student life

The unwanted expenses you face as an adult

Adult
Written by Nigel Simpkins

As a teenager we are able to spend most of what we earn on ourselves and our hobbies, as we have barely any responsibilities. However, as an adult you not only have to put money towards the new aspects of your life for example paying to put a roof over your own head, pay your bills and pay for repairs to your car, but you also have to put money towards things that don’t directly benefit you. Here, we take a look at some of the unwanted financial responsibilities that adults face.

Pension

Putting money into your pension scheme is something you start to do when you have a full-time job. Your employer is also obliged to contribute towards it too, and the more you choose to put into it the more they have to pay. You also receive a state pension which can be a very welcome top-up but is not enough on its own. Pensions are designed as a savings scheme for retirement when you will no longer be receiving a salary. For this reason, it is crucial that you put money aside for it but it is hard to do so when you will not be reaping the benefits for many years to come, and may even be sacrificing things you would like now in the process.

Elderly Care

Something that lots of people don’t consider is the fact that someday you might be responsible for the cost of your parents care when they can no longer look after themselves. It is a difficult topic to broach but it is important to speak to them about the kind of care they’d like to have during that time of their lives. They might prefer to stay in their own home with a live-in carer or they might prefer to live in a care home with other people their age. They might be saving for their own care as part of their retirement fund, or if you have siblings, they can contribute towards the costs too, but overall it is important to have the conversation.

Insurance

Insurance is another infuriating concept but also one that you can’t ignore. The idea behind insurance is that you are paying money out to cover a possible future expenditure, for example monthly payments towards home insurance mean that in the case of a house fire or burglary you will be able to receive compensation, and car insurance covers the cost of unexpected damage from accidents. However, there is the chance that these eventualities will never happen, in which case you have paid money that you will never get a return on. Some forms of insurance are mandatory but where they are not, you have a difficult decision to make. Some people prefer to take out a loan to cover these expenses if they do happen, from a company like GoBear.

Adulthood has many pros and cons to it, but the most infuriating aspect can be the sheer number of financial expenses you face in order to achieve even the simplest of lifestyles, not to mention those you have to cover in case of unforeseen circumstances.