Things You Should Know How to Do Before College

Growing up and entering the world as an adult comes with many struggles that, if not prepared for, can cause daily stress and hardship. By developing principal life skills and understanding important topics before going off to college, daily life after high school can become much easier.

What to Know Before College

There are numerous skills that you can learn to prepare yourself for daily life post-high school, however, a few come to mind as being the most important: the ability to file your taxes, set up appointments (in person or via phone), complete household chores, and how to budget finances efficiently.

How to File Your Taxes

Though the ability to file and pay your taxes is a requirement by law, the process in which it is done is rarely if ever taught in school. Due to this many students come out of high school, faced with confusing payments to file as well as the inability to understand how important these payments are. While this may seem obvious to some, many move throughout early life without a job or money skills course to prepare them with the skills necessary to file taxes. If a skill such as filing /completing your taxes is not explored and understood, other skills such as budgeting and filing difficult paperwork may become harder to understand. There are many ways, however, to learn what needs to be done and how to complete things such as completing your taxes. One of these ways is online financial literacy courses found on websites such as Khan Academy. These user-friendly courses effectively assist young adults with understanding things such as taxes without being bombarded by mountains of information all at once. This supplementary information is open to those still in high school and those who graduated, allowing for accessible review of confusing topics and ideas.

How to Schedule Appointments (and Prepare for Them)

As a child/young adult, you were more than likely not the person to set up appointments, such as teeth cleanings, yearly checkups, oil changes, etc. However, as a student moving closer towards adulthood, this will be your responsibility, not your parents. So, during your high school days, it is important to take time to practice and be ready with the necessary information before you are responsible for making these appointments for yourself. Something to keep in mind when making these appointments is to have account information as well as records on hand or easily accessible. By having items like this ready ahead of time, you can experience less stress and more efficiently make appointments. Additionally, skills necessary for making appointments, such as the ability to make phone calls and speak with others in person, are important in many situations which you will be a part of throughout your college experience.

How to Take Care of Your Space

After high school, you will likely stay in housing not with your parents. Due to this, things that you may be used to having done for you, such as laundry and sweeping, will instead be your job. So, if you have not been given chores by your parents yet, try asking what you could do to help around the house. This is not only helpful to them but provides you with the ability to learn how to do basic chores, such as sweeping, mopping, making food, etc. This skill not only impacts your ability to live on your own but assists in your organizational skills and decreases stress levels you may experience as a first-time homeowner.

How to Create a Budget

Without creating a budget, any money in which you save during high school for your future has the possibility to go to waste. This is because without a set budget, it is easy to overspend and indulge ourselves with items that we do not necessarily need on a day-to-day basis. However, with a set daily/yearly budget you are easily able to keep up with what you need for the selected amount of time, what you have to spend on wants, and what you should put into savings. Budgeting not only helps you to save a large amount of money but keeps you from getting into debt and being left with a bunch of stuff that you don't need. Overall, it is extremely important to start practicing real-world skills before you are hit with the need to know how to do them in college and post-college.