6. Life Skills 101: A Practical Guide to Leaving Home and Living on Your Own by Tina Pestalozzi

Pestalozzi, Tina. (2007). Life Skills 101: A Practical Guide to Leaving Home and Living on Your Own. Cortland, Ohio: Stonewood Publications. ISBN 9780970133472.

Summary
Many teenagers go to college away from home, or find jobs and want to live on their own. This book is a guide to help the newly independent young adult make the transition into adulthood. Pestalozzi everything from job hunting, paying bills, finding an apartment, doing laundry, dining options, buying a car, and maintaining social skills.

Chapters include:
1) Stepping into the Working World
2) Taking Care of Business
3) Gaining Financial Know-How
4) Setting Up Your Home
5) Maintaining the Basics
6) Eating In and Dining Out
7) Being a Savvy Consumer
8) Staying Connected

Critical Evaluation
How many young adults go blindly into world of living on their own? Finding a roof over your head is just the beginning. This book is a easy to read and follow guide to all of the important things a young adult needs to know when moving into his or her own place. Never had to pay bills before? Pestalozzi explains which types of bills there are, when they arrive, and how to pay them even going as far to explain which ones to prioritize. This book is thorough and that's what makes it a great resource. Do you think a young adult would think about having a first aid kit? Probably not, but Pestalozzi thinks it is important even listing everything that should go in the kit. This is a very useful book for older teens, or even adults who are moving into their own places for the first time.

Reader's Annotation
Living on your own for the first time? Things you should know because your parents aren't always going to be there.

About the Author
Tina Pesalozzi is director of Global Protocol and Etiquette Services. She presents seminars on civility and business and social etiquette to corporate, government, and educational organizations. Life Skills 101 is the basis of her student life skills workshop.

Genre
Nonfiction, Life Skills

Curriculum Ties
N/A

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 17+

Challenge Issues
N/A

Why Included in Titles Selected
I was shelving books at work and saw this book. After reading it I wished I had a book like this when I first moved out. I would've saved a lot of time, money, and grief.