4 Real-World Things They Don't Teach You In College But You Wish They Did

Being a financially stable adult can be exhausting.

College, on the other hand, was the best four years of my life. I'm not even a year past graduation and I find myself missing it.

Day drinks were great. Classes were boring. The lifelong friends I made might not be as “lifelong” as I once thought.

A lot changes within the first year after graduation. The real world is quite a reality check, which I personally wasn't ready for.

Every single day since I graduated, I wish I took a personal money class — or any sort of finance class for that matter.

It's easy to get lost and caught up in this whole idea of adulthood, and 99% of the time I have no clue what I'm doing.

I, like many my age, am totally winging this whole "adulting" thing.

Looking back there are multiple things I wish I learned in school that would've been useful for the real world.

1. How to choose/get/handle insurance.

If you're lucky you'll be on your parents insurance until you're 26. If you're like me, you'll be kicked off the moment you graduate.

I had no clue how insurance really worked, I still don't fully.

There are multiple kinds of insurance including car, rental and health.

I felt like a deer in headlights as I had to go through multiple phone calls, endless research and having my parents explain to me what the hell insurance really meant.

It's complicated and confusing to say the least. How can college prepare you for the real world and not cover insurance?

I have student debt that I am expected to take on, but I couldn't tell you anything about insurance.

2. Tax returns.

Now that I'm I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T (I hope you rapped that in your head), I need to do my taxes.

I'm still convinced that a W-2 is not written in English. I felt blindsided when return season came around and my boss handed me my W-2.

Don't get me wrong, technology makes it super easy, but the point is that I still don't fully understand it.

Sweet I get money back, but why doesn't someone explain how this works? There definitely should've been a college course for this shit.

3. Budgeting and paying bills.

Paying bills on time is ultimately depressing as you watch your bank account drain monthly, but mom and dad won't be there forever.

It's important to discipline yourself when you know your water bill is two days away but your gals want to go out for dinner and drinks. Sometimes being an adult calls for the word, “no.”

It is crucial to balance living life and knowing what experiences could put your financial stability (or credit score) in jeopardy.

4. Saving.

I'm lucky in a sense where my parents taught me a lot about saving money, but that is not the case for everyone. Debt will be the death of you when it comes to big life choices like buying a house or a car.

It's important to save money so you don't end up retiring in a box, but how are you supposed to just know how to budget?

My parents taught me a lot but I think having a class based simply on saving money and the money market would've been so helpful in the real world.

It is natural to feel completely lost in the real world sometimes. It's really frustrating that in four years of college I wasn't educated on the things I needed to know.

At least those of us who feel like we are drowning in the adult world can find comfort knowing that we are all in this together.