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

psychopathbabble

FREEZ wrote: »

Don't go anywhere near credit cards! Don't spend what you haven't got. Save as much as you can while you still live at home with your parents. Sorry; I know this probably all sounds really boring to a 20 year old but when you're 40 you'll be so glad you did!

I'm only 25 and regret not doing this already...

How about this:

You go for it, do what I did... get the credit cards, go on the holidays and buy the car you can't afford. Keep up with your friends, spend spend spend.

Now, being 25, I can't save for a deposit for a mortgage, I can't go travelling as I always planned, I can't change jobs without working out if I can meet the minimum repayments, I have to borrow yet more money to fix my car (after driving round for a month with the brakes in a dangerous state), I can't go for one drink without feeling guilty that I'm spending money, my constant line is 'i can't afford it' to absolutely everything that my friends ask me to do.

How is that any fun when my twenties are supposed to be the time of my life?

The main thing is... if you can't afford it, don't buy it. Wait until you have saved for it, and by then you probably won't want it anyway. Sounds dull, but it will so be worth it!


I'll get off my soapbox now

choogirl

I don't have a 20 year old yet but if I did my advice would be
1) Don't get a credit card
2) Create a realistic budget
3) Save
4) Live within your means

However I did all these at 20 years old and still owe money on credit cards, great that you're thinking about it though xx

Swinstie73

All of the above - don't get a credit card, if you must do get one with a SMALL limit like £100 for emergencies - tell the bank not to increase this or allow you to ask for it to be increased (eh might not be possible, it's the banks who do the increasing). Budget, save, and only spend cash where possible. Don't buy stuff to keep up with the Joneses.

niccatw

If you find yourself spiralling into spending too much, keep a spending diary for a bit - it soon reigns in the spending!

If you're a student, don't kid yourself you'll be earning enough to pay it off in a few years! You won't. Even if you are on a fabulous salary - the list of things you'd rather do with your money just grows with you.

niccatw

Swinstie73 wrote: »

All of the above - don't get a credit card, if you must do get one with a SMALL limit like £100 for emergencies - tell the bank not to increase this or allow you to ask for it to be increased (eh might not be possible, it's the banks who do the increasing). Budget, save, and only spend cash where possible. Don't buy stuff to keep up with the Joneses.

You can ask them to decrease the card limit. I asked them to limit mine to £500 years ago; they never once offered me an increase after that .

Can't quite get my bank to do the same with my overdraft though! They keeps side-stepping the issue; almost like they are waiting for me to fall into their trap. :cool:

downcdebt

oooh - there is so much I would do differently if I were 20 again.

I know this has been said before, but SAVE! I never used to earn that much, and generally just spent all of what I earnt each month, but had friends who started to save, just a bit each month, via direct debit out of their bank account. I used to think - ah, it's only 50 quid coming out of your pay packet each month, that is nothing, it will take ages for it to add up and be a fair lump sum....hardly worth it... but time really does fly and before you know it you will have a nice little nest egg, without even feeling you are missing that money each month.

DO NOT lend to bf/gf ... I did this, and never saw it again.

Try not to drink all your wages away ;-)

If you have bills, then open two bank accounts and have one where bills come out of and the other for your spending - that way it is easier to keep an eye on it.

Avoid credit cards. Like the plague.

Erm think they are the main ones... good luck!!

juno

Don't just go out window shopping or just to look. You end up buying things anyway.

danothy

newleaf wrote: »

don't embark on a relationship with anyone who is in debt, or seems to have a problem managing their money

Maybe a more reasonable paraphrasing might be "don't embark on a financial relationship with anyone who is in debt, or seems to have a problem managing their money"

I would also say that when drawing up a budget allow more for the things that aren't fixed in cost by a 10-15% margin, being hopeful about the electricity bill isn't as useful as being prepared for it, and it's too easy to make a perfectly reasonable underestimate for things like that (possibly because they tend to be unreasonable costs).

eyeopener2

Pay yourself first ie put 15% of your gross income into a savings account.

Do not use a credit card.

You want a car? Buy it out of your savings

Do not listen to everybody else who is in debt, be different, life different ( as Dave Ramsey the American version of Martin says).

MAke sure you live within your means even if that is having just 1p in your account the day before payday (unlike me that was -£1800!).

Spend less than you earn and save as much as you can, I chose differently and the result is my signature and a DMP.

thebillet

I thought I knew it all when I was younger...I didn't, in fact I don't know that much more even now (20 yrs + 40 yrs)!! But what I do know is; you can't beat the maths - Paying interest is a killer! People say rent is dead money, no it is not, interest is.
If you want a more scary explanation see the Zeigtgeist Addendum on Youtube.
In short paying interest suits others not you - avoid at all if you can.

Good luck with your journey and remember if it is worth having it is worth saving for.