What Was the First Purchase That Made You Feel Like an Adult?
It wasn’t until I moved to New York after college, away from family and most of my friends, that I really felt like an Adult. Especially when I had to furnish my apartment for the $ 15 an hour I earned as a trainee (my mom’s SUV could only fit when she drove from Michigan to New York to take me to my new life). First, I bought myself a mattress after spending a few nights on my new wooden floor with suitcases and a few scattered drawers of kitchen equipment.
The mattress was definitely my first “adult” purchase – I sold it in a sale for $ 400 and then bought some pillows and pretty sheets from Amazon to make it more comfortable. The first night I slept in my new bed in my new location was definitely a moment – my roommate hadn’t moved in yet, and the only piece of furniture in this location besides my mattress was an old card table that my boyfriend’s parents had lent me. so I didn’t have to eat on earth. I was blissfully happy.
I now have a real kitchen table, and recently I bought a chair more for its aesthetics than its usefulness, which felt different to adults. And I still have this mattress, and it is still on the ground, now in Brooklyn. Bed frame? Well, I’m not that old.
Here are some of the first purchases of the Lifehacker Adult Team:
Contributing Editor Virginia Smith
Mine is my winter coat! I’ve probably done “grown-up” shopping before, but after years of freezing and layering, I finally have enough dollars to buy a matching puffy winter coat and it continues to change my life.
Parenting Editor Michelle Wu
Christmas tree and decorations.
Social Editor Caitlin Schneider
My couch! This is the second cheapest store that sells IKEA, and almost everyone in the world has it, but buying it seemed extremely adult.
Staff Writer Nick Douglas
After our last move, my wife and I replaced our IKEA table with four countertops for a giant dining table with six countertops. We can now host D&D dinner parties and games.
Written by Jaime Green
In my first year after graduating from college, I spent $ 250 on a hat. (The velvet hat I wore … twice?) I’ve always regretted it, but after spending so much money on myself, I really felt like an adult – and responsibility for it too.
Claire Lower Food and Drink Editor
Vintage sofa.
Posted by Nicole Dicker
I bought four framed art from a local artist. This was the first time I had hung anything other than posters in a bedroom or apartment, and it made me feel like I had finally created a living space for adults. Plus I supported local art!
Health Editor Beth Skorecki
My car. I had just entered graduate school, so I was truly alone — I had to cook for myself, pay my own bills — and the old cadet who had borrowed from my parents was no longer going to cut it. They helped me navigate the process of buying a car, and then I had my own ride … as well as my own car and insurance benefits. Wow, adult.
Senior Video Producer Joel Kahn
I think mine will be my first queen-sized comforter when I move out of college. It was a multi-colored Marimekko duvet and I paid full retail price for it myself.
Chief Editor Melissa Kirsch
I still don’t feel like an adult.