Focus on Life Skills

To paraphrase singer Alice Cooper (check him out; you’ll like him), “School’s out for summer. School’s out completely.”

Graduation is over. You’re starting to do whatever you’re going to do this summer. Maybe it’s your last summer at home. Maybe you’ve already moved out and really started adulting. Maybe you have a job. Maybe your goal this summer is to watch every Marvel movie ever made.

No matter your plans, there’s one thing you need to know above all else. You need to be able to fend for yourself as you go out in the world. We push education as a big part of that and it’s still true. But not all personal growth has to be academic.

Summer is a good time to invest in learning how to really take care of yourself. Does your mom or dad still do most of the cooking, cleaning, and laundry for you? Being able to feed and dress yourself are two of the most basic skills there are. The third is being able to manage your money. There are others as well:

• Basic car maintenance

• Cleaning

• First aid

But food, clothing, and money are the big three.

I’m going to direct you to some sites that will give you a head start. None of these things are hard, but there are tricks that will make them easier.

As a sidenote, if you intend to find yourself a partner, the best prospects are people who are not looking for a new mommy or daddy to take care of them. That gets old REAL fast! So make yourself more attractive.

First up, Snackage

Being able to feed yourself is the single most basic skill. Food you cook at home is generally healthier and vastly cheaper. Making your own burger costs about $2.50 to $6 depending on how good the ingredients are. A fast-food burger will be $6 to $12. The same burger at a sit-down restaurant will be $14 to $20.

In addition, everyone loves a friend that can cook. Imagine showing up to a hang-out with a plateful of warm brownies. Who’s popular now?

And how about leaving home and leaving more good memories behind? Your parents will be so grateful to come home from work to a good meal once in a while.

The link below will take you to my all-time favorite cooking channel. I used to try to find a new one every June, but nothing else comes close. Not only does this guy teach you how to cook actual good food, but this guy is funny. If you can make it through his “Date Meal” episode without snorting a beverage out of your nose, you are dead inside.

Laundry vs. Naked

I suppose that technically, it’s possible to stretch the wearing life of your underwear by turning them back to front and inside out, but eewwww. If you want to be considered good-looking, at the top of the list is “be clean”. Trust me, the Axe body spray isn’t fooling anyone.

Besides that, clothing costs money. If you’re like most people, there will be times in your life when money is an issue. Making your clothing last will help. The best way to do that is to learn to do laundry properly. (Never, ever buy anything labeled “dry clean only”. Dry cleaning a single shirt can cost $4 to $10 dollars!)

Laundry’s really not that tough. Divide the clothes into piles:

• Whites

• Light-colored

• Dark-colored

• Sheets and towels

As you’re separating, check your pockets! Nothing like washing your white clothes with a blue ball-point pen in one of the shirt pockets. You’re not coming back from that.

Put each pile into the washer separately with a little detergent. You don’t need more than about a tablespoon or two in a regular washer or one to two teaspoons in a high-efficiency washer (it has an “HE” somewhere on the machine). Using more than that is not only bad for the machine and the environment, it will make your clothes itchy.

You can wash everything in cold water. The only exception might be to sanitize your sheets or to wash clothes that are heavily stained with cooking oil or grease. Hot water works better for that.

When you put your clothes into the dryer, it’s wise to dry them for about 5 minutes to shake out the wrinkles. Then take out any items that are a knit fabric and hang them up to dry the rest of the way. This reduces the chance of your size “large” shirt turning into a “small”. If you’re unsure about how to wash something, look for the tag inside. There will be care instructions.

Click the button below to learn everything you could possibly ever want to know. HGTV will tell you all about removing stains, etc.

Money Is (Not) the Root of All Evil

Knowing how to manage your money is critical to being successful. You can make your money grow as much as possible. You can avoid the stress of having more bills than you have money. There is absolutely no downside to knowing how to handle your resources.

How do you do that? There are some basic rules. Pay your bills first, before the fun stuff. Be sure you know what it costs you to live. Be sure you set something aside for emergencies.

The Open University offers a totally free course through their OpenLearn program. It is made up of 8 classes, a couple of hours each, that will help you. It doesn’t matter if you’re still in high school, going to work, or heading off to a university. By the end, you should be on your way to being able to:

• understand how to choose and manage bank and savings accounts

• understand how to finance further and higher education studies

• budget effectively, throughout different stages of your life

• borrow sensibly and manage debts effectively

• plan ahead to make your goals financially achievable

Learning these things will make a measurable difference in your life.

Upcoming Events

June 20th: Last day to send AP scores to a college for free

June 30th: Last day to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2026-27 school year

NCAA Eligibility

If you hope to play college sports and you’ve completed your junior year, now is a good time to get started on the long process. Click below for 4 videos that will take you through the process.

June Scholarships

As usual, here is a list of a number of scholarships that have application due dates this month.

How Small a Niche Can You Fit Into?

Do you live in Alabama? Do you live in Shelby or Jefferson County in Alabama? Do you know how to twirl a baton? Do you want to twirl your baton in college? Okay, if you’ve gotten this far, you’re qualified for the Shelby Starlets Baton Twirling Scholarship. It’s worth $500 and the deadline is June 30th. If you want an added edge, it helps if you learned to twirl at the Shelby Starlets Baton studio.