How To Become An Adult | Making it Work

Through weekly video essays, "Making It Work" showcases how *real* people have upgraded their personal or financial lives in some meaningful way. Making your life work for you doesn't mean getting rich just for the sake of it. It means making the most of what you have to build a life you love, both in your present and in your future. And while managing money is a crucial life skill for everyone, there's no one "right way" to go about it — you have to figure out what works best for *you,* full stop.

Video by Grace Lee

Based on an essay by Chelsea Fagan

Read the original essay here:

Video narration by Chelsea Fagan

The Financial Diet site:

[thewickedpixel]

I feel this in my soul. I'm 33 and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, but I'm doing okay. It's the small victories that get us through.

[nsqskyw]

Also, if you're going to get a pet (including fish, hamsters, birds, and other "easy" animals) PLEASE research their proper care. Fish can't live happy lives in bowls (bettas should have 2.5 gallons minimum), hamsters need more square footage than most are aware. Thank you for reading, and good luck adulting! :^)

[aishwaryanarayanan]

"Your generation has come with a lot more asterisks than your parents had planned for" OMG. How is this my life in one video?! Each and every line spoke to me and my soul! This is probably the only video online that has come close to really describing the different kinds of crises that millennials go through every single day! <3

[KatieoftheNight]

I've just reached 30 and I'm still mostly concerned with playing dress up, playing video games, listening to metal, and collecting dolls and rocks. But hitting 30 made me realize that like "hey, this might be as good as it gets (house size, salary, maturity level, etc.)...but I think I'm okay with that."

[smtaylor]

This spoke so powerfully to me. 27, on my own, and still feeling like I’m not at the “checkpoint” I was “supposed” to be at by now.

Shared on Facebook!

[FutureNow]

Oh shit, I'm an adult. When did this happen?

[bouncyandrea]

I love this series so much. They're so well edited and the storytelling is so engaging.

[kezla]

I really love this series. And am now going to take a moment to admire the fact I work in a job I quite like, and live alone in a space that although not perfect, serves me well and feels restful, thank you for highlighting that to me 💡

[ddbd]

The best part of all is that we are in this together. Great video!

[kimberlykatiti]

Wow, I teared up a little towards the end. That was so good! Bravo Chelsea and team!!

[butfirstcoffee]

honestly, i'm 28, master degree in law an i'm completly lost in my life rn :/

[starcat]

Thank you for posting this today. I just got rejected from a job and I’m a little lost in this adult world.

[MissVasques]

This hit home. My mum had her first child at 23, me at 25 and now I’m
turning 30 this year and the 16 year old me thought surely I had had my first child by now. Or least had a full-time job for several years, my own home and a boyfriend I’d some day wed,

Nope. Single, living at home and part time working.
But, I also moved 80 European miles from home at 18 for university and lived with my now ex at age 21-22 and have studied at 2 different universities and lived on my own in student apartment.
Life crashed around mid-20’s with longer period of unemployment and rushing into a new uni education without making absolutely sure it gave clear carreer opportunities. And asking for help way too late when my mental health swayed downwards and I wasted so much time.

So nope, defiantly not where I thought I would be, but so many things was not as straight forward as I had imagined in early teenage years.

[maymay-sqix]

I'm 17, currently I have everything planned out, I'll be moving out in October when I turn 18. I have 1 year left of school and after that I will go to a university. I have had my cat since I was 12 and my mom made sure that I'm Always responsible about completing cat related chores. Saving money up is not that hard, you just have to have some will power.
If you want to become independent in a relatively short time, don't Always accept help and/or support from your family, friends. Sometimes you have to figure out things on your own. :)

[elizabethburke]

Those paper sounds are like the ASMR for my soul

[veronica-solomon]

There have been moments in my life where I felt like an adult and other moments...not so much. I've realized that whether you're 20 or 80, we're all trying to figure out this beautiful, messy thing called life one step at a time.

[hailithinksyourcute]

Okay this one almost brought tears to my eyes. This was beautifully said and really hit home for me. I remember meeting you guys when you came to DC and signed my book. Funny enough I was just reading it today thinking "wow I should really take on investing now that I'm comfortable with my budget". It always feels like a rush to keep up with our parents generation and this video basically told me to be proud of where I'm at and that whatever improvements I make I need to be proud of myself. This was just fantastic. So happy for your company and each and every me be rof it. You guys are so fun and educational and GENUINE. 😭❤️

[mikegb]

This is an amazing channel that I just discovered about a week ago. I'm 49 years old and never married or had kids or owned a house. But I'm financially secure -- retired at age 47 with military retirement pay and enough savings to buy a house without needing a loan. Does that average out to being an adult? I don't think that question even means anything because the trajectories of people's lives are so diverse that they shouldn't be compared to each other.

[elishiav]

I first read this article on your instagram account and quickly saved it. I find myself going back to it every so often to remind myself that its okay not to have everything figured out. This article makes me feel lighter and even a little hopeful. Thank you Chelsea for writting this beautiful piece.

[the.annethology]

This is definitely Poetry + Financial advice on action. Chelsea and team, this is the best content from your channel that I've ever seen. 💕