Sometimes the best financial advice is that which we have already heard. Recently, I have been focusing on the challenges that young adults face. It has provided a great focus for the site and helped me be attentive to new challenges in my every day experience. It was just recently that my co-worker, who is about the same age as me got in a car accident. He was unfamiliar with insurance processes and regulations and was asked to sign papers that he didn’t fully understand. To make a long story short, he hired a lawyer and protected himself from releasing any liability. Regardless of whether it is insurance, debt settlement, investing, the simple fact is that young adults face many financial challenges. It’s never easy to face these challenges without the experience. While I can’t solve all of these within one post, I thought it would be helpful to provide a list of some of the common financial challenges the young adults face.

Insurance – As I hinted at above, learning the ropes with insurance can be quite overwhelming. First, tere is new lingo to learn: premiums, deductibles, coverage, comprehensive, etc. While it may not seem like much of a challenge to many of you that are familiar with it already, it can be quite difficult to understand when you are forced to pay and when insurance kicks in. Not only is car or health insurance overwhelming, there’s also the issue of life insurance. When should you get a plan. How much coverage do you need and what type of plan… As you can tell, the choices are almost infinite, only further complicating the challenge.

Paying off Debt – Paying off debt can be quite the challenge, especially when young adults tend to buy more expensive technology than other generations and when salaries are typically lower. Having less income and a stronger desire to purchase things is a bad combination. Learning to pay of debt, fighting off debt collectors, going to court, possibly filing for bankruptcy can be overwhelming for anyone – let alone young adults who face other financial challenges at the same time.

Investing – As I talk with more and more people, investing when you are just starting out can be difficult. There are many different funds to use for investments with different types of investments. Starting off, I remember I didn’t understand the difference between many of the complex choices. It will get easier with time and more exposure, but it can still be overwhelming at the beginning.

While I could go on and on, these are some of the most popular questions that I get as a personal finance blogger. I believe it’s helpful to recognize the challenges that young adults face because it sheds light on the complexity of personal finance and everything that we are forced to juggle. It may get easier as time goes on, but it doesn’t mean it’s not a lot to handle.

For you, what are/were the most difficult challenges as a young adult?

photocredit: Stefan Baudy via Flickr