Welcome to Gaia! ::

I'll be a good sport and participate first.

to be an independant adult for my personal goals, I would need to be able to live on my own without the support of family, friends, or the government. I would need a quality enough job that I could sustain myself in this manner. I would need to make a good enough living so that instead of slipping into debt each money, I actually have a little to save by each month.

There's lots of things I could learn more about, or in the process of learning. To me, being curious about learning a subject is conducive to a journey of researching.

- any practical information about cars. Especially on any tips that will save money. Looking for car insurance. Looking for cheaper ways to repair and maintain vehicle. What the difference between the car brands are.

- practical tips on how to look for a quality apartment (or at least in a decent neighborhood) for a decent price. How to look for rooming options for cheap.

- how to save money on electricity, water, heating, cooling, and other household utilities.

- practical tips on budgeting one's money, how to look for a good bank, how to look for the best credit card option and how to treat it carefully. Other practical tips concerning handling money.

- little ways to make money under the table.

- how to buy the groceries on the cheap.

- how to make quick, easy, delicious, and cheap dishes as an introductory foundation for cooking.

- how to cut down living expenses and live on the cheap. For example, making cheap substitutions on household cleaning supplies, health and beauty supplies, etc.

- practical tips on how to bargain and negotiate with sellers, and when it is most appropriate to do so.

- how to get clothes on the cheap. especially for plus sizes. How to find quality garments and garments for special occassions, like business, dress, weddings, etc. How to find quality shoes for lower prices.

- basic sewing techniques especially on how to repair garments. Fun with sewing beginner projects that are practical around the house, such as rugs, throw pillows, etc. How to care for garments in cleaning them so that they will last longest.

- how to make one's time stretch more. ways to manage time better.

- learn to spot which jobs and careers are among the highest paid, highest demanding in such a fast-paced world. Learn which college majors are most useful in the workforce.

- learn how to market yourself to employers so that you look like an attractive candidate. Resumes, interviewing, thank you notes, etc. Learn how to pad your resume with relevant work experience, volunteering, internships, apprenticeships, etc.

- how to sharpen social skills

There's many, many more that I've probably forgotton. I bet some of you read this and were thinking "gee, some of that stuff she's wondering about is stuff that I'm already well-aware about!" <-- that would present a great opportunity for you to share us what you've learned, create a topic!

Still, don't hesitate to list as many things as you want to learn, even if it's repeated information. Infact, I look at it this way: the more a skill is repeated as a need, the more crucial that skill is to be taught. So speak up!

I think you covered it. Being an independent adult simply means living separately from your family and manageing your own life. There really isn't anything for me to add wink

Ok, so I read the list for teenagers aged 15-19 on that website. Essentially, the list was nearly the same for adults as well, so MANY of the independant living skills are assumed to have been developed, or developing when one is still a teenager. However, not many people are being taught these things even as teenagers, but the skills arn't difficult to learn. Here's some things I felt were striking to learn:

Most essentially, learn how to search for information, prize your self-esteem with your life, have goals and know how to plan realistically, and develop social tact and interconnections.

- uses efficient learning techniques to aquire and apply new skills. My comment: Learning study skills is not hard, but it will shave so much free time for you. I did not properly learn it in highschool so I see its importance even more.

- recognizes long-term consequences of solutions to problems. My comment: SO many people, especially of the lower income brackets, really gloss over this good piece of advice. Constraints nonwithstanding, we all have SOME ability to think in the long-term future, rather than blindly make short-sighted decisions all of our lives.

- needs life planning guidance (but is expected to have goals, plan them, manage resources towards the goals, and then perseveres. ) My comment: it is SO important to have goals, then realistically set at achieving them. it is SO easy to pretend to make a goal, and then think that the passage of time automatically makes it so. HAVE A GOAL!

- make plans. my comment: make a plan a REALISTIC one. Make baby steps if you have to! Make every-day and weekly goals if you have to! the more realistic your goals and plans are, the more likely you'll be motivated to follow them.

- able to prepare budgets. My comment: a teenager is expected to prepare a budget? Then many teens- not to mention young adults, are far behind. It's sad.

- makes and follow schedules. My comment: Divide up your free time. Make a list of things to do tomorrow, and then use your free time to jump on it. ANOTHER IMPORTANT THING: you have to get used to waking up earlier in the morning, and getting to bed earlier. It's a very easy tendency for some to stay up during the "graveyard shift" hours, but it is a bad habit that can wreck your precious time and put stress on your body! Take it from me, I am learning this the hard way! There is nothing too fascinating about staying up at and after midnight!

- applies personal values to use of leisure time. my comment: make your life more meaningful by doing this. Your leisure time will feel more fulfilling. If you do not know what your personal values are, you need to reflect on this.

- is able to generate and invest financial resources. my comment: Again, this is something I see as a trouble area for many teens and young adults.

- can understand the value of complete and accurate records. my comment: keeping records shave much stress on your part. Organization skills are a valuable skill.

- anticipates change. my comment: change is a more normal fact of life than stability. It is important to know how to keep YOURSELF stable and adapt to changes. A positive attitude really helps you here.

- demonstrates understanding, friendliness, adaptability, empathy and politeness in groups. my comment: even if you may "disagree" with a person in a group, it is important to find a way to work around such difficulties. It's a strong and essential skill to develop.

- can negotiate, mediate, and assist in reaching consensus. can understand value of conflict resolution to larger community. My comment: we have to learn to work together, yadda yadda.

- forms relationships for life. my comment: in a fast-paced world, it's too easy to forget your friends the minute you physically don't see them anymore. Keep as many contacts as you can, and REGULARLY speak to them! They may have the bad habit of never initiating contact with you, but more often than not they sincerely enjoy your friendship! It does not matter if you disagree with them on certain issues, as long as you abide by the basic rule of "Agreeing to disagree".

- organizes several tasks into sequential segments and allocates needed time to each. my comment: learn how to break down a big activity to smaller ones, and work on managing own time.

- establishes own deadlines and meets them. my comment: having a deadline FORCES you to make the effort, because procrastination is a common but poor habit to overcome.

- is able to place priorities on tasks. my comment: prioritizing tasks is better on saving time. Obviously, you will plan to spend more time on an important goal than on a tiny goal.

- believes in own self-worth and maintains a positive view of self. my comment: SELF ESTEEM CAN NEVER BE UNDERESTIMATED! don't you let anyone else try to break you down!

- challenge authority. my comment: it is important to challenge authority, even if it is only in your mind. Authority does not care about your best interests. Their position is but an artificial construct. Still, be careful in how you exercise your challenges so that you do not get needlessly hurt.

- manages own feelings of feelings. my comment: it's ok to feel your genuine feelings inside. But you must learn how to express them in a constructive, professional way. Losing control of your temper means you lost control of yourself.

What does it personally take for you to acheive independant adult status?

Pretty much finding myself at a financially secure enough time to comfortably move out of my house and into an apt. The separation of living under my parent's roof and paying rent to living under my own roof and paying rent. Being able to properly maintain a budget, a household, and personal responsibilities such as work and class without total emotional meltdown would be a plus too.

What things do you need to learn to be there? What things do you think are essential that you would like to learn more about?

It's important to learn financial management. It's always tempting to get that paycheck and head straight to the mall or walgreens and blow it on clothes and make-up, but a budget is a neccesity. A proper budget can allow for some entertainment, but the most important part of the budget must take care of needs before wants. I think we all could use a little schooling in the difference of a need and a want. Budget is a difficult thing to do and an even more stressful thing to uphold especially in college when you are pressed for time and find yourself making a choice between a quick sandwich at home or a 5$ meal at McDonalds.