In Case the 11 Years of Marriage and Two Kids Didn’t Make Me a Real Adult, I Finally Did This
I know we officially become adults when we turn 18, but for some reason I feel like I’m just now hitting the official adult age… 30.
I mean 18, 19, you’re still a teenager, and in your 20s you’re figuring stuff out. Once you turn 30 it’s like ready or not you are officially GROWN UP.
While I didn’t finish everything on my 30×30 list, I was close. There were a couple of things that were really important to me. Things that really helped me solidify my adultness so I’d officially be ready and worthy to be a 30-year-old.
First off (after buying my first lotto ticket) was life insurance. My husband kept nagging me to get a new policy since I’m now self-employed and lost the benefit I had with my full-time employment.
I called Allstate to finally get my new plan set up a couple of days before my birthday, then proudly told my husband that I was a real adult.
“I got life insurance!” I exclaimed.
“Great! How much is your plan?” He asked.
“$150,000.”
“That’s it?!!”
“What?! I would pay off the house!”
“But I’d have childcare expenses, the kids have college…”
“Ok fine, should I do $250,000?”
“$250,000? Do $500,000,” He said. “I have more than that on mine!”
“WHAT? Then you won’t even be sad if I die!” Greedy punk! I thought.
But then I went and put all of my info in a life insurance calculator and realized it’s probably better to be safe than sorry, and the kids and stuff… Yada yada.
I calmed down and did what any mature almost 30-year-old would do, and I called my agent back and upped my policy. Yay for adulting!
We already did our wills. So all that morbid stuff was out of the way. Now time for the fun stuff… Retirement!
My husband has both a pension and retirement plan, but I wanted an extra one just in case, and if for nothing else than annual Disney Passes for my grandkids.
I regretted not starting a 401K when I was working full-time at my news station. Initially, I didn’t think I’d stay at the same job long enough to be vested; yet here I am, nearly 8 years later! All of those years of matching and compound interest lost!
I didn’t want to make the same mistake again and wanted to be better about planning for retirement so I opened a Roth IRA before the holidays and bought the stocks and bonds just a few days before my birthday!
I beat my deadline, I got the stuff done, and now, I am feeling officially adult.
Do you feel like an adult yet?
This post was written as part of the Allstate Influencer Program and sponsored by Allstate. All opinions are mine. As the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer, Allstate is dedicated not only to protecting what matters most–but to guiding people to live the Good Life, every day.
Tags: adult, allstate, growing up, he says/ she says, life insurance, marriage, parenting
Nope! I still don’t feel like an adult and I have done those things. I also don’t have little humans depending on me so that might be something that actually makes me feel like a real adult. or maybe not Idk. But that’s awesome that you checked these things off your list and can breath a little easier now! Happy Birthday!
I’m 32, I’ve been married 7 years, have 2 kids, own a house, own a car, and you are way more adult than me haha. I had life insurance from when I was born but cashed it in to travel in my 20s (so stupid!).
I’m working on setting up my retirement plan and have been working on my will. I definitely wish I would have knocked both of these out sooner, but better late than never.
I am 32, married with 2 kids, own our house and cars and I still have a hard time believing I am really an adult at times. But, turning 32 really made me realize that YES I am officially an adult..crazy because as a kid I always imagined being an “adult” would be so diffrent than what it really is.
I’ve felt like a mini adult for a while now but still not a full adult. When I started my job slightly before 18 I was immediately encouraged by the accountants I worked with to start the company 401K as soon as I qualified and my aunt does insurance so I’ve had life and renters for as long as I’ve had car insurance 🙂 Somehow I still don’t feel like an adult. I’m hoping that after baby comes I’ll feel like an adult or at least closer to a full adult!