Millennials Are Signing Up For 'Adulting' Classes To Learn Skills Like Cooking And Budgeting

Millennials are ahead of the older generations in many important skill sets, most notably those involved with technology, but they tend to lag behind in more traditional life skills. That's where Adulting School comes into play.

The school is based in Maine and was founded by 30-year-old Carly Bouchard. It has been in business for nearly two years, but this month, they launched online classes.

Their site, AdultingSchool.com, explains what they do:

"Sure, everyone wants you to believe they have their s--- together and so should you. This sucks, and it’s why WE at Adulting School want to help with the things you don’t know—you know—because you were probably never taught them! Rachel and Rachel of Adulting School created this space for people, no matter WHAT age, who still don’t know (for example) WTF an APR is, or how to fix the hole in their wall so they don’t lose their security deposit."

They offer classes covering six different areas of adulting: Money, Relationships, Wellness, DIY, Work, and Lifestyle.

"You ready to get your adulting on? Don’t be scured, sign up for the adulting classes you want and need in your life. Skip the ones you don’t; you have enough commitments to worry about."

I'm not sure why they feel the need to explain things in cringeworthy slang ("scured"), but that's how the entire site is written.

Examples of classes include courses such as "Get Out Of Debt Fast—A Proven Plan to Stay Debt-Free Forever," or "The Ultimate Guide to Love, Dating & Relationships," or "Real Food for Real People: Nutrition Success for Life." Most of the classes are around $15.

Rachel Weinstein is a co-founder of Adulting School and was inspired to help start the school after working as a psychotherapist. Lot of her clients were struggling with the same things in life.

"You know, when you see 10 people feeling like they're the only one, and they're all struggling with the same thing, you think, let's get these people together so they can learn this stuff and not feel so isolated and ashamed," Weinstein said.

Holly Swyers, an associate professor of anthropology at Lake Forest College, says that the problem is there is no dedicated place to teach adult skills through the school years:

"We go through this age-graded system, and it tells us just do this and you'll be fine," Swyers says. "And then you graduate from high school or from college, and suddenly, there's no more rules about, if you just do this step, that's what comes next."

Part of the problem is that many millennials are still living with their parents, where many of these critical life skills are done for them:

The U.S. Census Bureau said in 2015, 34 percent of Americans between 18 and 34 still lived with a parent.

A high school in Kentucky is also hoping to combat this problem by creating an "Adulting Day" once a year when students spend the entire day learning important adult life skills. Seems like a good idea for all high schools to consider.

Why this is relegated to only "millennials" is a little confusing. Plenty of people from a bunch of other generations have shown time and again that they have no clue.

America is one of the only countries where living at home is shameful. It is looked down upon in society, even when someone like Michael B. Jordan admits that he lives with his parents.

"Unlike most of the world, where family is number one and cooperation is valued over competition, Americans tend to think we don’t need family. Or anyone actually. I’m not saying family isn’t important to us. Of course it is. But it’s not quite as important as self-determination and the right to pursue individual happiness (like moving out at 18 and maybe even owning a gun), and we like to shame any millennial who dares to question our collective allegiance to this destructive bootstraps mentality that unbridled capitalism hinges on."

It has been engrained in us throughout life that moving out, leaving home, and not relying on your parents is the way to live. There have been movies mocking it, ideas in society, and just general perceptions that living at home means failure.

"When I lost my waitressing job awhile back and struggled to pay $1,100 a month for a one-bedroom basement apartment with no kitchen in Los Angeles, it never once occurred to me I could move home. I’d hate myself, my parents might too, and, more importantly, my sex life would die. There’s nothing less attractive to an American than a grownup living with mommy.

"Now, with thousands of dollars of new debt to my name, at least my pride is still intact, though!"