31–40 of 87 posts
Don't don't. At your age you can avoid to burn the candle at both ends and in the middle (joke courtesy of Redd Foxx). Everyone telling you to not do X is just telling you that they had a problem with X. The only piece of advice I can provide which I think is provably correct is to put as much money as you can spare into an S&P 500 index fund.
Just to pick an example--if you talk to an academic advisor in college, think about what kind of person becomes an academic advisor in the first place. Are they the kind of person you are?
The sooner you start saving, the richer you are when you retire. The longer you wait to start saving, the poorer you'll be for the rest of your life. By a lot. And the more you save (younger), the earlier you can retire. If you put everything away starting now, you can retire when you're 35. Imagine doing anything you want without needing a job for the final 2/3 of your life. https://www.jellyvision.com/wp-content/uploads/jellyvision-I... https://i.insider.com/58b98deb3c77028e02dc1e61 https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/savin... https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/31/early-retirement-millionaire...
As far as relationships: remember that most of us see the world through what we want and how we feel, rather than seeing what a different person wants or feels. We can trick ourselves into thinking everything in a relationship is fine, because we feel fine... meanwhile the other person doesn't feel fine. Put yourself in their shoes, ask yourself (and them) what they want, how they feel. Develop Emotional Intelligence.
Drugs and booze - Go easy on these things, alot of people here are saying total abstinence and that's a hilarious thing to tell an 18 year old. Just go easy on them. Keep your focus on relationships instead and realize that these things can be an impediment to that. Don't touch stimulants or opiates, even if prescribed take with caution.
Learn finance. Personal finance, economics, all the math around it. It will make your life a lot easier down the line when you don't have to worry about money as much as others who missed that. Keep spreadsheets. Above all don't get greedy and your fortunes will soar.
If you end up in a work situation which is coercive or horrible in any way because of the management or horrible toxic coworkers (abusive boss, whatever) bounce the fuck out and find something else, and leave a bad review on glassdoor for them. The job market is waaaaaaay too much in demand for this stuff for people to be doing stupid socially lame things to alienate developers and engineers but it happens anyways because people don't have the nuts to back out. Just do it quietly without making a huge uproar about it, and make sure you have something lined up ahead. Chances are that this will happen to you but your reaction to it will determine whether you maintain passion for your career or end up finding something else to do with your life.
Learn how to cook. Make friends with people who do that professionally, like on a gastro chef level. Fun friends to have and it's just a great skill that will save you a ton of money in the long run from not going out to eat.
No weed, and minimal alcohol. And explore our great wide world until you can't.
terrible advice, how can he explore the world without trying things? just sightseeing? try weed and different things, you need to build a strong character and that you can only do if you understand your limits well you might as well understand that life isn't a real competition and actually enjoy your life, unlike people that will give you advice about career and work, but dread their lives.
Start putting away money now in to savings and/or index funds. Make it automatic if possible. Compound interest is a hell of a thing, and starting now can make a huge difference. At the very least, make sure you've got money set aside as an emergency fund.
Be disciplined about what you spend your money on. Don't buy things you can't afford. Think hard about if the thing you want to buy is a a "want" or a "need". (I.e. I want a new phone all the time, but if I'm honest with myself, I don't need one. So I don't buy one). You may need a car, but you likely don't need a brand new one when you can get one second hand for significantly cheaper, even ones just a few years old.
Always pay your credit card bill every single month.
Just being disciplined with money doesn't necessarily mean missing out on stuff in life, but it will mean way less stress, and being able to comfortably know if you can actually afford something.
Don't have kids until you're ready. Have kids when and if you're ready.
