How to Adult

When I was a kid, I remembered wanting to be an adult so bad. I would always pray to God to push the fast forward button so that I can start working, earning, traveling, and eating whatever whenever I wanted. But when I finally came became an adult, I just wanted to go back to being a kid again. 

" Adulting does not only mean working and earning. It includes managing your life in the present while securing your future. "

Sounds easy? Haha. Yeah, right.

No one told me that adulting would be difficult, especially if you are living alone away from home. You have to take care of your groceries, your bills, your laundry, your room clean-up, your own food, and many more. It was hard starting out on your own, but it's all part of the journey that all of us would go through once in our life. 

What should a fresh grad expect when starting his/her #adultingventure?

1.  The Adulting Starter Pack

Your school and government documents will be requested over and over again (esp. when you'll be shifting jobs). Prepare your documents ahead of time and request for extra copies (especially your Transcript of Records and Certified True Copy of Diploma). For government documents - your employer will usually help you register online with the BIR, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, and SSS, just print out copies and organize them so it's easier for you to pull-out anytime.

Additional IDs also help.  For instance, you need an NBI clearance as one of the pre-employment requirements so set an appointment as early as possible.

P.S. Under the First Time Job Seekers Act of 2019, fresh graduates will now be free of charges on any of the following government transactions:

• NBI Clearance
• Police clearance
• Barangay clearance
• Birth certificate
• Marriage certificate
• Transcript of records from universities and colleges
• Tax Identification Number (TIN) ID
• Unified Multi-Purpose (UMID) card
• Other possible pre-employment requirements

2. Manage your expectations, especially when it comes to salary.

Do not expect P50,000 starting salary fresh out of college (unless your course is very in-demand, or you are a very exceptional student). I graduated Cum Laude from a top school but my starting salary did not even reach P20,000 (and mind you, this is still NCR rate).

3. OTTY < literally Over Time - Thank You >

Not all overtime work are paid. Sometimes you would be working your butts off for 10-15 hours a day but only the first 8 hours will be paid, the rest? TY. 

4. It's all about increasing your value.

Your first to second year at work is all about increasing your value. Learn as much as you can, excel in your work or project, be promoted within that short time frame, give insights and show initiative. Increase your skillset - hard and soft skills, and for sure you will be eyed by the big guns.

5. Temptations are everywhere.

Now that you're earning for yourself, you must think that you can now buy that shoes you're eyeing for so long, or upgrade to the latest phone, or travel every holiday, or eat at a fancy restaurant - well truth is you can, if you're earning six digits every month.

Most fresh grads do this - they splurge and max out their credit cards for things they just want. And the next month's pay goes directly to paying that bill and the cycle continues. That's why most fresh grads/young employees admitted to not having savings even after a year or two of working.

If you don't want to become someone with more bills to pay than what cash you have, delay your gratification first. Spend only what you can afford (for now) or look for more income streams.

I'll talk more about financial management in a separate post.

I hope this entry, however short, has helped some of our fresh graduates who are venturing out in the "real world" and starting their adulting adventures.

Best of luck to you!