My Complete Guide to Adulting: Essential Updates for New Adults

Stuff I learned that I hope you find useful as you help your teen navigate to adulthood

The transition to adulthood has never been more complex, but with the right information and tools, 18-year-olds can navigate these waters successfully.

I recently helped my daughter transition, and below are some of the things we did together.

Credit building strategies

When you turn 18, your “credit reporting” is activated. With no credit history, this makes it challenging to open a new credit card account. However, there are some options we followed that worked.

Our kids have been participants on our Apple Card Family account for a long time now, it’s been very handy to give them access to a card they can use that is not a debit card.

Apple Card Family has crucial limitations that many parents don't understand. While you can add minors aged 13+ as "participants," only those 18+ can opt-in to build credit. Teens aged 13-17 are NOT reported to credit bureaus, even as authorized users. This means your careful planning to help your teenager build credit won't work until they turn 18 and specifically opt-in to credit building.

The Capital One Savor Student card is particularly valuable for new adults, offering 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, streaming, and groceries - categories where college students typically spend heavily. The card has no annual fee, requires no credit history for approval, and includes built-in fraud protection.

Apple Cash transitions require identity verification and must be initiated by the user once they turn 18. We ran into massive challenges with Sarah since she did not have an Apple Cash account before she turned 18. This went spectacularly bad as something went wrong with the credit report check and they put my kid in some kind of security black hole. They said she was barred for life and could never get a account. Both Apple and Green Bank, who is the bank behind Apple Cash were useless. So, I filed a complaint with The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) (an agency that Trump de-funded, thanks Trump!) and they essentially forced Green Bank to resolve the issue. My kid now has a working Apple Cash Card. I suspect what happened is that the credit agency that they use had zero data on my kid.

For building credit effectively, start as an authorized user on parents' cards if possible, then apply for student cards at 18. Pay balances in full, keep utilization below 30%, and monitor credit scores monthly through free services like Credit Karma.

Banking options that save money and provide convenience

Family banking relationships can provide ongoing benefits. If you do your primary checking with a bank, chances are you can open an account for your kid and extend any banking benefits that you have on your account to them. This is usually part of a “relationship” type of account. Ideally you get a checking account that has no ATM feels and also offers rebates for any third party fees other ATMs charge you. Along with check cashing via an app you should really no longer need a physical bank any more.

Estate planning documents you need now

Three essential documents become critical at 18: Durable Power of Attorney for Assets (financial decisions), Health Care Power of Attorney (medical decisions), and Authorization for Disclosure forms for FERPA and HIPAA. Without these, parents lose automatic access to medical information and financial accounts due to federal privacy laws.

Costs vary significantly depending on your approach.

State requirements differ substantially. Some states presume durability while others require specific language. Texas requires two witnesses, while California requires acknowledgment OR two witnesses.New York uses statutory short forms that simplify the process. When moving to a new state, consider updating documents to ensure compliance with local requirements.

Why these documents matter: At 18, HIPAA and FERPA privacy laws create barriers for parents during emergencies. Without proper documentation, court-appointed guardianship becomes necessary - an expensive, time-consuming process that creates delays during crises.

Insurance coverage transitions and requirements

Health insurance coverage until age 26 remains protected under the Affordable Care Act (thanks Obama!), regardless of marital status, student status, or residence. Coverage extends through December 31 of the year you turn 26 for Marketplace plans, though employer-sponsored plans may end the month you turn 26.

Property insurance for college students requires careful consideration. Parents' homeowners insurancetypically covers personal property up to 10% of the home policy limit (often $1,000-$10,000) and includes liability coverage. However, off-campus housing, graduate students, and high-value items may require separate coverage.

Renters insurance averages $16-$23 monthly nationally but can cost as little as $6-$12 monthly for students.

Auto insurance often remains cheaper on parents' policies, with family additions ranging from $1,406-$2,718 annually. Good student discounts provide up to 25% off for 3.0+ GPAs, while student away at school discounts apply for students 100+ miles from home without a car.

Passport policies and electronic renewal realities

At 16 you can get an adult passport, which means it expires after 10 years, not 5 like it’s been since your kid was born. We got our daughter her adult passport this past year so that she need not worry about getting her passport application done while she was away at school.

Page expansion is no longer possible - the State Department discontinued visa page inserts in 2016. Standard passport books contain 28 pages while large books contain 52 pages at no additional cost. Frequent travelers should choose large books initially to avoid premature renewal.

Travel - teach your kids some key travel tips for leaving the country.

Always pay in local currency. Any time a US based card is used at an international credit card terminal it will ask you if you want to pay in USD or local currency. There is only one right answer. LOCAL CURRENCY. You are getting scammed if you pay in USD as they will charge you a fee, usually 1% of the transaction.

Use a card with zero foreign transaction fee. Many cards offer this.

Never accept a conversion at an ATM Machine. This is an even bigger scam with some ATMs offering a 5-10% fee for converting. The ATMs are getting better at scamming you with scary screens to click through. Even I have a hard time. Take your time and make a good choice.

With the EU spending all its time regulating big tech, I find it bananas they don’t do anything to protect consumers from this practice. This is all a scam people. Your credit and debit card will auto-convert from any currency into USD using the bank rates. I’m surprised at how few people know this. It should be illegal to offer conversions.

Global Entry – register for Global Entry to make entry back into the US faster and easier.

Tools and services worth the investment

Teach your kid how to budget and show them good tools to help them budget.

I’ve been using You Need A Budget for over a decade. It’s awesome.

YNAB (You Need A Budget) offers free access for one full year to all college students, including graduate students and part-time students. After graduation, students receive a 10% lifetime discount on the annual plan ($98.10/year instead of $109). The zero-based budgeting system and educational resources make it particularly valuable for new adults learning financial management.

Credit report freezing is free at all three bureaus and should be done immediately. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion must process online freezing within one business day and unfreezing within one hour. This protection prevents identity thieves from opening new accounts while having no impact on existing credit.

Netflix family sharing has become restrictive, limiting accounts to one household using IP address tracking. Extra member fees cost $8.99/month. Decide if you are going to gift this to them or cut them loose.

If you have Clear membership (getting increasingly useless) has increased dramatically to $209/year for primary members and $125/year for additional family members, potentially making it less worthwhile for young adults.

Credit Karma is a great service to start monitoring your credit, be alerted to changes and learn how to leverage good credit, which becomes important if you decide to get a car loan or home loan down the road. The most important way to build good credit is to make sure you are understanding of credit utilization, paying off your balance each month and staying on top if you bills.

Additional valuable strategies and recommendations

Credit building timeline: Start as an authorized user at 13-16 if possible, apply for your own card at 18, expect FICO score generation after 6 months, solid credit history after 12 months, and excellent credit for premium cards after 24+ months.

Banking strategy: Start with one primary account (online bank or credit union for best value), add checking/savings from the same institution, maintain family banking relationships when beneficial, and expand based on changing needs.

Insurance transitions: Understand health insurance changes at 26, consider renters insurance for off-campus housing, maintain auto insurance through parents when cost-effective, and transition to independent policies when living permanently away from home.

Financial education resources: Take advantage of YNAB's free student year, use free credit monitoring services, research state consumer protection laws, and stay informed about changing regulations that affect young adults.

Emergency preparedness: Keep important documents accessible, understand complaint processes, monitor credit reports regularly, and build relationships with local credit unions and community banks that often provide personalized service and financial education.

The key to successful adulting in 2025 is understanding that the landscape is constantly evolving.