“The adulting 101 sessions are designed to provide essential life skills to young people who are teenagers and young adults who are thinking about moving out, or they're in the process of living independently,” MSU Extension Educator Kathy Jamieson said.

All classes will take place from 1-2 p.m. Eastern time. 

A total of 4 classes will be offered during this series. These sessions are “Getting organized” (July 12), “Home Food Preservation“ (July 19), “The Informed Renter” (July 26) and “Healthy U” (Aug. 2). 

“I’m gonna be teaching one called health and wellness or Healthy U on Aug. 2,” MSU Extension Educator Michelle Neff said. “It’s going to be focusing on how to keep yourself healthy and how to be an advocate for you. It’s going to be about eating right, exercising, visiting a doctor to make sure you’re up on your vaccinations, making sure you take time for your mental health and what are strategies to relax and wind down”

MSU Extension launched this course for the first time during the pandemic in April 2020. Originally, it was planned to be taught in person but has been remote since due to COVID-19.

“It's a 4-H youth development program and 4-H has been delivering life skill programs for over 100 years,” Jamieson said. “it's really just packaging it. And in identifying what are the topics that young people might need to know in order to get about and live on their own.” 

While the course is geared towards high school-aged individuals and young adults looking to live on their own, it’s open to anyone who is interested in participating. 

“Ultimately it's for those kids who are thinking about going off on their own. What's the budget? What do I need to think about? What is credit? Why is credit important? How do I rent a house or rent an apartment? What are some things I need to know?” Neff said.

Individuals do not need to be students at MSU. The classes are available to anyone across the state of Michigan. 

Sue Stuever’s daughter participated in a previous Adulting 101 course in April 2020 and her family has participated in several MSU Extension programs in the past.

“My oldest daughter was a high school senior at the time … and she took a budgeting class through it,” Stuever said. “ I think they're really good skills for people to learn and extension is a great way for people to learn them because it really takes the knowledge that Michigan State researchers create and takes them out into the people.”

The next series will take place in October on Mondays from 6-7 p.m. This series will include sessions on voting, creating a spending plan, avoiding spending difficulties during the holiday season and future planning in general.

Registration for the current series is open online here until Aug. 1 at 11:45 a.m.

“Students need to learn important skills as they head into adulthood. Many of them are learned at home as well, but it's always helpful to have an expert and a third party sharing information with our students and I think 4-H educators are very good at connecting with young people and putting this kind of program together,” Stuever said.