Give financial advice to your 20yr-old self

[Aestheticstqwe98]

ADMISSION: I'm 23, I have $1000 to my name, and I was never taught about money.

Coming from a broke(and broken) home, "save your pennies" was the extent of my financial education while growing through childhood, then adolescence, and now manhood. I gave the whole "save your pennies" thing DUE priority, with little-to-no reward to show for it. I'm not exactly sure why it took me so long to realize that saving money serves fuck-all purpose if you're not making money in the first place(good money, that is).

I'm doing okay. I'm independent. I have my own appartment, vehicle, etc. But my bills and expenses have had me living paycheck-to-paycheck for the past 3 years. I'm too young to be this hopeless and tired...nothing shatters your confidence quite like being broke.

All I endlessly think about Night and Day is money(or my lack thereof). It's like a revolving door that keeps going around-and-around-and-around in my head, and I'm afraid that it's driving me completely fucking insane. I can't even sleep.

I have reached a point where I AM ABSOLUTELY FUCKING FED UP AND WILL DO ANYTHING AT ALL TO BE SUCCESSFUL. ANYTHING. I couldn't possibly be any more serious about that. In fact, I would rather off-myself than continue my family's tradition of being poor..."But where to start?"

All topics are welcome...
Crypto/Real Estate/E-commerce/Helpful resources/Books/Podcasts/General Opinions.
Please use this thread to give financial advice to your 20yr-old self, it'd help alot of us younger guys(dummies like me).

 

[Jestopherson]

Don't buy that fucking truck you moron.

Also stop taking all those tinder chicks on dates


Put away money every cheque. Even if it's $20. Don't touch it

 

[Ridethelightningbarefoot]

You need to grind harder. Get another job or figure out how to advance at the one you have. Maybe consider another job where your skills translate and can have better upward mobility. You have time to pick up new skills also. The industrial sector is a good field, thats what i do. I dont have a college degree and make good money. There is a lot of ways to do it man just keep that nose to the grindstone.

 

[Aestheticstqwe98]

Don't buy that fucking truck you moron.

Also stop taking all those tinder chicks on dates


Put away money every cheque. Even if it's $20. Don't touch it

Could have used this advice when I was 18...was thinking with my penis and bought a brand-new mustang(idiot).
Long story short, the car was reposessed within a year.
$20,000+ in debt now from 1 stupid decision. All to...impress some chick??...Yeah. Fuckin-a.

 

[Jestopherson]

Could have used this advice when I was 18...was thinking with my penis and bought a brand-new mustang(idiot).
Long story short, the car was reposessed within a year.
$20,000+ in debt now from 1 stupid decision. All to...impress some chick??...Yeah. Fuckin-a.

Same man. Best part is the truck got rear-end 2 months later and the tranny blew immediately after. Insurance refused to cover it. Got it fixed. It blew again 200km later. So I had a giant non running hole in my pocket. Tossed it for scrap. Still paying for that fucker. Almost free of it though.

Another good option is railway. Not the best hours but you can make a good living and I work less than half the year

 

[Eman]

It takes a little time to "catch up" at your age. You'll find yourself having a little more money over the years if you budget yourself.

That said, make sure you can progress at your career and the place you work. If you're working at McDonald's (just an example) then you need to find something that will give you the ability to earn real money.

If so, go find a job that fits your skills and ask for more than you're worth. You'd be surprised how often that works, I've seen it many times. Selling yourself well is important.

It would be helpful if I knew what general field you're in. I can make better recommendations... In my area of expertise, workers can make a ton of money with a little know how... Drawback is you won't have much of a life. I think that's not a bad deal for a few years... I've seen guys set themselves up really well by just digging in and working like a madman for a few years.

Keep saving your money... It's cliche but it's important.

 

[Human_backhoe]

I was broke as fuck at your age!!!! Probably in a lot worse position than you.

Lol get into the trades. I went electrical and learned how to program machines from there. Now the sky is the absolute limit. Why you become a journeyman...... Get ready to start your own business. Grind the shit out of it. When everyone else is out getting laid and drinking..... You read and learn

 

[Human_backhoe]

Also do the hardest things you can think of. Then never back down. Take on more than you think you can handle and never fucking break your word on obligations!


In 16 years of living like that I went from a drunk party boy broke piece of shit to owning

A electrical company
Mechanical company
software engineering firm
A farm
And a ranch

 

[Aestheticstqwe98]

It takes a little time to "catch up" at your age.

I go through cycles of hyper-motivation followed by depression. In other words I try to make shit happen overnight and as a result I burn-out after a few weeks.

It would be helpful if I knew what general field you're in. I can make better recommendations... In my area of expertise, workers can make a ton of money with a little know how...

I'm working as a personal trainer in a local gym. Making about 40k/year with a few PT Certs. I dropped out of school at 16.

Drawback is you won't have much of a life.

I don't deserve to celebrate because I have nothing to celebrate...I don't understand people my age bar-hopping like it's New Years every weekend. Maybe it's because I got all the drinking, drugging, and partying out of my system in my teens...I guess I was an early bloomer.
But point-being, not having much of a life isn't anywhere on my list of concerns.

 

[Aestheticstqwe98]

I was broke as fuck at your age!!!! Probably in a lot worse position than you.

Not sure if this is intended to make me feel better, but it kind of does haha.
Nonetheless, I can't help but to interprept "you're young, you have time" as a cop-out of sorts...Not that that's what you're saying entirely, but I feeling like I'm just making excuses when I tell myself "I'm young, I have time".
Am I making sense to anyone but myself?

Also do the hardest things you can think of. Then never back down. Take on more than you think you can handle and never fucking break your word on obligations!

Yeah man I needed this. Thank you.

 

[Human_backhoe]

Not sure if this is intended to make me feel better, but it kind of does haha.
Nonetheless, I can't help but to interprept "you're young, you have time" as a cop-out of sorts...Not that that's what you're saying entirely, but I feeling like I'm just making excuses when I tell myself "I'm young, I have time".
Am I making sense to anyone but myself?

It's not a cop out. I fucked up BAD and was a retard! It took a lot more effort to " make it" . You definitely don't have a lot of time.

Yeah man I needed this. Thank you

It's like training. Once you do it long enough you can't live any other way.

It also attracts like minded people

Don't get married until 35 once you have your direction set in life. Caveat..... I met my wife at 28 and still going strong as fuck and every year just gets better

 

[PimpyLongCockings]

Dave Ramsey….. Find him, Follow him. It’s FREE


Simple: Don’t spend more than you make


THAT’S IT

 

[Tmisatix]

I’m still in the same boat. Was worse a while
Back but I’ve saved. Literally , I don’t buy new clothing, shoes , etc. - UNLESS absolutely needed. only purchase the bare minimums and that’s basically just food, transportation, utilities, some bodybuilding and gym cost. Always look for deals, never go out to eat(Learn to cook) , etc, etc. I’ve found local places in my town that have all short dated stuff which is literally a steal . Some even have supps. 20$ will turn into 5$ . It would be nice to have nice things, but I realize I have to budget until I’m in a position to afford nice things. I’d honestly like to pump some media out and such hoping to get an online gig going or social media “cringefluencer” but that’s a side hustle while you have a Financial goal. If you have 1000 , make a goal that in the next month you’ll get it to 1000-2000.

couponing
signing up for grocery store gas discounts with a phone number

list goes on and those small saves add up

but I know what you mean because I constantly STRESS ABOUT IT DAILY TOO. It’s constantly on your mind and we live in such an expensive world. Keep Praying and pushing , we will figure something out brotha

 

[PimpyLongCockings]

Food for Thought
Do the math on putting away $2000/yr till you’re 50-60 in a decent/safe IRA

Make sure to compound your interest.
When you see the earnings per year towards the end I guarantee you will start putting away that 2g/yr and never touch it.

motivation right there, future millionaire

 

[Aestheticstqwe98]

Food for Thought
Do the math on putting away $2000/yr till you’re 50-60 in a decent/safe IRA

Make sure to compound your interest.
When you see the earnings per year towards the end I guarantee you will start putting away that 2g/yr and never touch it.

motivation right there, future millionaire

I've actually been watching Dave's videos lately. Good stuff

 

[Aestheticstqwe98]

I’m still in the same boat. Was worse a while
Back but I’ve saved. Literally , I don’t buy new clothing, shoes , etc. - UNLESS absolutely needed. only purchase the bare minimums and that’s basically just food, transportation, utilities, some bodybuilding and gym cost. Always look for deals, never go out to eat(Learn to cook) , etc, etc. I’ve found local places in my town that have all short dated stuff which is literally a steal . Some even have supps. 20$ will turn into 5$ . It would be nice to have nice things, but I realize I have to budget until I’m in a position to afford nice things. I’d honestly like to pump some media out and such hoping to get an online gig going or social media “cringefluencer” but that’s a side hustle while you have a Financial goal. If you have 1000 , make a goal that in the next month you’ll get it to 1000-2000.

couponing
signing up for grocery store gas discounts with a phone number

list goes on and those small saves add up

but I know what you mean because I constantly STRESS ABOUT IT DAILY TOO. It’s constantly on your mind and we live in such an expensive world. Keep Praying and pushing , we will figure something out brotha

I hear you man. I just finished paying for school to so that put me behind quite a bit.
I don't buy shit for myself. I pay my bills and buy essential groceries, and then whatever is left over goes towards gas(GO FUCK YOUR MOTHER BIDEN).
All work no play...I should think about couponing though...

 

[PimpyLongCockings]

Got my wife on board with his stuff too, we are on our way to debt free! Sounds corny but it’s real.
Keep it going!

 

[PimpyLongCockings]

I hear you man. I just finished paying for school to so that put me behind quite a bit.
I don't buy shit for myself. I pay my bills and buy essential groceries, and then whatever is left over goes towards gas(GO FUCK YOUR MOTHER BIDEN).
All work no play...I should think about couponing though...

Good move on the loans!
My wife and I recently donated about 15 bags of clothes, 6 suits that will never fit (Thanks NPP); all her stuff was high $$$ in great condition.

So I took a look in the store part of Salvation Army, oh Damn. New stuff, some with tags, expense originally; $5-10…

 

[Cdave.aol]

Don’t lease that car. It’s going to get stolen and your insurance will fuck you over

 

[Megadick3000]

You gotta take risks to get rewards bro.

I was broke until 25. I got clean off opiates, stopped smoking, started a company with just $350 dollars. At age 28 i had a net worth over 1 million. 3 years from broke to loaded. During those 3 years i poured all my money into my biz, i lived in poverty-lvl conditions, i worked a full time job then worked my business until 3am, sleep till 7am, then repeat, 7 days a week. I didnt date girls, i didnt use social media, i didnt hang with friends, i didnt party, i did nothing but work.

$350 turned into $700, $700 into $1400, $1400 into $2800, $2800 into $5600, etc... until the amount was $60,000, then i started putting $30,000 of that into savings and reinvested the other $30,000, repeated. Then i bought real estate with my savings, income generating multi unit real estate that paid its own mortgage and then some. Then i started pouring money into a diversification of investments (cryptos, stocks).

At age 34 i retired. Now i just surf and travel, all while passively getting richer. Sadly the pandemics put the brakes on my lifestyle at the moment. My business is still around but my employees do everything, i write a few emails a week and thats it.

The moral of the story is i took a risk, i risked my life savings of $350 and i religiously reinvested back into my business all principle and profits, creating a snowball effect.

Prior to starting my business i read a book called the 4-hour Work Week. I had made a post on a bbing forum, similar to your post right now, and a random guy recommended i read that book, for some reason i listened to him and I did. The books basically aboit encouraging you to become an entrepreneur, and its about redefining wealth not as a specific dollar sum but rather as freedom to live the life you want to live. If to live the life you want to live requires $1000/week, the book is encouraging you to become an entrepreneur who can make that $1000/week with the least amount of your time involved so as to achieve freedom, hence the ultimate goal of a 4 hour work week or less. In my case i live the life i want with less than 1 hour of work a week, i am rich in freedom.

Basically, the guy who makes $1 million a year of income but works 14 hours a day 7 days a week is LESS rich than the guy who makes $50,000/year working just 4 hours a week and has endless freedom to live the life they want to live.