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

InaTizzy_2

Just one more?

Ok... 20 was when I took out my first loan and shortly after that, started down the messy road of getting further into debt. Got two credit cards, extensions on my loan, another loan.. then mobile phone bills etc. started to get out of hand and I basically did a runner from it all.

If I had one piece of advice for myself at the age of 20... show some bloody restraint!!

i.e....

- no you don't need to go to the pub every other night

- no you don't need to stop in at pc world every week (especially when you know there's cheaper sellers online and you're too bloody impatient to wait for delivery!)

-no you don't need a chinese take away every week!

- there's a reason tesco put DVDs near the entrance to the store, it's to tempt you into buying them! why are you at tesco? because you need food, not because you need your evening's entertainment sorting out!..

restraint restraint restraint restraint!

tealady

Never lend money to friends. If you cannot afford to lose that amount then they won't be a friend for long.
Giving to friends is a diferent matter though.

lippy1923

bargainbetty wrote: »

Echoing a couple of things - learn to cook, and be experimental! Cook for friends (offer to cook at their place for a night out).

Don't use a credit card for frivolities. Booze, shoes, handbags and that must-have pair of jeans? No. Items that need insurance and that you can pay off immediately upon returning home, yes.

Never, ever, ever co-sign on anything. Don't stand as guarantor for anyone, and if anyone says the wonderful phrase 'But I love you, you can trust me to pay the loan, I just can't get credit on my own' politely give them one of the following answers: 'No, 'Hell No,' or my personal favourite 'Get stuffed'. Unless it is a mortgage or there is an asset that retains value and is split equally between you, get stuffed is always a viable response.

Put away something each month before you spend - don't wait and put away 'what's left'. There won't be any.

Have two savings accounts. Name them. I have the 'Rainy Day' fund and the (sorry) F**k you fund. Work out your expenditure each month. Put one third of your saved amount into 'Rainy Day' and the the other two thirds into 'F**k you'. Save until you have at least three full months expenditure in the FY account. Then, you have your emergency pot for a rainy day, and you have the ability when you really, really can't go back to your job for the sake of your health or sanity or whatever, to say 'F**k you! to your boss and go. I've only done it once, but having the savings made a huge difference to my life.

Don't be afraid to say no to people. It's your money. Don't let other people spend it for you.

And one other thing, not money related. Enjoy your youth. Find cheap/free ways to seek out adventure and try new things. There is so much you can do that doesn't cost a fortune and will give you a fulfilled life and a head full of great memories.

Good luck x

Loving the F you fund idea. Brilliant! Def going to put this in place for 2011! something iv wanted to do for sooooo long now! Thanks for the inspiration :T

Garrulus

Congratulations - your question has turned me from a long-term lurker into a first-time poster!

Here is the wisdom I feel compelled to pass to you:


Shopping is NOT a leisure activity.

Little_bit_dizzy

:blushing: Thanks so much for this thread, I love it! Like lippy, really liking the idea of a 'f you' fund... it could become my 2011 target.

Like sooooo many, I have been in debt since I was 18 and I am now shocked slighly to realise that means I've been in debt for 20 years - more than 50% of my entire life. When I was about 20, my Dad must have realised I was running up debts as I remember him trying to talk to me about it. Of course, (I thought) I knew 'everything', so what could my Dad tell me I didn't already know???!!!!!!!

What he did tell me was quite short.

'Credit Cards can be useful. But never think of it, or refer to it, a credit card. Think of it & refer to it simply as a DEBT CARD.

Oh clever Dad, how I wish I had listened to that little gem of information. Still, aiming to be debt free by 40

bubblesbrian

Not much I can add to all the preivous posts really.

But just to pop in my two cents (though they've probably already been mentioned),

Save, Save and Save again.
Don't spend what you haven't got.
Spend within your means.
Though it seems sad and boring to a 20year old BUDGET!!

I didn't stick with any of them things when I was younger and now I'm paying the price.

sapphireeye

I just wanted to say as a 23 year old university student, thank you for this thead I've been getting quite down recently because I don't have much money and so I'm constantly turning down opportunities where everyone around me seems to have an endless supply of money at their disposal and this thread has reminded me that I'm just more money conscious than they are, and they're probably just spending money they haven't got or not budgeting like I am!

gfplux

Do not change Gas, Oil, Electricity, broadband, telephone or mobile phone supplier without first checking the contract length, penalty's and outstanding balances of your existing supplier.
You would not believe how many people offered what "sounds" a good deal say yes before checking.

And

Live the life you CAN afford not the life you would LIKE to afford

BringtheStoneshome

Be prepared to be the butt of a few jokes because you don't always go out or have the latest designer things. Steer clear of any kind of debt and try to always save 10% of anything you get.

Be assured that when you have an OK house with a decent Loan to Value mortgage (and consequently better interest rate) it will be you that is laughing. While you are at your parents house make sure you squirrel some money away because you will never live more cheaply than you do now.

Good luck and I shall look forward to an invite to your mansion when I am 60!

BringtheStoneshome

sapphireeye wrote: »

I just wanted to say as a 23 year old university student, thank you for this thead I've been getting quite down recently because I don't have much money and so I'm constantly turning down opportunities where everyone around me seems to have an endless supply of money at their disposal and this thread has reminded me that I'm just more money conscious than they are, and they're probably just spending money they haven't got or not budgeting like I am!

I had a friend who lived on £35 per week when she was at college. She and her hubby now have a fab house in the Kent countryside.

I have constantly wasted good opportunities and spent money stupidly. I have a crap house in a boring Midlands town. I will change this though because I have woken up and am on the case.

STICK TO YOUR BUDGETS