying a fancy car: Cars depreciate in value so fast. Fancy cars also require expensive maintenance. Ask anyone you know that blew their money paying off a fancy car. It will be one of your most regretted decisions. Start saving to buy your own house/apartment instead. Buy an affordable and dependable car that won’t break the bank.
• Paying excessive and unnecessary fees: This is one of the dumbest ways you waste money as an adult. As an adult, you are expected to buy bigger items which means financing these items. Financing big items or putting things on credit cards as an adult is absolutely fine, but only if you know you have the means to pay for them. Paying late fees is absolutely unnecessary and foolish.
• Impulse Buying: An adult behavior that can actually save a lot of money is to ensure you never buy things impulsively. Read more about it here.
• Not Knowing How to Cook: An adult should definitely know enough about cooking to be able to sustain himself/herself. Eating out at restaurants and getting takeouts are one of the biggest expenses amongst millennials. Research shows millennials are not only dining out more than previous generations but also ordering deliveries more than any prior generation.

One of the Most Important Tips

• Bad Debt: In a capitalist country like America, debt is actually great. Debt is what will keep your credit score high! Small correction – incurring debt and then paying it off on time will keep your credit score high. What you shouldn’t incur is bad debt. Bad debt is basically any debt that you don’t have the means to pay off or any debt that has crazy high-interest rates. The easy access to money you can borrow can very easily blur the lines between good debt and bad debt.

If you are looking for more ways to save money:

http://thewalletsecrets.com/personal-finance/the-ultimate-guide-to-do-a-no-buy-year-successfully/