Go to the dentist. Get a little exercise. Find a way to reduce calories over the next 20 years, spend as little as possible. Borrow a little money for your car. Stay away from credit cards until you make enough to pay the cards in full every month. Keep track of every skill you learn on the job, using that information to transition into higher-paying jobs. Get a savings account. Spend as little as possible without skimping on food quality. Save 1 months salary and keep that in checking. At the end of each month, transfer everything above the target funds into savings. Save 3 months salary for an emergency fund. Once this financial foundation is established, divide additional funds into two buckets: one gets invested each month, the other is for major purchases and travel.
When things are great, even small things like a cup of coffee with a friend or a quiet morning, take a minute to say to yourself, “this is really great.” Say it out loud. Years later you will realize those moments are as good as it gets, and if you don’t mark them they just disappear. Bad moments stick around in your head regardless, but the good ones need to be memorialized.
Start saving for retirement now. You can make literally millions by putting away 10% of your income early on. Do it automatically so you never even notice the money gone.
If you are worried about making the wrong choice and your company doesn’t have a 401k, open an IRA somewhere (Fidelity if you need someone to make the decision for you) and pick a date targeted fund. Set up auto deposit. Never look at the balance.
You can always make it better later but for now the best thing to do is start. Don’t let analysis paralysis get in the way.
Some companies in the US have a deal to where they match on 401k. One such organization puts in 5% for your 2%. Two percent is low enough it wouldn’t be a hit to almost any cash in your pocket given that the money is taken out pre tax.
Question: If I had money saved in a 401k or Roth IRA, what if I died before I retired? What would happen to the money? Would it go back to the government or to a close relative?
I don’t want to come off as insensitive, so I’ll try to phrase things carefully.
If you have even the slightest spare money per pay period, like $30, and a 401k or 403b is offered to you, you really need to do it.
That money comes out of your check before taxes, so you will be investing more money than what actually comes out of your check. By deduction 6% of a $15/hr full time job, you’re putting in $36, but your paycheck will only go down about $30-free money!
Many places will match you some, say half of that first 6%, so now you’re saving $54 while only being out $30. You’ve almost doubled your money in one week!
Come tax time, you’ve saved $1872, and you’ve been given a free $936. It doesn’t stop there though, because now you only are paying income tax on $29,328 instead of $31,200. If you get a tax rebate now, you will get even more back!
So now you’re saving $2808 a year at age 20. Let’s put that in one mutual fund, a SP500 index fund. Over the last 10 years, that has returned 12‰, but let’s be conservative and call it 10. If you never make a cent more per hour, by age 65, you will have saved $84,000 and your job has chipped in $42,000, over a year’s pay! But with that 10% compound interest, you have $2,000,000! You are a multi-millionaire for $30/wk!
No, I understand what he’s trying to say. The point is: doing what he recommends requires having money to save up in the first place, and for a big portion of people in their 20s that’s not the case.
I'd say from an introverted perspective: you don't have to go to every party just because you were invited. You can just say no to a drug offer if you don't want it, people are usually just like "no prob dude, more for me"
I dunno man, my gut says everybody secretly hates me, I'm an imposter at my job, the world isn't worth saving and having kids is a fallacy because they'll just grow up in the resource wars, among other very negative things, I've learned to trust my gut maybe half the time
(44) look, listen, you don’t have to figure everything out right now. There will come a time in your late twenties and early thirties that you’ll feel like you’ve missed the boat, that you’re lagging behind, that it’s too late to still start or switch… And then you’ll get over it in your late 30s again. Finally realise that life doesn’t end and in fact that there is a lot left after 40. And that’s when they call it the midlife crisis, it’s not a crisis. The crisis is in your late twenties and early thirties.
University isn’t intended to get A grades, university it’s for you to make connections with other people. A grades are good but a good business partner can save you life.
Also regarding university figure out your reasons for studying whatever it is you’re going to study before going into massive debt for it. Too many people my age went to university a bit aimlessly because going to university after high school is what was supposed to happen. Then they spend the next decade or two kicking themselves about their debt and how they were naive about what they studied.
Now days you can get your college courses paid for by your employer if you have a good one. A “foot in the door” full time job might get you a free Masters or better depending on who you work for and their benefits. Many companies will reimburse your college degree while you work for them. Be picky about who you work for.
Sound like a tall order? Work on that. Your liver is important. You’ll be alone a lot. You get in that habit now, it’ll be with you when you’re 40, and your liver will not be a fan.
“Work on that” what do you mean?!? – you get home from a shit day at work, or you stop at a bar on the way home. You get drunk to numb the calcified agony of the working life. – that’s what I mean. There are other ways to numb thatee less maladaptive, they just take more effort and take affect less quickly. Move toward it for me tak health.
Do you spend hours on the couch scrolling on your phone? Try to go on a 2 mile walk every day. 4 is even better. Your heart will thank you. Your hips, knees and ankles will thank you. Listen to a podcast. You can still binge content, just… Get your body moving. And get your eyes to focus on the horizon every now and then. It’s good for your eyesight long term.
Get yourself out of breath, heart racing from pushing yourself physically at least once a week. Preferably nearly every day.
Take up an artistic hobby. Write bad poems. Write bad stories. Write bad songs. Draw dumb cartoons. Draw bad portraits. Sing your best, but sing. Dance.
Stretch.
Brush your teeth twice a day.
Floss.
Do planks.
Side planks too.
Drink water.
You should be able to do 20 pushups.
You should be able to touch your toes.
Sprint as far as you can at least once a month.
Just don’t get complacent being complacent.
Invest $1 for every $1 you put in a savings account. Put $1 into a retirement fund for every $1 you put in that savings acct too. Oh, and $1 in a Roth IRA at the same rate.
Got an extra $100? $25 to savings $25 to investing, $25 to Roth, $25 to 401k.
Do that til your savings ~= 6 months living expenses. Then stop that fund and split it 3 ways for investing, retirement, retirement.
Use your investment (and if things go south, savings) for a down payment on a house to minimize your mortgage.
Edit: in debt? Have more than 1 source of debt? Focus on the biggest one. If you can make minimum payments on all and have money leftover it goes to the largest debt/worst interest. Pay em off one at a time til your chins above water.
Yeah regarding the drinking alone; it’s an easy escape from whatever is happening right now (45+ yrs here). Not an alcoholic but I definitely have a bad habit (that’s what all alcoholics say, right?) during non work hours to disconnect (not sure from what to be honest…life?)
Trying to get them young because these habits die hard.
It is easy to say you’re not an alcoholic. Have you read what defines alcoholism? I qualify. I wouldn’t assume I do.
Here’s the cold slap in the face for us all. Count up your points…
Alcohol is often taken in larger amounts or over a > longer period than was intended.
There is a persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control alcohol use.
A great deal of time is spent in activities necessary to obtain alcohol, use alcohol, or recover from its effects.
Craving, or a strong desire or urge to use alcohol.
Recurrent alcohol use resulting in a failure to fulfill major role obligations at work, school, or home.
Continued alcohol use despite having persistent or recurrent social or interpersonal problems caused or exacerbated by the effects of alcohol.
Important social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced because of alcohol use.
Recurrent alcohol use in situations in which it is physically hazardous.
Alcohol use is continued despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent physical or psychological problem that is likely to have been caused or exacerbated by alcohol.
Tolerance, as defined by either of the following:
*A need for markedly increased amounts of alcohol to achieve intoxication or desired effect.
*A markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of alcohol.
Withdrawal, as manifested by either of the following:
*The characteristic withdrawal syndrome for alcohol (See the “How is alcohol withdrawal managed?” section for some DSM-5 symptoms of withdrawal).
*Alcohol (or a closely related substance, such as a benzodiazepine) is taken to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms.
The DSM-5 defines AUD as a problematic pattern of alcohol use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by at least
booze shame warning2 of those previous 11 symptoms occurring within a 12-month period. The number of symptoms determines the severity: 2 to 3 symptoms for mild AUD, 4 to 5 for moderate, and 6 or more for severe.
Remember alcohol is itself a central nervous system depressant. I do drink in moderation (2-3 a week) but everyday is a bad idea, even outside of any harm to your liver or whatever, because it can make you depressed and downers of all sorts (including Benadryl) accumulate damage over time that can contribute heavily to dementia risk.
If you are worried about it, that seems a clear enough signal, you don’t have to label yourself as anything, cut down if you can. Going to the gym or yoga class after work can provide the same wind down in a healthier way. I do understand wanting a separation - it is so nice to come home, sit on the porch with a drink, to separate work from home life, but most days I go to yoga instead.
None is better than some, some is better than a lot.
This hit me like a truck. I lost my father at the beginning of the month due to some tragedy that occurred.
We weren’t on speaking terms (a decision I made), but I’d always planned to one day see if I could turn things around, which will never happen now. Never in a million years would I ever have expected it to come down to this.
I took the aftermarket stereo out of my car in my mid 20s so I can hear bass well still but I often read people’s lips because that mid range hearing is not close to how it used to be if there are any ambient noises at all.
Appreciate the fact you can force your pee stream further now. I don’t know when I lost the ability but I do remember when I tried to and nothing happened. It was a shocking reminder I was getting old
Im a hair over 60 and peeing is no longer a voluntary activity. Have spotted my jeans a few times trying to make it to the head before the hose let loose