What are life skills that you want to learn/wish you had learned in your 20's?

AuroraRose41

As I mentioned in a few other threads, I am on a planning committee at work for enriching the lives of new hires (basically anyone in their 20's). I am in charge of planning events where they learn a new skill or hobby, new sports, how to stay healthy, etc. Think of it as learning life skills outside of work. 

My ideas for events so far are: 

-Car Maintenance

-401k 101

-Taxes 101

-Stocks 101 (possibly combined with 401k class)

-Real Estate 101

-Basic Cooking Classes

-Baking Classes

-Possibly Wine/Beer/Mead/Hard Cider making (not sure about the legality of that one)

-Different sports activities (kayaking, surfing, hiking, etc.)

-Nutrition/meal planning

-An event series to discover San Diego landmarks (musuems, different neighborhoods/restaurants, historical sites, etc.)

-Field Day

Two upcoming ones that were scheduled prior to me joining are: 

Wine and Painting class

Holiday Candy Making class

Are there any other things that you ladies can think of? Would these things be beneficial if you moved to a new place not knowing anyone right after college? Any other opinions? Thanks!

ETF: formatting

ETA: Also, I can plan volunteering events, and have been trying to brainstorm some things for that. However, attendance has been really low in the past, so it would have to be something that would be really fun for young people (especially engineers and scientists) other than just planting trees or cleaning up the beach (events that have been done previously with a very low turnout). 

eilis1228

Knitting/Crocheting! I taught myself in college from YouTube videos, but I'm by no means an expert. Seems like a very handy skill to have.

Sewing too. Basically any kind of fabric work. For example, I would love to be able to hem my clothes.

AlPacina

I love what you have so far! Man, can I come to some of those? I have pretty much no idea what my 401 k is doing right now, and when it comes to even thinking about buying a house I am so lost!

A skill that I'm sad I don't have is basic sewing skills. It might seem a little home ec-y, but I'm sure it's a skill that fewer and fewer young adults are learning. When I try to mend my own clothes, it typically looks awful. So it could probably be better as a "clothes mending" class instead.

Also, most winters I'll host a party where we drink hot cocoa (with peppermint Schnapps often added) and cut paper snowflakes. I'll just designate a wall the snowflake wall, and we fill it up! I had glitter available one year. Big mistake.

AuroraRose41

@eilis1228 that's a great idea! Even if it is just to sew a button back onto a shirt or something very simple. I don't know how to sew myself, but I will definitely look into finding someone who can teach that class!

AuroraRose41

@AlPacina great thank you! Sewing is definitely on the list now. Unfortunately most of these will only be for employees, sorry! 

I am a bit more knowledgeable with 401k's. Basically make sure to have a 3 fund portfolio (retirement index funds usually accomplish this) and try to contribute as much as you can if you aren't already. You can PM me if you have any questions about it! 

ShallowSeas

Definitely car maintenance. Thats a good one. Maybe some day I'll learn something about it.

KeptInStitches

Sewing. The little maintenance work I know has saved FI and I hundreds of dollars (no exaggeration) in new clothing.

lilacck28

Coding. HTML, CSS, PHP. I mean... if you're really interested you'll go to lynda.com I guess, and probably can't teach that type of thing in one class. It's something I wish I had the patience to learn.

Adobe programs like Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Lightroom, PremierePro. I learned these programs by myself, but I think it would be helpful to take a class and learn the quick things you can do to improve a photo, for example. Watching someone do it in person is easier than watching a youtube video or muddling around by yourself.

Oh! Also, in line with taxes... the more complicated stuff on excel. FI knows SO much more about excel than I do. I'm a fairly capable person... but it really makes me feel like an idiot when I realize... oh.. that line on my resume about how I know excel? and word? And how I thought I was an expert? Yeah, not so much.

bethsmiles

Car maintenance is absolutely the biggest one for me. When I moved for grad school and didn't really know anyone I had so many problems with my car which was a huge pain to deal with because I just didn't know a lot other than how to change a tire.

I think a basic cooking class is good but baking is kind of unnecessary. You need to know how to cook (unless you want to eat out every meal) but baking is just something you take an interest in or don't...most people I know who bake and enjoy it learned that skill way before their 20s. Everyone else I know doesn't really have an interest in it, especially with all the instant mixes available.

Along with the idea of taxes and 401ks, some basics on budgeting would be excellent for people just coming out of college. 

AuroraRose41

@lilack28 while those are very good ideas, the majority of the people already know how to code and use advanced techniques in Excel (I write code to program macros in it fairly often for my job). We have a lot of Computer Scientists, Computer/Software Engineers, and Electrical Engineers. The photo editing courses however might be a good idea! 

@bethsmiles baking falls more into the hobby aspect, such as sports and painting. I would like a good balance of all of it, for anyone who wants to try something new. Budgeting is definitely a good idea as well! 

lilacck28

@AuroraRose41 Smarty Pants! ;P

I'm the "wordsmith" at my job. I leave the coding to the IT and Database people! But sometimes I wish...

DaniBites

Any local farms where you could do a class in growing basic crops / gardening? Or sustainable agriculture?

[Deleted User]

First, I just want to say that I LOVE the fact that your company wants to offer things like this for new hires.  Seriously, that's amazing.

Second, I think your list looks great.  I do wish I had some sewing skills too, so maybe something like that.

I also second the PP about maybe something about sustainable agriculture or maybe a "Local Food" type of class?  I'd LOVE that.

AuroraRose41

@lilack28 I'm a nerd, I know haha. 

There are a ton of coding for dummies books though that I highly recommend for teaching yourself to code. That's actually how I learned Visual Basic for Excel (and all other Office applications). 

@DaniBites and @futuremrshistorian, that's a great idea with the local food type of class/sustainable agriculture. I actually had an idea for a container gardening course since most of these people live in apartments without their own yards (but do have balconies). 

Also, this is one of the many reasons that my company continues to make the list of top 10 best companies to work for in the country. They are awesome for being such a large corporation. 

Peaseblossom55

car maintenance and cleaning.

lilacck28

Info on insurance, too. What different plans (supplemental, etc) ACTUALLY cover. It was stressful figuring out what supplemental insurance I needed, and what my health care actually covered. And my fiance works at a health care non profit!  

bethsmiles

You could also do one on household maintenance would be really helpful as well. And I love @lilacck28's suggestion of doing something on insurance as well. That shit is confusing as hell!

Moiramab

Seconding household maintenance, basic electric and plumbing. I felt like a huge waste of space when I realized I didn't know how to hook up the washer and dryer set I just got, without freaking out that it might explode or flood (or at the same time )

AuroraRose41

Those are great ideas! Thanks ladies!

[Deleted User]

how to budget, for sure!

[Deleted User]

I definitely think car maintenance would be the biggest one for me. 

Even though I'm still in my 20's and learning a lot...I think that I would have liked to learn about investing and my 401k distributions a little bit more before I signed up for my mine with my first job. I think it's going well right now but I still feel like there is a lot more to learn about it. 

CLoGreenEyes

I second the household maintenance, budgeting, retirement planning, and sewing for sure! I would also say that basic self-defense is a HUGE thing I think everyone should know.

speakeasy14

A lot has been covered, but here is what I wish I knew in my early 20s:

- How to do taxes

- Everything about a 401K & Retirement planning & Investing

- Budgeting

- Time Management 

- Loans -- student, home, auto

- Self defense -- harassment defense

- Basic car maintenance/how to change a flat

- How to give a presentation (this is something I have seen working in an office, not a lot of people know how to give a presentation)

- What to look for when buying/renting a house/apartment

- How to apply for a Visa, passport, and other travel documents

- How to send a package Internationally

- How to send mail with insurance or signature confirmation

Suggestion for activities:

-A build an emergency kit session -- make two kits, one for office emergencies and one for car emergencies.

- Self defense seminar

- Office etiquette role play (for self-defense & harassment awareness)