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  • 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.

    • If 20 year old me put away 10% of her income, it would just mean borrowing more. Current me would just have more debt and be worse off than now.

    • 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!

      If you get a raise or get a better job in the future, this number can be even higher.

      Please keep this in mind. Even if you can't do it now, do it ASAP. Here are the same numbers, but starting at 30 instead of 20.

      Still amazing, but seeing this difference is why we older on ones tell you not saving earlier was our big regret.

      I hope this was helpful and doesn't get taken as a "pick yourself up by your bootstraps" thing.

      • Yes that's cool and all but I have to pay rent and food and as things stand now the average salary is like enough to cover ⅓ of the rent

    • 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?

  • It's easy to believe you're invincible in your twenties. Or "later me can deal with it.". As that later version of me, I'm not a huge fan of that earlier version in a lot of ways. It's fine, I'm who I am for what I went through, and I'm righting the ship. But the more cans you kick down the road, the more you have to deal with later and the harder they are to deal with. Physically, mentally, financially. It's ok to try to live life freely, but definitely be aware of this and consider kicking one less can every chance you get.

  • If you're working in the attic, under the house, around dirt/dust/debris wear a mask/respirator. It's so nice to be able to take deep breaths without coughing later in life (and outclass your peers in the stamina department) 👍

    Pro tip: Even though they're bigger and bulkier respirators are much more comfy than masks.

  • Spend quality time with your parents (assuming you're on good terms of course).

    I lost my dad when I was 30, after a short and unexpected illness, and I regret not spending much more time with him when I could have.

    • 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.

      • Aw mate... I'm so so sorry 😔

        That's a really hard situation, and I hope you're doing ok. Take care.

  • I'm 36.

    Do yourself a favor. Dont drink alone.

    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.

  • Smoking, drinking and gambling never ends well. Stay away from addictions.

    Don't try to proof how manly you are to your friends/girls. It rarely pays off. Its ok to have a veggie dish at the restaurant instead of a bloody steak. Its ok to not speed with your car to look cool. Its ok to wear whatever the fuck you want as long as you like it, it fits well and its practical for you. Do what you like and be proud of it.

    Always save time for your hobbies. Growing up doesn't means you can't have fun. If you are in a relationship make sure your partner gives you enough space and time for yourself.

  • Mine is modest; but practice being mindful of your emotional reactions.

    If something upsets you, interrogate why, and whether your reaction will help. 90% of the time it won’t, so learn to appreciate that you are upset, but don’t let it control you. Because if you don’t you’re going to start seeing the world through incredibly negative eyes.

    For example, I used to be a nightmare behind the wheel, always getting angry with shitty drivers and red lights. But I began trying to catch those thoughts, and asked myself whether they would stop other drivers being shitty, or whether it would stop me getting caught at red lights. Would I still be angry in ten minutes? The answer is almost always no, so to expend that energy feels like a waste of time to me now.

    Sure, I still get pissy, but I don’t sit with it for longer than I need to. You wouldn’t sit in acid, so why sit in anger?

  • Listening to other people, especially to women, is a skill. Don't spend silent time in a conversation waiting for your chance to speak or be smart or witty, stay quiet and really process what you're hearing. Imagine yourself in their situation. Accept that what they say is exactly how they feel.

    The less time you spend talking, the more your conversational partner will tell you, and the more you will start to understand them, their lives, their goals, and their anxieties.

    Knowing and understanding other peoples' experiences will help you not only make better decisions in your own life, but understand why other people act and think the way they do. You'll be less likely to snap-judge or make assumptions about others. And knowing more about your loved ones, co-workers, and neighbours will allow you to help them effectively if they need it.

    And travel abroad as much as possible - listen to people from other countries and cultures. The human experience is wildly varied and endlessly fascinating.

  • Think it very thoroughly if you want kids

    • As someone nearing his 40s, I really do want to have kids, though I'm really afraid my sedentary body won't keep up

  • 54m here, can I join in?

    Pay yourself first. You pay rent, you pay a car payment, add paying yourself first. That payment can be as little as $1, but it goes into a savings fund AND IT IS GONE, just like any other payment EVERY MONTH. When the savings fund gets to an amount that it can be rolled into something that makes more interest, do it. But that money is GONE, for all intents and purposes. When do you use it? You will know, when you can pull it out for something that is not an emergency, but rather something that will last the rest of your life. No, cars don't count.

    Cars, trucks, etc.... Here is the thing about cars and trucks. THEY ARE A COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY AND THE NUMBER ONE WAY YOU STAY ENSLAVED TO MAKING PAYMENTS ON EVERYTHING ELSE. But wait Canopyflyer, you say with a roll of your eyes, I HAVE to have a car, because there's no public transit where I live. Dude, I live in the United States, no one takes public transit here, I fucking know. So thanks for dropping anchor there admiral obvious. Buy the most reliable and cheap to run car you can possibly find. That doesn't mean an old shitbox. Buy a car that's a couple of years old that has a reputation for reliability and has already lost that first year's depreciation. I currently drive a 10 year old Camry LE, that I bought with 7k on the odo. Using a car to show how big your cock isn't, is the epitome of stupidity and is disastrous to your future financial health. If you're driving the latest SmallCockMobile with a $1k payment +... You are a complete fucking moron.

    CAVEAT ON VEHICLES: If you can have someone else pay for it, then sure, go buy that ego mobile. That includes the company you work for, or if you're in a business where you have to have a certain type of vehicle. I have a great deal of respect for a person that works with their hands and needs a truck to carry their tools.

    OK, maybe that's two bits of advice, but both are financial, so I'm sticking with it.

  • 37, close enough. Invest invest invest. Start a 401K with Acorns or something, I don’t care. Just start putting money away for your retirement yesterday.

215 comments