Steps into Adulthood: Navigating the Road to Independence

Growing up is often described as a journey toward freedom. Leaving the family home, earning one’s own money, paying rent, managing bills. These are framed as milestones of adulthood, signs of independence. For young people, the transition is both exciting and daunting: a step into self-reliance, but also into responsibility.

Yet behind this narrative lies a reality that is more fragmented. Independence is not a single leap, but a series of gradual steps, some practical, some psychological, all deeply influenced by context. Financially, socially, and emotionally, the path is uneven, and for many, precarious.

Let us begin with the first step: income.

For most young people, independence begins with paid work. Part-time jobs during studies or entry-level positions after graduation represent not only money earned, but also a first taste of autonomy. But income alone does not equal independence. If wages are unstable or insufficient, reliance on family support continues, stretching the “in-between” period well into the late twenties or beyond. For those from low-income or migrant families, the safety net may be thinner or nonexistent, making each financial misstep harder to recover from.

The second step is management. Knowing how to budget, save, and plan transforms money from something that slips away into something that builds capacity. However, this requires skills rarely taught in formal education. Many young people discover financial management only through trial and error, for example an overdraft, a missed rent payment, or an unplanned debt. For some, these errors become lessons, while for others, they become traps.

The third step is decision-making. Independence means making choices not only about money, but about identity: where to live, how to share expenses, what risks to take, when to say no. Here, financial literacy meets social pressure. The decision to rent a small flat instead of sharing with friends is not only financial. It is cultural, emotional, and aspirational. Each choice reflects more than numbers; it reflects values and priorities.

The final step is resilience. True independence is not the absence of support, but the ability to navigate setbacks without collapse. Things such as a sudden expense, a job loss, or an unexpected bill, are inevitable. The difference lies in whether young people have the tools, networks, and confidence to respond. Resilience is not built overnight. It is cultivated through experience, reflection, and often, guidance.

The challenge, then, is clear: independence must be reframed not as a single threshold, but as a process. Financial education cannot stop at teaching how to calculate expenses, but it must engage with the lived realities of transition. It must prepare young people not just to “stand on their own,” but to walk the path step by step, being aware of the pressures, attentive to the risks, and confident in their capacity to adapt.

Independence is not given. It is practiced. And when practiced with awareness, it becomes not only a financial state, but a foundation for genuine autonomy.