Photo illustration by Will Lanzoni/CNN

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There is no handbook for being an adult. One day, you’re looking at the world with the fresh eyes of youth, and the next, you have a job and commitments and a place to live on your own — and no one ever told you what to do with it all.

Here’s the secret: We’ve all been there. If you’ve ever had the lights shut off because you forgot (or couldn’t) pay the bill, or gotten so overwhelmed you had to do your dishes in the shower to loosen all the dried-on crud, you’re in the right place. All of the questions and insecurities you have are 100% valid. Let’s work through them together, shall we?

Over the next seven weeks, this newsletter series will take you on a tour through the least intuitive parts of being a tax-paying, friend-having, routine-making, future-considering adult. There will be expert advice along the way, real stories of grown-up woes and triumphs, and some weekly challenges to help you get the most out of what you’re working with now — and have fun doing it.

Whether you’re just starting out, you’ve made a major life change or you’ve been an adult for a while now and just want to up your game, you’ll learn something. Not everything, but enough to get you started on the way to somewhere great.

At the end of every weekly installment, we’ll give you a question to journal about or a little task that will help put your new knowledge in action. 

Ask yourself: What scares you most about being an adult? What parts actually seem pretty exciting? What areas do you want to master (or at least be marginally competent in)? Share your thoughts using the email below.

AJ Willingham

Senior Writer, Culture, CNN Digital

Questions? Feedback? Songs of praise? Message the Life, But Better team at adulting@cnn.com. Most of us are adults, after all.