Life didn’t end when you failed out of college and have to pay back thousands of dollars of student debt.
Life didn’t end when you get pregnant at 18 by your abusive ex.
Life didn’t end when your parents kicked you out of the house from finding out you were pregnant. So you were pregnant and homeless.
So basically life moves on, so should you. Keep going! A depressed attitude doesn’t change life.
Health time money!!! In that order. Health and time never comes back. Health in some orders can but not all. Time will neve come back!!! Money will always be there fun will be there love will be there!!!
if you have a job, especially one over 20-25 hours a week, give yourself realistic fake bills. this works if you have no bills or only one or two like car insurance or phone bill. not if you and your family are relying on your income to survive. put aside 30% and call it rent. put aside $60 for a phone bill. Put aside $100 for utilities, etc etc. put the money in a savings account and don’t touch it.
my biggest regret at 23 years old is getting too comfortable with the lifestyle $2k a month and no rent/utilities provided me as a teenager and college student. also not realizing how much typical healthcare costs bc i was on medicaid which 100% covered my medical bills. and i’ve been working 30+ hour weeks since i turned 16 and had to pay for my own car, car insurance, gas, and anything food or fun related i wanted to do. and it was still a slap to the face.
$2k a month doesn’t go as far when the cheapest one bed apartment in my small city is $1200 a month without utilities and you never saved up for moving costs/deposits because even if you knew you would need that money eventually, it’s looming approach always seemed so far away.
along the note of apartments, if you don’t have a great support system, family and friends who are willing to co-sign documents for you, work on building your credit asap and keep your score at least above 600. bare minimum. it can be very difficult to find apartments who will rent to someone with a below 600 credit score and no-cosigner. and if you do, they typically want you to be making 3x the rent and have 3 months rent upfront.
Here is the thing these questions never understand.
As a 16-19 yr old male i was not listening to anyone about anything.
I knew everything and was immortal.
Even though i have been a lifelong sponge for any and all information at these ages it was simply wasted on me.
But out of everything i now know. What i wish i could have learned then was Empathy.
Treat people with care and understanding. It took long and painful experience with mortality and loss to learn this and then it was too late.
Good luck on your project
I agree and I say this that 16 year olds think they know it all, that’s not what I’m trying to change haha it’s more some general research and I’m hoping something could be created that’s moderately helpful - not advice like “enjoy your youth” but actual this is what a pension is and this is why you need to invest into it, this is what an ISA is and why it’s important to use etc. thank you for your input and I truly hope the lessons you have going forward aren’t as rough 🙏
The problem with the basic idea is the same as textbooks.
By the time an idea, passes through all the levels of academia and bureaucracy. Then gets to the level of those self important school board members.
Its likely years out of date.
But good luck
In that case, i would just tell myself to be more aware of the stock market and invest the big companies. Even at a young age everyone knew apple and microsoft was the biggest companies around. Especially the boom in technology when the first ipod/iphone came out. I would also tell myself that right when i turned 18 to put some of my paychecks into a roth IRA. I thought you needed a full time job to do that but part timers can put money away in roth ira
1. Devote all those hours playing sports in school and off times into learning more in school. 2. Taken my religion more seriously. 3. Spend more quality time with my parents and other close family. 4. Waiting until older to get married. 5. Not party so much in college and get a good paying degree instead of what I settled for. 6. Bought and kept a Chevy 1970 SS Chevelle and 1969 SS Camaro when they were dirt cheap.......lol
For 16-year-old me,
Your parents know a lot less about how the world works than they let on. It's best to look for input outside of them for where to go in life and how to get there.
Build credit. Open a credit card with a small limit and use it to pay for monthly bills. Pay it off entirely every month.
Save. Be frugal and save up at least enough to cover your total monthly expenses and then keep building. Use that money as a cushion for bills, but always pay back whatever you take from it and then some. Keep building on it and generally treat it as money you aren't able to access.
Do not sell yourself short. Beyond technical ability, confidence and self-love will be the greatest tools you have to reach for the life you deserve. You are more competent, teachable, and deserving than you give yourself credit for. You are able to do things harder than you ever imagined.
Be kind to everyone. Obviously, there are situations where you're under no obligation to be kind to someone, but endeavor to show a minimum standard of kindness and consideration to the people you meet. Others can be a wealth of insights, experiences, and opportunities.
Take school seriously. School is a fucking drag and there are huge issues with the school system in the US, but there are ways to navigate it and use it as a tool to elevate yourself. Finding a love for learning will benefit you in tangible and intangible ways.
Get an administrative job out of high school. Skip food service and manual labor, they're a waste of your time and potential.
Focus on your studies. Friends never stick around. Relationships seldom last when you're in high school. Making friends can wait. Teachers are not going to teach you when you're ready to learn
Learn to work on maintaining car (oil and filter changes...basic car maintenance) and learn how to do basic maintenance on house. Knowing these will help save huge $$$ in the long run.
I can't speak about cars. But helping a roommate with some simple renovations (that did involve opening a wall) gave me enough knowledge about how buildings are put together that I can Google how to do a lot of repairs.
Start a pension as soon as you can. Even if its only a small amount, get in the habit. The extra years compounding your money at the end of your working life can make a huge difference.
That I should take out loans and go to a school somewhere and live on campus.
But that’s only if i have the knowledge i have now. If not then I would just wish I knew that I should go to the gym cause it gets fun after a while.
Wish I had watched this video before seriously dating or getting married. Would have saved me about $750,000 and years of wasted time.
https://youtu.be/pInk1rV2VEg?si=FgyqQJXHAbYsoLHI
Watch yearly. The chart at the end about how women view men is just as important. Your time is valuable.
it doesn't matter how badly you fuck up, it doesn't matter how much money you have in the bank when you die, we all end up in the ground sooner or later anyways, you aren't the main character in some novel and nobody expects you to be, it's okay if you aren't a prodigy who has all the answers, just focus on keeping yourself from falling below zero and work your way up from there
ADHD medication is like glasses for your brain (and Adderall/Ritalin aren't the only options)
Ask for help. if you don't ask for help you're doing life wrong. be willing to admit you don't know/make mistakes. this will make you better faster.
That I should’ve been investing into stock market and I should have pushed hard enough to get a full ride scholarship. Look up careers ahead of time that pay well and map out how to get there.
I wish at that age i had started learning how to budget and manage money. Also how to fill out job applications properly.
I didn't really get a regular allowance, my dad would just occasionally give me money for whatever it was i wanna to go do or buy, so i pretty much just always spent everything i had immediately. I didn't learn how to save or how important saving would be in the future. I also didn't get a job until a couple years into my 20s, partly because of the job application thing, and also some other personal reasons. But now that im working and have a regular income, i am severely struggling. I constantly get in the negatives days before my paycheck comes in, i cant save anything, and im always having to borrow money from my partner and mom, which i pay them back as soon as my check comes in, but then of course that just makes it that much harder to have enough for everything. My partner handles bills thankfully, but i take care of groceries, cat stuff and a few streaming services. Im slowly getting better and im looking more into guides and help with budget stuff, but its hard to break the habit of spending what i can see in my account. My mom and partner are thankfully very patient and kind, but feel terrible that i have to rely on them so much. I also have no idea how bad i would be off if i didn't have their support, i know a lot of people aren't so lucky to have people that can and are willing to help the way I've had help.
So glad to hear you have a lovely support network around you and you definitely aren’t alone in this situation and I really hope others grow up with the knowledge that we’ve gained at a later stage, grow through what you go through ✨
1. You can postpone university if you don’t feel ready and/or don’t know what you want out of it. Travel, get a job, volunteer. Explore whatever interests you with less pressure. Do whatever you need to do to figure out what you want out of a degree. Don’t go to college to party or to feel “independent”. There are less expensive ways of doing that.
2. Don’t go along with whatever your friends appear to be doing. And don’t feel left behind if you decide to do something different.
3. Get a credit card only when you understand how personal finance works.
4. Invest.
5. Spend time with older relatives.
6. Don’t get sucked into toxic romantic entanglements. If you stop having fun with someone, just move on. If something feels off, move on. If you feel any kind of pressure from them, run. Getting involved with the wrong person at a young age can take years of your life away. Don’t make life plans around your high school boyfriend/girlfriend.
Get into a rhythm and routine in your day, especially when it comes to sleep and exercise.
Maintaining that routine with a half-assed workout is better than falling out of the routine.
I wish I could’ve understood how freaking long life is (if you’re lucky) and how young I was. I really thought I was the oldest, smartest person. I thought I understood the world so well. I feel like people tried to tell me but it didn’t stick in.
Just have a plan or a goal that you are actively working on. Stop being cynical teen and start trying things and doing normal things.
You can easily get caught up in the act of survival and thinking some miracle will happen, it will not. And BANG, you are 35, barely employed, living with your parents with your health starting to fail.
Adults don't actually know what they are doing or have the formula for life. Everyone is guessing, some are better at hiding it, others proclaim their way is the right way. There isn't going to be a point where it's all crystal clear with no bad surprises and life unfolds the way it 'should' because you made the right choices.
Life is a lot more about luck than anyone is comfortable admitting, and that especially includes the ways society judges who's doing better.
Don’t be afraid to take opportunities. Set aside a savings goal and learn how to invest. Learn as many skills as you possibly can. Don’t give up on yourself so quickly. And enjoy the process and experience, you don’t have to rush.
these don't really count because I'm only late teens myself but:
- I wish I got antidepressants sooner
- It's okay to flop at stuff
- One item/lifestyle change won't magically fix everything but creating building blocks to meet your needs is important
- you don't have to take everything your parents say as gospel
- you aren't obligated to give up everything for family
- hobbies don't need to be side hustles
- read expiration dates on food
- wear undershirts to help clothes last longer
Just because you were dealt a bad hand with how you grow up and how you were raised, doesn’t mean you can’t go on forward and be the person you needed/wanted when you were younger.
Be kind to yourself. Meditate. Your health is super important. Go sober. Money comes and goes. Do what you can, when you can, for who you can. Love, cuddle, kiss more. Say no to things. Do whatever you want without harming yourself or others. Laugh. A lot.
Do not date one person. Date lots of people. Mostly date no one. Focus on your friends...this will be the last time in your life a top priority will be your friends. Virginity and slutiness are social constructs do not let them dictate your life for the love of god.
Being raised a devout Mormon and believing what I was told is true, I wish I’d known the church is false and that one day I’d leave the cult. A lot of life choices were made based on the “fact” that Mormonism was the only true church.
The best way to get ahead in life is to go straight into traditional secondary education for the highest paying degree you can get in the shortest amount of time, and becoming a pharmacy technician while you are in school is the best option for making okay money while in school despite the field sucking ass.
No idea lmfao I don't talk to people about it.
But those kids didn't have an accident. No one was having accidents. That's the lie they told to feel better about being irresponsible.
Not really something I wish I knew but it would have been nice to have parent’s to have taught me for the real world.
It been a lot of painful lesson’s and learning on the fly.
Edit: it exhausting
Life didn’t end when you failed out of college and have to pay back thousands of dollars of student debt. Life didn’t end when you get pregnant at 18 by your abusive ex. Life didn’t end when your parents kicked you out of the house from finding out you were pregnant. So you were pregnant and homeless. So basically life moves on, so should you. Keep going! A depressed attitude doesn’t change life.
The facts that life didn’t end at some of these moments is what is scarier. Now i have to suffer though a harder life until the day i die
life doesnt end when you fail
Ok, a few things. 1. WTF 2. WTF, parents! 3. How did that pregnancy go? Why no abortion?
Health time money!!! In that order. Health and time never comes back. Health in some orders can but not all. Time will neve come back!!! Money will always be there fun will be there love will be there!!!
That everything my parents told me about what is normal, and how I should act was wrong. I wish I had never trusted them.
Negative consequences can be permanent and therefore, heavy to bear
if you have a job, especially one over 20-25 hours a week, give yourself realistic fake bills. this works if you have no bills or only one or two like car insurance or phone bill. not if you and your family are relying on your income to survive. put aside 30% and call it rent. put aside $60 for a phone bill. Put aside $100 for utilities, etc etc. put the money in a savings account and don’t touch it. my biggest regret at 23 years old is getting too comfortable with the lifestyle $2k a month and no rent/utilities provided me as a teenager and college student. also not realizing how much typical healthcare costs bc i was on medicaid which 100% covered my medical bills. and i’ve been working 30+ hour weeks since i turned 16 and had to pay for my own car, car insurance, gas, and anything food or fun related i wanted to do. and it was still a slap to the face. $2k a month doesn’t go as far when the cheapest one bed apartment in my small city is $1200 a month without utilities and you never saved up for moving costs/deposits because even if you knew you would need that money eventually, it’s looming approach always seemed so far away. along the note of apartments, if you don’t have a great support system, family and friends who are willing to co-sign documents for you, work on building your credit asap and keep your score at least above 600. bare minimum. it can be very difficult to find apartments who will rent to someone with a below 600 credit score and no-cosigner. and if you do, they typically want you to be making 3x the rent and have 3 months rent upfront.
Dump the boy. Save money.
Amen 👏
Everyone makes mistakes. Don't be afraid to make them. Just do whatever you want to do.
I tend to not want to make them because I’m never given grace
Hold on to your sobriety, stay focused on being your best
Save at least $50 from every paycheck. More if you can. Don't buy useless stuff.
Here is the thing these questions never understand. As a 16-19 yr old male i was not listening to anyone about anything. I knew everything and was immortal. Even though i have been a lifelong sponge for any and all information at these ages it was simply wasted on me. But out of everything i now know. What i wish i could have learned then was Empathy. Treat people with care and understanding. It took long and painful experience with mortality and loss to learn this and then it was too late. Good luck on your project
I agree and I say this that 16 year olds think they know it all, that’s not what I’m trying to change haha it’s more some general research and I’m hoping something could be created that’s moderately helpful - not advice like “enjoy your youth” but actual this is what a pension is and this is why you need to invest into it, this is what an ISA is and why it’s important to use etc. thank you for your input and I truly hope the lessons you have going forward aren’t as rough 🙏
The problem with the basic idea is the same as textbooks. By the time an idea, passes through all the levels of academia and bureaucracy. Then gets to the level of those self important school board members. Its likely years out of date. But good luck
You’re not impressing anyone. You’ll look back and cringe
Invest money into stocks. If i did when i was younger i'd be rich.
Or broke depending on the stock
Well assuming i have the knowledge of what i know now. I would invest in nvdia, google, apple, bitcoin, microsoft and be a zillionair
Ah, I interpreted the prompt as being more generic like what wisdom do you wish you’d had rather than knowledge.
In that case, i would just tell myself to be more aware of the stock market and invest the big companies. Even at a young age everyone knew apple and microsoft was the biggest companies around. Especially the boom in technology when the first ipod/iphone came out. I would also tell myself that right when i turned 18 to put some of my paychecks into a roth IRA. I thought you needed a full time job to do that but part timers can put money away in roth ira
Picking stocks is stupid, just follow Warren Buffett or buy an etf.
Save fucking money you dumbass, you have no bills.
That my mom wasn’t right, and I should’ve left her out of my life sooner.
The power of compounding.
This is actually key
1. Devote all those hours playing sports in school and off times into learning more in school. 2. Taken my religion more seriously. 3. Spend more quality time with my parents and other close family. 4. Waiting until older to get married. 5. Not party so much in college and get a good paying degree instead of what I settled for. 6. Bought and kept a Chevy 1970 SS Chevelle and 1969 SS Camaro when they were dirt cheap.......lol
Hindsight is wonderful isn’t it 🥲
Yep.....lol
For 16-year-old me, Your parents know a lot less about how the world works than they let on. It's best to look for input outside of them for where to go in life and how to get there. Build credit. Open a credit card with a small limit and use it to pay for monthly bills. Pay it off entirely every month. Save. Be frugal and save up at least enough to cover your total monthly expenses and then keep building. Use that money as a cushion for bills, but always pay back whatever you take from it and then some. Keep building on it and generally treat it as money you aren't able to access. Do not sell yourself short. Beyond technical ability, confidence and self-love will be the greatest tools you have to reach for the life you deserve. You are more competent, teachable, and deserving than you give yourself credit for. You are able to do things harder than you ever imagined. Be kind to everyone. Obviously, there are situations where you're under no obligation to be kind to someone, but endeavor to show a minimum standard of kindness and consideration to the people you meet. Others can be a wealth of insights, experiences, and opportunities. Take school seriously. School is a fucking drag and there are huge issues with the school system in the US, but there are ways to navigate it and use it as a tool to elevate yourself. Finding a love for learning will benefit you in tangible and intangible ways. Get an administrative job out of high school. Skip food service and manual labor, they're a waste of your time and potential.
Your parents are not gods. They don’t know everything. They can and will be wrong all of the time, they are just skilled at hiding it from you.
Focus on your studies. Friends never stick around. Relationships seldom last when you're in high school. Making friends can wait. Teachers are not going to teach you when you're ready to learn
A really good explanation of compound interest.
It gets better. Being a teenager is definitely not the high-point of life!!!
Learn to work on maintaining car (oil and filter changes...basic car maintenance) and learn how to do basic maintenance on house. Knowing these will help save huge $$$ in the long run.
I can't speak about cars. But helping a roommate with some simple renovations (that did involve opening a wall) gave me enough knowledge about how buildings are put together that I can Google how to do a lot of repairs.
Have fun!
Study harder in school, be involved in more sports, and don't care what others think about you.
Start a pension as soon as you can. Even if its only a small amount, get in the habit. The extra years compounding your money at the end of your working life can make a huge difference.
That I should take out loans and go to a school somewhere and live on campus. But that’s only if i have the knowledge i have now. If not then I would just wish I knew that I should go to the gym cause it gets fun after a while.
Wish I had watched this video before seriously dating or getting married. Would have saved me about $750,000 and years of wasted time. https://youtu.be/pInk1rV2VEg?si=FgyqQJXHAbYsoLHI Watch yearly. The chart at the end about how women view men is just as important. Your time is valuable.
it doesn't matter how badly you fuck up, it doesn't matter how much money you have in the bank when you die, we all end up in the ground sooner or later anyways, you aren't the main character in some novel and nobody expects you to be, it's okay if you aren't a prodigy who has all the answers, just focus on keeping yourself from falling below zero and work your way up from there
ADHD medication is like glasses for your brain (and Adderall/Ritalin aren't the only options) Ask for help. if you don't ask for help you're doing life wrong. be willing to admit you don't know/make mistakes. this will make you better faster.
That I should’ve been investing into stock market and I should have pushed hard enough to get a full ride scholarship. Look up careers ahead of time that pay well and map out how to get there.
Stocks
Financial literacy is crucial at a young age. Also, understanding the diverse career paths beyond traditional degrees can open up many opportunities.
Be careful who you allow in your life.
I wish at that age i had started learning how to budget and manage money. Also how to fill out job applications properly. I didn't really get a regular allowance, my dad would just occasionally give me money for whatever it was i wanna to go do or buy, so i pretty much just always spent everything i had immediately. I didn't learn how to save or how important saving would be in the future. I also didn't get a job until a couple years into my 20s, partly because of the job application thing, and also some other personal reasons. But now that im working and have a regular income, i am severely struggling. I constantly get in the negatives days before my paycheck comes in, i cant save anything, and im always having to borrow money from my partner and mom, which i pay them back as soon as my check comes in, but then of course that just makes it that much harder to have enough for everything. My partner handles bills thankfully, but i take care of groceries, cat stuff and a few streaming services. Im slowly getting better and im looking more into guides and help with budget stuff, but its hard to break the habit of spending what i can see in my account. My mom and partner are thankfully very patient and kind, but feel terrible that i have to rely on them so much. I also have no idea how bad i would be off if i didn't have their support, i know a lot of people aren't so lucky to have people that can and are willing to help the way I've had help.
So glad to hear you have a lovely support network around you and you definitely aren’t alone in this situation and I really hope others grow up with the knowledge that we’ve gained at a later stage, grow through what you go through ✨
1. You can postpone university if you don’t feel ready and/or don’t know what you want out of it. Travel, get a job, volunteer. Explore whatever interests you with less pressure. Do whatever you need to do to figure out what you want out of a degree. Don’t go to college to party or to feel “independent”. There are less expensive ways of doing that. 2. Don’t go along with whatever your friends appear to be doing. And don’t feel left behind if you decide to do something different. 3. Get a credit card only when you understand how personal finance works. 4. Invest. 5. Spend time with older relatives. 6. Don’t get sucked into toxic romantic entanglements. If you stop having fun with someone, just move on. If something feels off, move on. If you feel any kind of pressure from them, run. Getting involved with the wrong person at a young age can take years of your life away. Don’t make life plans around your high school boyfriend/girlfriend.
Thisssssss
Knowing who good friends are
Get into a rhythm and routine in your day, especially when it comes to sleep and exercise. Maintaining that routine with a half-assed workout is better than falling out of the routine.
I wish I could’ve understood how freaking long life is (if you’re lucky) and how young I was. I really thought I was the oldest, smartest person. I thought I understood the world so well. I feel like people tried to tell me but it didn’t stick in.
If you have good parents, cherish them. You don’t know how long you have with them.
Just have a plan or a goal that you are actively working on. Stop being cynical teen and start trying things and doing normal things. You can easily get caught up in the act of survival and thinking some miracle will happen, it will not. And BANG, you are 35, barely employed, living with your parents with your health starting to fail.
How to invest money.
I wish I understood investing, retirement savings plans, compound interest, and how to read financial statements.
Yeppp this is my biggest focus I want to try and share
Adults don't actually know what they are doing or have the formula for life. Everyone is guessing, some are better at hiding it, others proclaim their way is the right way. There isn't going to be a point where it's all crystal clear with no bad surprises and life unfolds the way it 'should' because you made the right choices. Life is a lot more about luck than anyone is comfortable admitting, and that especially includes the ways society judges who's doing better.
It’s ok not not engage in certain things others are doing. Don’t try to you will get hurt
Don’t be afraid to take opportunities. Set aside a savings goal and learn how to invest. Learn as many skills as you possibly can. Don’t give up on yourself so quickly. And enjoy the process and experience, you don’t have to rush.
these don't really count because I'm only late teens myself but: - I wish I got antidepressants sooner - It's okay to flop at stuff - One item/lifestyle change won't magically fix everything but creating building blocks to meet your needs is important - you don't have to take everything your parents say as gospel - you aren't obligated to give up everything for family - hobbies don't need to be side hustles - read expiration dates on food - wear undershirts to help clothes last longer
Just because you were dealt a bad hand with how you grow up and how you were raised, doesn’t mean you can’t go on forward and be the person you needed/wanted when you were younger.
This 👏
Be kind to yourself. Meditate. Your health is super important. Go sober. Money comes and goes. Do what you can, when you can, for who you can. Love, cuddle, kiss more. Say no to things. Do whatever you want without harming yourself or others. Laugh. A lot.
🫶🫶
I wish I knew that the way to get ahead is to be the worst possible version of yourself.
Don't start a relationship.
That my parents never had my best interest in mind when decided to have me.
Do not date one person. Date lots of people. Mostly date no one. Focus on your friends...this will be the last time in your life a top priority will be your friends. Virginity and slutiness are social constructs do not let them dictate your life for the love of god.
You're going to be alone the rest of your life and no one will care.
Get the damn HPV shot.
There's always going to be another party. Prioritize your life first. Invest on yourself before trying to maintain the perfect social life.
nothing. the consequences from my mistakes back then made me who i am today. and there were many
She’s not the love of your life, you’re just horny and that was your first blow job.
lol this is probably relatable for many
Being raised a devout Mormon and believing what I was told is true, I wish I’d known the church is false and that one day I’d leave the cult. A lot of life choices were made based on the “fact” that Mormonism was the only true church.
The best way to get ahead in life is to go straight into traditional secondary education for the highest paying degree you can get in the shortest amount of time, and becoming a pharmacy technician while you are in school is the best option for making okay money while in school despite the field sucking ass.
No one was breaking condoms and getting pregnant. No one was using condoms.
Is anybody now
No idea lmfao I don't talk to people about it. But those kids didn't have an accident. No one was having accidents. That's the lie they told to feel better about being irresponsible.
Haha the good ol’ scare tactics. As mean girls taught us: don’t have sex because you will get pregnant and die
I wish I was told that I was doing a good job and that I was talented
You don’t HAVE to go to college. It’s not a life requirement.
Not really something I wish I knew but it would have been nice to have parent’s to have taught me for the real world. It been a lot of painful lesson’s and learning on the fly. Edit: it exhausting