Please give me one piece of advice that you wish you knew when you were 20!

Kantankrus_Mare

Oh help!! Can't find what I'm looking for.

Showed home educated daughter this thread and would like to use Martins article aimed at Teens to teach them about money.

Can anyone help?

tibbles209

Hi guys!

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who gave me advice on this thread - it was really inspirational! I have since started putting money into savings each month and am now determined to keep away from credit cards and store cards (at the time I posted this thread I had applied for 2 which ive now cut up and thrown away). I wish you all the best of luck becoming debt free and thanks again for nudging me back in the right direction!

geoffky

Take calculated risks as waiting for things to happen take far too much time...credit cards should not be part of your life,i have survived without one for 29 yrs and will never have one. and wait until you have found out who you are before marrying.

KPR11

Like a couple of other people have said, credit cards in itself is NOT a bad thing, if anything I would say that you should use them so regularly, provided you pay it back every month and in full, so that you are building your credit history.

Credit cards also give you protection for transactions over £100.

I know this is DFW board but it doesn't change the fact that credit card when used in the right way, are very good.

This (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/financial-education-important) IMHO is a good article.

Good luck

KPR

rictus123

Im not 20 yet so i can read through this and take note! My life will be begining at 20...debt free for first time since i was 15! Long story! But echo what others say...dont get the flash car on finance and go away on holiday when you cant afford to....live withen your means!

shellyruby

nikki28 wrote: »

It takes 10 minutes to get into debt and feels like 10 years trying to get back out of it :A

i second that nikki

Million_Percent

Like another poster said, the amount of money you can earn in your life is finite. Of that amount, the money you waste you will NEVER get back. There is no bigger waste of money than interest payments on unnecessary debt.

My advice would be, work out what you want from life and start planning/saving for it now. If you want to own your own home, get married, have kids etc. then start NOW. Don't imagine that somehow you'll suddenly have the money for all that stuff once you hit your 30s. Lay the foundations now and it will see you right for the rest of your life. If you get into debt now, it will bog you down your whole life.

Imagine this: You get into debt when you are young - it takes you 10-15 years to pay it off and get on top of things. You're now 35. It takes you til 40 to save a deposit for a house. You have to put off having kids because you can't afford it. You're well into your 40s before you have your first child and you are virtually retired by the time your (probably only) child hits 18. You retire at 68 having just managed to pay off your mortgage but because you couldn't afford a pension when you were young you have to live a fairly meagre existence for the rest of your life. You end up selling your home in order to finance a better quality of life. You have no assets to leave your child.

Alternatively: You don't get into debt when you are young. You plan for your future, start saving and set up a pension. By the time you are 25 you have a deposit for a house. You can start a family before you are 30. Because you haven't been bogged down with debt repayments you are able to overpay on your mortgage and manage to pay it down in 15 years. You are mortgage free by 40 and only 48 by the time your first child is 18. As you had time and money on your side you had 2 or 3 kids. All your kids are grown up and supporting themselves by the time you retire and you are able to relax and enjoy life with your kids and grandkids knowing you have a good pension behind you and own your home outright. You are able to leave your house and a good stack of cash to your kids when you die.

Spend your money on the important things in life, don't waste a penny on frivolous nonsense. Nobody will lie on their death bed wishing they'd had a better phone or a smarter car. Don't get into debt for anything other than an affordable mortgage for your home.

backinbusiness

Million percent.

On the whole I agree with your sentiments but feel there needs to be a little "fun" spending.

No point having all that quality time with your children and grandchildren if you are watching every single penny spent like a hawk.

Life can be cut short for any number of reasons - better to have lived a little than to be the richest one in the graveyard.

But yes, I wish I'd taken a little more of your advice on a little earlier in my own life!

BiB

Million_Percent

I agree BIB. I wasn't suggesting that life should be all saving and no fun. I just think it is better to spend on things which matter like travel, learning, time with friends and family etc. rather than material things. If you avoid wasting money on material things then you have money available for the important stuff.

I certainly don't advocate the Ebeneezer Scrooge approach - you can't take it with you but if you plan things and prioritise then you can make sure you're not short when it counts.

backinbusiness

Million Percent

Your clarification makes perfect sense to me, and I wholeheartedly agree with you.

(Now to travel back in time and tell my younger self the very same thing!)

BiB