Culture Post: Grow up! Most Americans Don’t Start ‘Adulting’ Until Their 30s

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on StudyFinds.

When do adults really become adults and begin making responsible decisions to ensure a comfortable future? It turns out half of Americans don’t even start saving up for a home until they’re at least 30 years old, according to new research.

A survey polled 2,000 Americans about all the parts of life that make them feel old. Researchers discovered that the top sign which signaled they were an adult was when respondents finally had to think about saving money (35%).

Other top “adulting” signs include filing their taxes (32%), signing up for life insurance (29%), and sticking to a budget (29%). Nearly three in five (58%) are afraid of taking on “adulting” tasks before living on their own and a similar number wish they were better prepared to take on these responsibilities (56%).

Conducted by OnePoll and commissioned by Fabric, the survey also finds more than half of Americans (51%) feel like they’re off track of where they should be in life. In fact, 39 percent feel like they’re being left in the dust by friends.

On average, people think others should start feeling like an adult at age 25, although 30 percent didn’t start feeling like an adult themselves until later on. People start getting excited about small adult life joys like buying a vacuum or organizing their cabinets at around 22 years old.

Still, half of Americans (51%) rely on elders in their lives to help answer questions they have about “adulting” including paying taxes, a mortgage, or taking out life insurance.

Source: StudyFinds
https://www.studyfinds.org/adulting-saving-money-taxes/

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