As many have commented here, this introspective self-assessment is a crucial first step in improving your situation. Also as many said, it's incredibly brave too. Regarding your feeling like nobody taught you so many important things about how to handle your finances "like a real adult," perhaps you have a close friend who can serve as a sounding board? If not, Google can be your best friend. I recently needed to get an EV charging station installed. It's nothing I'd ever done before. Nobody in my family has done it (well, now that I think about it, I think one of my nephews did, but I didn't recall that at the time). So I searched online which charging station gets good reviews (most recommended these days is Enel X's JuiceBox). I checked if their prices are competitive (they are). I contacted the vendor to verify their unit works with our EV (it does) , and to ask if they have any specials (they gave me $50 off). I searched online to see what it costs to have an electrician install it ($700 - $1200). I contacted an electrician we used in the past and they quoted $1000 and could do the work within a few days. In short, by using the infinite resource called Google, I got a solid solution for a good price. It's really mostly about arming yourself with good info before making large financial decisions. Good luck!