I've just had the startling realization that I am now officially an adult. What gave me the clue, you ask? Well, I got the renewal information for my car insurance in the mail today, and I was shocked to find that my six month premium was going to be increasing by twenty-seven dollars. Sure, that doesn't seem like all that much, but the fact that I stopped, thought about it, and became noticeably irritated at the fact that my insurance was going up even though I have a perfect driving record, etc., makes me feel very grown up. I suppose that in the past I didn't really think much about things like insurance that are just necessities. That ceased to be the case when I started paying for all of my insurance myself when I graduated from college. I then realized that it was all in my hands and that I could search around and find an insurance plan that was a better price and that worked for me, rather than what my parents had thought was a good idea that I have. When I moved from Florida to Indiana, I was amazed at the difference in auto insurance rates between the two places. Someone along the way explained to me that the expensive nature of Florida automobile insurance had to do with the huge demographic gap in age in the state. The state of Florida is quite unusual in that the two largest populations are below the age of thirty and over fifty-five. This apparently has some detrimental effect on auto insurance that I never really bothered to find out about. Anyways, when I moved and switched over my insuracne, I ended up saving a whole heap of money (and no, I did not switch to Geico). So, I've been pretty happy with the fact that I saved all that money, but now, six months later, as I'm renewing for the next six months, I find out that my rate is going to go up. Talk about bothersome. Of course, the insurance company writes a little note in the renewal paperwork saying that it's not my fault, that I did nothing wrong, but it's just how it goes sometimes...basically, the rates fluctuate. Well, I guess this time they just didn't fluctuate in a happy direction.

Having the instinct to think like an adult about these types of things kinda scares me. I mean, of course I want to act like an adult, be treated like an adult, and have adult opportunities, but still it's scary. It's one of my first doses of the fact that I really am growing up. I guess that dealing with insurance is a good way to get your feet wet, since it's something that we don't always have to use but that we need to have. I've also found myself monitoring little month to month changes in the electricity bill and cursing those people who send me text messages on my cell phone as it racks up all those little ten cent charges at the end of the month. Please tell me that I'm not turning into my father...the penny counter. OK, I know I'm not turning into him, but still it's both scary and exciting that I am concerned about all these financial things. I mean, after all, I do write about finances, and I have worked in business finance for quite some time, so it's only natural that I'm catching up on my own stuff. I suppose that it's just the fact that money-related things have always just come easy to me, stemming from the fact that I'm very good with numbers and calculations.

What about "all ya'll" out there? When was it that you discovered that you were becoming an adult? I'm sure that all of you have had some kind of situation back in the day where you went to do something financial related and you realized that you were thinking like a real grownup. Looking back on it, it's actually pretty amusing...especially since as the thought was crossing my mind, I stopped myself in my tracks and had an interesting little internal conversation with myself. Gosh, we humans do some funny stuff don't we? OK, come on, I want to hear these stories. I haven't gotten too many comments lately, so I don't know if all you Christian finance blog readers out there have just got the winter blues, but give me a yell and let me know what's new and exciting in your financial lives.