Young adults experience many new types of freedom. Being able to make your own decisions and live independently often leads to experimentation. You may be curious about different cultures, lifestyles, or diets. Unfortunately, sometimes the experiments you do in your 20s have some serious ramifications. However, this is what life's all about, and you shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes.
Most of the time, there are simple ways to deal with your poor choices. Let’s explore some typical mistakes people make in their 20s and how to get yourself back on track so that you can live a healthy, productive, and satisfying life.
Drinking and driving don’t mix. Getting a DUI can change your future, relationships with family and friends, career plans, and restrict your driving privileges. Young adults are more likely to be involved in crashes due to impairment than any other age group. In 2013, one out of every three drivers with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or higher involved in fatal accidents were between the ages of 21 to 24. It’s important that you’re aware of the ramifications of a DUI and how breathalyzer readings can be affected by other things, like mixing it with artificially sweetened beverages.
Getting a DUI can be overwhelming. You may feel alone, ashamed, and even thankful that you survived without injuries or causing harm to others. Getting over the initial feelings is only part of the journey. If you’re ready to get back on track after getting a DUI, try a few of these tips to do so:
Many young adults overeat junk food, grab too many beers, and skip over necessary food groups like fruits and veggies. You may also develop poor habits like skipping breakfast, eating late at night, and not drinking enough water. The good news about having a poor diet now is that you can quickly change your nutritional habits to get yourself back on track.
There are three rules you should follow when trying to eat healthier:
Unfortunately, it happens to the best of us. What started as an innocent night turned into one that could leave you vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Educating yourself on the signs of STDs and STIs and when to seek treatment is the most critical step you can take. Many of these conditions don’t cause immediate symptoms, which is why they can be spread from one person to another without anyone knowing.
If you have typical signs of an STD or STI such as pain with urination, discharge from your genitals, or itching in your genital area, get tested for STDs and STIs right away. You can visit a clinic or order a home test. Home testing is secure, reliable, and fast. All you have to do is order your test and then visit a testing center. Your results should be available within three days of completing the test. You can get your results online or by calling. If you test positive for any STDs or STIs, you must follow all recommended treatment and re-testing, if needed. This helps to ensure that you won’t pass the condition onto others and that you can go back to being healthy.
It’s easy to lose financial focus in your younger years and make a few common money mistakes. You may not fully understand how debt, credit cards, and loans work. Before you know it, you’re up to your ears in debt with no savings, and you might be unsure how to turn it all around.
If you’re in over your head with credit card debt, you need a plan to pay down your debt fast. Here are a few tips you can use to get debt-free:
There are a lot of things nobody tells you about growing up. Not understanding how things work can lead to mistakes. Don’t beat yourself up. Create a plan and get yourself back on track quickly. Use these tips to cope with some of the most common mistakes in your 20s and then be sure to learn from them so that you don’t make the same mistakes into your 30s.