They teach you a lot in school. They teach you how to read and how to calculate. They teach you about the World Wars and how to find Europe on a map. They teach you a whole lot of very important stuff… but they don’t teach you how to “adult”, which is a class every twenty-something wishes they’d taken.
What’s the deal with taxes? I mean really, what are they? How do I (what’s the word) “file” them? Where did all these extra expenses come from and why do I even need half these things? And, the worst one, what’s the deal with insurance?
Well, there may not be a class you can take on how to “adult”, but here’s some helpful information on insurance and why you should have it.
Medical Aid
Do not skip this one. Medical Aid is no joke. Yes, it takes a large bite out of your pitiful income every month and you’re never quite sure if you’re going to need it. The thing is that if you do need it, you really don’t want to be caught without it. Even if you never get sick, you could always end up in a bad accident and need immediate medical attention. Long story short: Medical Aid is important.
Vehicle Insurance
If you’re on the road, you need car insurance. It’s that simple. But there are different kinds of cover. You might be tempted to go with the cheapest option (obviously), but there are major perks to having comprehensive cover if you end up causing an accident and damage other cars.
Home Content Cover
Once you finally move out of your parents’ house you may want to invest in some home contents cover. If someone breaks in and walks away with your sound system or that ridiculously expensive laptop you just had to own, you’re going to want to be able to replace it. Unlike Medical Aid, this insurance won’t cost you much.
Legal Cover
The truth of the matter is that you never know what’s going to happen and you could end up in a tricky legal situation. Legal advice and representation is expensive, but you don’t want to be without it if you ever need it.
There should really be a book or a documentary you could download that explains exactly how to “grow up” when you were pretty much still a kid yesterday. At least you now know a little bit more about insurance and the cover you should have.