The Editors of Real Simple Magazine - The Real Simple Guide to Real Life

Adulthood.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Quickwho wrote that? If you answered, Charles Dickens, then congratulationsyou paid attention in that English seminar. And you are undoubtedly smart. Butdo you know how to ask for a raise? Organize your kitchen? Treat adult acne? (Yes, unfortunately, its real. And even if you did receive an A in molecular biology, you still might get it.)

That line from A Tale of Two Cities pretty much summarizes the whole post-school experience, if you ask me. Your 20s are a time of incredible highs and lows. Or, per Mr. Dickens: It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us.

OK, you get the picture. But youre not living in London or Paris during the French Revolution. Youre living in the 21st century, with a shiny, new adult life. Which sometimes is really spectacular and sometimes positively sucks.

I speak from experience here. Oh, I was happy to graduate from college and put the constant pressure of schoolwork behind me. But when I graduated, I looked at my diploma and thought, What am I supposed to do with this? I mean, exactly which real-world situations does college prepare you for? Learning that there was an important difference between, say, Tom Wolfe and Thomas Wolfe was great, but it did nothing to help me understand my legal rights when I moved into my first big-girl, roommate-free apartment and there were opera singersspecifically, opera singers who practiced at homeliving on the other side of the wall. As it turns out, I didnt need to tolerate their incessant, very loud singing!

But I didnt know that, because I didnt have this book when I signed the lease on that apartment. What you hold in your hands is (hopefully) the only reference you will ever need to navigate the practical side of adulthoodor the beginnings of adulthood, at least. Rsums, roommates, easy recipes, budgeting, beauty tricks, small-space solutions, breakup advice, 401(k)s, thank-you notes, stain-removal tips, how to buy a bra, how to clean an air conditioner: This book covers it all.

So enjoy. But one last thing: I suggest you dont try reading this book in one sitting. After all, youre not going to be tested on it. And isnt that fantastic?

CONTENTS

Should you live here?

10 questions to ask yourself

Apartment WTFs

TRUE STORY: I had no job and rock-bottom credit. How I found a sweet apartment anyway.

By Molly Antopol

Apartment-amenity smackdown: what matters most

How to read the fine print, rental edition

Should you live with this person?

Renters and homeowners insurance: a primer

Buying a home: what you

need to know

Should you lock in your mortgage interest rate?

The ultimate moving checklist

Pack it in (better)

How to apply yourselfand land the gig that you want

Should you take an unpaid internship after graduation?

Cover-letter and rsum dos and donts

How to look good online

LinkedIn for beginners

Nail the interview: heres how

Do you have any questions

for me? : Never draw a blank in an interview again

Name your price (and get it)

Are you my mentor?

Make your job work for you

Love, sex, and an open floor plan

A field guide to nightmare coworkers

5 work rules you should break

TRUE STORY: Being an overachiever at work doesnt always pay. How I learned to pull backthen move on. By Kirstin Chen

When to take the problem to HR

Quitting with panache

What your skin is trying to tell you

Zits for grown-ups

No eye cream for you: anti-aging measures worth thinking about now

Portion control: skin-care edition

Put on a good face: your makeup must-haves

Never put on makeup the wrong way again

Beauty blunders, simple solutions

The only 3 looks you need to master

Take it off. Take it all off. (Your makeup, that is)

Your killer-haircut cheat sheet

TRUE STORY: How bad advice and too much pomade taught me who I really wanted to look likemyself. By Sarah McCoy

The hair necessities

Be your own stylist

Portion control: hair-product edition

Adventures in hair removal

Beauty products: when to scrimp, when to splurge

Salon drama, avoided

The cure for nothing-to-wear-itis

Clothes: when to scrimp, when to splurge

Your office dress-code decoder

Is this appropriate for my office?

TRUE STORY: I wore the same outfit for an entire season. Heres why. By Jessica Grose

What to wear, everywhere: special-occasion dressing, demystified

What to wear when you still havent got a clue

Never again wonder: bra or medieval torture device?

Style secrets you dont want to learn the hard way

Pressing matters: how to iron

Fashion faux pas, averted

In case of fashion emergency: what to keep handy in your bag, your desk, your closet

You cant cook withoutthese ingredients

The spice-rack starter kit

Heavy metals: a beginners guide

Choose your tools wisely

Sharp advice on knives

8 kitchen gadgets you really dont need

Kitchen secrets: how to avoid common cooking mistakes

4 oops! that are no big whoop

10 recipes anyone can make

The microwave is sexier than you think

Your seasonal guide to (almost) everything

TRUE STORY: A tribute to the first truly adult drink of my life. By Rosie Schaap

Wine 101

Which Pinot is which? A varietal guide

The cheapsters guide to cocktails

The moneyphobes guide to financial terms

4 important questions to ask before picking a bank

Where to stash rainy-day cash

The truth about your credit cards

TRUE STORY: How I got over my fear of spending even a dime. By Cristina Henrquez

Health insurance: a primer

Money saving secrets

How much insurance does one woman need?!

Budgeting for people who hate budgets

Only 40+ years to retirement! How to start planning now

The 5-minute guide to your taxes

3 super-common tax-return errors

How to go to your friends weddingswithout going broke

Your get-healthy, stay-healthy calendar

Waitwhen did you get that shot?

The cure for what ails you: everyday-illness edition

3 symptoms that wont go away on their own

And now for a message on smoking

Your first-aid essentials

Good-bye to all that (aspirin): cleaning out your medicine cabinet

How to find Dr. Right

Health oops! fixed

Why do I always feel like [expletive redacted]?

The health issue you shouldnt procrastinate about

Can you make a hangover less horrible?

TRUE STORY: How I cured my own bad body image in one fell swoop. By Jessica Soffer