*By Kate Gill*
Rather than flee to Neverland, Peter Pan might have enrolled in "adulting" school. And so too can stunted millennials ー daunted by bill-paying, cooking, cleaning, and the like ー if they take a class in adult skills at a new institution in Portland, Maine.
As a concept, "adulting" classes may seem far-fetched, but according to the founder of the school, millennials are so distracted by debt, they're shirking their other responsibilities ー namely, growing up for real.
"Millennials start out, on average, $10,000 in the hole right out of college," Rachel Flehinger told Cheddar Big News.
"It's really hard when you're so broke and trying to make ends meet and save money," she added.
But what, exactly, constitutes adulting? According to the Oxford English Dictionary ー which officially recognized the term around 2016 ー adulting is:
"The practice of behaving in a way characteristic of a responsible adult, especially the accomplishment of mundane but necessary tasks."
Flehinger's definition is similar. "\[It means\] the tasks you have to do and complete to be a working part of society," she said.
In her view, it's a generational issue that begins both in school and at home.
"It used to be that they taught a lot of this in home \[economics\] , in shop; parents lived at home, they weren't divorced, they didn't both work. So now, the education just has to come from somewhere else," she said.
It's also a matter of timing.
"Millennials are doing things later in life ー they used to get married at 22, now they're getting married at 27 and 28. So things are becoming a bit delayed."
[The Adulting School](https://adultingschool.com/) offers classes (both online and in-person) in finance, relationships, lifestyle, and work.
If you have a flexible spending account, here's some short information for you so you don't leave money on the table.
With high healthcare costs, bills can quickly add up. In some cases, it is possible to negotiate your medical bills. Barak Richman, law professor at George Washington University, joined Cheddar News to discuss the easiest way to talk to medical debt companies about what's owed.
Millions of people have selected insurance plans for 2024 but sometimes navigating them can be tricky time consuming and expensive. Paula Pant, host of 'Afford Anything' podcast, joined Cheddar News to break down what's needed to know about their insurance plans.
The European Union is investigating Elon Musk's X over alleged illicit content and disinformation on its platform. Cheddar News breaks it all down and discusses what it could mean for users.
Adobe and Figma called off their $20 million merger, Southwest Airlines gets fined, Nippon Steel is buying U.S. Steel and oil and gas prices surge after a pause in shipments.
With more employees being called back to the office, many workers are suddenly protesting by being in the office for as little time as possible. As the term suggests, coffee-badging means coming in for just enough time to have a cup of coffee, show your face, and swipe your badge.
Japan's Nippon steel is buying U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion.
Southwest Airlines will pay a $35 million fine as part of a settlement over a 2022 holiday season disaster that saw the airline cancel thousands of flights and leave millions of people stranded.
Cheddar News' Need2Know is brought to you by Securitize, which helps unlock broader access to alternative investments in private businesses, funds, and other alternative assets. The private credit boom is here and the Hamilton Lane Senior Credit Opportunities Fund has tripled in assets under management in just six months from November 2022 through April this year. Visit Securitize.io to learn more.
Stocks opened slightly higher after Monday's opening bell after several weeks of gains as the year closes out.
