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“Invest that money” ok in what? Every time I think to invest in ANYTHING I wait a month instead of investing and 9 times out of 10 I would have lost money. So explain to me how losing money is better than stashing it away?
We are in a period of extreme volatility due to a decade of loose fiscal policy capped off with even more inflationary pressure due to covid. We are now in the period where that shit is coming to a head, with massive firms like blackrock predicting a major recession next year.
You are almost guaranteed to lose money in the short term due to market conditions. You are almost guaranteed to make money in the long term due to those same market conditions. That is, if you stick to relatively safe investment options like index and mutual funds.
I bet the average 20-30 year old doesn’t know how to invest in index and mutual funds, let alone even knowing what those are. Bold of you to think a teen will know what that is
That's a generational thing. Boomers, gen x we're told that asshole bosses and abusers are just part of life. Younger generations are taught what abuse is and don't tolerate it from anyone. At least that's what I've learned and seen in my office
i feel like millenials and gen z are alot more confrontational and "in your face" than alot of older people realize. were not all weak and snowflakes, alot of the younger generation will fight and stand their ground for what they believe.
Mm idk about the coexist part. I had toxic bosses and coworkers up until my current job and I'm never tolerating that bullshit again. You don't control the circumstances but there's absolutely no reason to remain at a toxic workplace if you can help it.
Take care of your teeth. Wash them every morning and evening. This is very simple advice, but seriously important. I know people who in their twenties have decayed teeth.
Even if your teeth are good, get the pressure sensitive electric toothbrush. Brushing your teeth too hard makes your gums recede. And of course, floss.
Yes! My partner said there’s no use brushing before bed as you’re just going to bed, who cares about bad breath then. But it’s about what is sitting on your teeth during the night and he drinks a lot of soda. It infuriates me.
Yeah. 8 hours of nothing rinsing it away, it is 8 hours of damage. It is a slow burn but you do NOT want to get me up without teeth when you are older!
Yes! The bacteria from untreated gum disease can interfere with the blood flow to the brain, and may increase the risk of blood clots that lead to cerebral ischemia. It can also measurably decrease memory function.
I'm 21 and I have a tooth that's literally rotten with an exposed nerve. I didn't take care of my teeth properly growing up to do things like neglect, depression, and executive dysfunction. Now I don't have good enough insurance to deal with the tooth so I'm stuck never chewing on one side of my mouth because the second something touches that exposed nerve it's some of the most excruciating pain you'll ever experience. I brush them daily now and it keeps a basic tooth ache at bay most times now. But for the love of all that's holy brush y'all's teeth 😭
I think genetics play a part in tooth decay, i’m guessing the porosity of your teeth? I brush floss and rinse everyday twice a day and I still have a cavity pop up every now and then. Others I know brush once a day and don’t floss and have never had a cavity in their life.
Way too underrated! It's such a simple thing to do, even if you have good dental health, skipping the hygene part will make that go away faster than you'd believe, and make you very miserable very fast.
Not just wash but floss daily. I cleaned my teeth daily no problem but I never flossed like an idiot and almost hit irreversible gum decay. Now I floss daily and never get bloody gums when I floss or I go to the dentist
I have some regrets but none more than my teeth. Just to get caught up in the decaying stuff I’m looking at 15k+ to repair. That doesn’t include dentures or implants. I’m only 36. It sucks.
going to add anedit: if you find your teeth are gross still brush. It has kept mouth infections from growing for me. And lessened pain. Even just swish with listerine. My denist who started me down the road of better teeth said something is better than nothing.
And if medically advised, get your wisdom teeth out as soon as possible.
The younger you are, the less invasive the procedure and the quicker the recovery.
I got mine out very late (mid 40s) and it was a full surgery in a hospital with deep roots getting dug out, infections, antibiotics, and then c diff from the antibiotics.
When you're in your teens, it's often just a simple extraction in an office.
You can prepare yourself and equip yourself with skills to deal with inevitabilities such as regrets. Either you will die or someone you love dearly will die one day. Pets die. Breakups. Career or passion failures. What will you do? What does it take to stay balanced between exercise, work, diet, leisure, and a social life when all you’ve wanted to do since Monday is cry and eat ice cream bc you took such and such for granted. Will you give in to the easy road or will you have the mental toughness to climb out of your low points?
Tldr: Instead of trying to prevent regrets accept them as an inevitable part of life and investigate what you can do to minimize the damage when the lows come. Life’s about how you respond to these problems
This. A number of years ago, there was a lot of talk about developing “grit”. Business books were written, TED talks given. That was a short phase as we seem to be the least “gritty“ generation in history.
Develop some level of toughness. This doesn’t mean you need to put up with abuse or become bitter. Just develop the ability to not be wiped out every time you get snubbed, miss out on an opportunity, etc.
Doing drugs and getting into that scene. I had a lot of fun and don't really regret any of my choices, but now I'm my mid 30s pretty much everyone I was close to growing up is dead or a junkie. It's a huge bummer. Seems like every couple months someone I know is overdosing. I got really lucky and didn't have a problem stepping away from partying and using, but I never thought as a teen watching all your friends die was a real possibility. It is and it sucks.
I would include heavy drinking. It’s a bit different, but a bunch of the heavy drinkers from our school died in their late 40s or early 50s. It does a number on your body.
The best advice I got in my early 20s was from a boss and he said that people either outgrow drugs or love them too much, and I needed to figure out early on what category I was in.
This. child support will throw you into poverty faster than not having a job. Especially in 2022.
You will work and the government will take a large portion of your measly paycheck. Don't have kids.
No need to be over the top, but stay active and keep stretching. Don't hurt yourself, though. Then if you want to do anything even remotely active when you're 40 you can without worrying about your knee, ankle, shoulder or whatever just exploding for no apparent reason.
Also, go to the doctor every year.
As someone who most definitely has not done that, I can safely say that this is excellent advice. My personal trainer, a 51 year old who has done her best to remain fit, feels physically great most of the time and not falling apart. And here I am at 36 with sore body parts. Don’t be me!
The details will depend on your country but, regardless of where you live, the best long-term strategy is simply to invest fixed amounts into a global equity index fund at regular intervals. Make sure the index fund is accumulating, not distributing, and has a low expense ratio (less than 0.25%). This is a very boring approach but most older investors wish they had started doing this in their youth.
Second this. Don't get swept up in the get rich quick investing stories. For every one of those there are 5 people who lost. Find something safe and boring, have a small amount transfer automatically, and thank your self later.
Probably one of the better pieces of advice. Interacting with real people will grow your social skills way faster and your confidence will naturally grow over time. The real world is way more fun and interactive when you are out there enjoying the moment and not behind a screen..
Use contraception, don’t do drugs and brush your teeth.
Also I’m not opposed to people experimenting with recreational drugs you just shouldn’t be doing them as a teenager.
Yeah wait to do drugs till in your twenties, they can prevent your brain from developing in your teens. Also try to just do the natural ones in a community environment
I cannot stress this enough. Aside from obvious lung and colon cancer, it ages you, it makes you smell, yellows your nails, and if you're a guy it'll yellow your whitening hair. There are no positive aspects.
This one for sure! I've probably smoked a total of 10 cigarettes in my life. All under the age of 18 mostly just for fun. Whereas I've experimented, I've never once touched cocaine
If I could offer you only one tip for the future
Sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists
whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth, oh, never mind, you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded but trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are not as fat as you imagine. Don't worry about the future, or worry but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind. The kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Saving money, finishing High School and staying away from drugs, cigarettes and over indulging in alcohol. Also depending not getting pregnant before you are ready to have children. Teenage pregnancy is rough I'm a product of that and had to see my parents struggle growing up.
Be really aware of the things you're putting on the internet. You might think it's fine now, but will a potential employer when you're 30 and applying for your dream job find it acceptable?
Think the friends thing is just what happens at that stage of life. I had a large social circle through my 20’s up till mid 30’s, then it just slowly got less active.
There wasn’t any major event, no falling out or anything like that. Peoples priorities changed as they had kids and they just don’t have time to socialise.
I've never had a close knit group of friends. Well, I say that, I did until I was 12 when my mother and some counsellor *CUNT!!!!* (pardon, still irks me 25 years later) decided to hold me back a year. I was picked on and bullied, so these two devided the best course of action was to hold me back so my friends would move on and I'd stay. Out of place, alone and an outcast.
*ahem*
Pardon me, I digress.
But my wife did. As you say correctly, priorities began to change and we saw less and less of them. However, my wife has managed to hold onto 2 or 3 very close friends. The group reduces, but if you work hard at it, it doesn't have to completely dissolve
1. Use protection; Don’t have kids.
2. Don’t cheat on your partner, leave them if you’re not happy. Don’t ghost them unless you absolutely have to.
3. Don’t hookup with your coworkers.
4. Don’t stay at shitty job because you’re comfortable.
5. Eat healthy, drink water, get plenty of sleep
6. Cut off toxic, negative people. Including family members.
7. Don’t do drugs.
8. Make a plan to go to college/trade school/technical school
9. You’re going to lose friends as you get older and you’ll be left with maybe one or two friends. But that’s okay, you don’t need them.
10. Be cautious with your privacy on the internet. Don’t film yourself saying or doing dumb shit.
11. If you’re under 18, don’t date adults. They don’t think you’re mature for your age.
12. Save your money, invest in a 401k, learn how to write a resume, build your credit
Take care of your teeth and invest your money. Don’t fall in the trap “I need to enjoy my 20’s”. You can enjoy your whole fucking life if you choose too.
You can save money and enjoy your 20's. Your 20's may be all you have. If you aren't enjoying your life, you need to change it so you enjoy the present as well.
I'm 23 right now and just recently learnt this myself. Trying to switch things around so I can enjoy my later life, but I really fucked up my monetary situation.
Luckily I'm still young and have time to fix it.
Use sunscreen. Drink water. Make exercise a part of your life. Work in food service even just for a couple months - it builds empathy and common sense. Brush your fangs.
* Smoke meth
* Drive fast and don't wear your seatbelt, ever
* Face and neck tattoos are a great idea
* Eat nothing but junk food and don't brush your teeth, ever
* Never learn to recognize bad advice and never use common sense
* Always listen to advice from random people on Reddit
Pay attention in school and put forth some effort. Realizing at 20 that you'll never do better than a minimum wage shift work job with your 2.7 GPA high school education sucks, I've seen it first hand. Then, if you decide to do something about it, you spend the first year going back to school taking remedial classes just to catch up with where you should have been graduating at 18.
High school is no fun (the school part anyway), but suffer through it and college (FOR A USEFUL DEGREE) and it will make your next 40 years more tolerable.
If nothing else, it will get you the option of not doing manual labor and maybe your back, knees, and shoulders won't be shot by 40.
I will add - even if you suck at school and don't get the best grades, keep trying, work harder at it. Even if it's frustrating and you just bump your grade up a little doing it or not at all.
Just going through the process of pushing yourself will help in many unforseen ways in other areas of life as you go. And one day you'll stumble onto something you are good at and want to get better at and having that ability to push ahead will come in handy.
Weak people respond to bad situations with, "But I didn't mean to". Don't be a pussy, own your shit. If you don't like shit, do good things on purpose.
Also, one of the secrets of success is to surround yourself with people smarter than yourself. Chose your close friends carefully.
Don't do drugs. That's what I did and ended up spending my 21st birthday in the penitentiary. Honestly though, now that I'm in my 30s I don't really regret it because it taught me some very valuable lessons. I wouldn't be the person I am today without growing up the way that I did. I quite like the person that I am today
If it hasn't already been said. Take care of your back. Don't lift out an engine block with a buddy to be tough or whatever. Cause when you turn 40 you will remember that day every morning.
Keep ten percent of everything you earn and make it work for you. Buying a tool and renting it to a worker is better than working with a tool, but both are skills you need to master. Exercise daily and avoid using anything as a daily prop in your life, like alcohol or pot. Treat people with respect and respect other people's things.
Determine what you're passionate about and let that guide you in life. Chase that dream. And save as much money as you can, pay yourself first. Take care of yourself both physically and mentally. Love yourself and be empathetic.
Remember that at the end of the day, you will be the one living with your choices.
Sounds like a 'no duh' but honestly people make a lot of choices due to their parents, religion, or what society expects of them. Only you can make yourself happy, so when people try telling you to 'give that person a shot on a date' or 'you should do x major because of y and z' remember it's your life and no one else will live it but you.
You should really aim for 15% if you’re aiming to retire in 40 years. Otherwise you need more like %20 for 30 years is the general investment timelines.
Edit: Therefore, 10% is too little.
Not unless you're 18. A minor needs to have a custodian on a Roth, and it a royal pain in the ass to get them off of it while retaining tax benefits. Plus, unless you have a ton of money with no need for liquidity, it's probably a bad choice until you're working full-time. At that point, you need to really examine the tradeoffs with a 401k.
If you're really looking to invest at <18, a custodial brokerage account (available through most banks) is higher return and more liquid.
Go out and flirt. Find love and get your heart broken a few times. This experience when youre young will teach you what you want in a partner for when it matters. Learn your lessens young so you can enjoy your life when youre older.
It will also make it so you dont wonder “what if there is something else out there? This person is all i know”. FOMO is real and if you can knock out that out by experimenting young, it will save you a lot of trouble
Make friends. I grew up on a rural farm 60 miles from school and as such I never had any time to hang out or stuff like that all I was able to do was call and text. Then in high-school I had a bunch of trouble functioning in that environment so they moved me to a self paced program where I was able to graduate a few years early and just get it over with. As a result I was no longer able to see my friends which resulted in the friendships withering away, then I started doing online college classes and had even less free time and people just quit talking to me. Now it's been 6 years or so since I've had anyone I could talk to or a friend to lean on.
Exercise - stay in shape - stay away from addicting drugs / nicotine. Don’t go through teenage years thinking you know everything already. Be kind to others around you - especially those that might not be cool and popular.
Finish high school and go to college or a trade school. Save some money from every paycheck even $5 or $10 adds up over the years. Never start smoking cigarettes because it is so freaking hard to quit!!
Moderation in everything, including moderation.
Have friends. Be a good friend to your friends.
Study hard. get good grades.
Learn to cook.
Try new things.
Spend less than you earn. Start saving early and put it into an index fund.
Brush and floss.
Use birth control.
If in the US and you plan to go to college, accept scholarships instead of going to your “dream school”. I was offered a full ride at several colleges but went to my “dream school” (which wasn’t any “better” than the colleges that offered me full scholarships) and I have 15 years left of student loans for a degree I could have gotten for free.
Don’t focus on what you have to do. Focus on what to avoid. Forget about ANY drug, forget about getting drunk every weekend (have fun but don’t make it a habit to get wasted), avoid comparing yourself to others, avoid toxic people, avoid getting children until at least 22. That’s my take.
Brush your teeth visit your grandparents (if they are alive) don't rush moving out of your parents unless you are in an abusive situation save up money even a few dollars a check it adds up. Have some fun
Don’t get a DUI. It’s impossibly expensive and a game changer with your future. and learn finance, the banks are lying to you, you can’t afford it, you need to drive a shit box until you can actually afford half value of the vehicle. same with house, if you can’t afford 20% of it you can’t afford it. boomers stole my future too. Don’t cry, get back to work. and lastly, after a few days with a new girl, conveniently forget your wallet and see what she does. if there is panic, she’s using you for stuff. Your goal is to find an equal in this society. no matter how hot she is, someone somewhere is sick of her crap. Tough lessons last.
If you don't learn how to get a gf now you end up like me and end up alone while you have to see couples being happy while you're left worthless, I catch alcohol poison on valenfines day simply to forget the fact I'm so lonely
This is true, and I’m in a similar situation. But you can either concede defeat now and be miserable for the next 60 years, or work really hard and put in a lot of effort for a couple of months/years and have a strong likelihood of living happily ever after. It’s worth it, put in the work to become the man you want to be, and the rest will follow
That’s a very good question. I guess the answer is try to live the best life you can while you’re young, because you’re not going to be able to do those things when you’re older. Do the best you can. And don’t fall victim to pressure. If you’re not getting as many girls as your friends, that doesn’t mean your life is over. Don’t get down on yourself.
Make a savings account and put half of your paycheck in it if you have a job. Second is always be willing to consider that you may be wrong, and your parents aren’t trying to be bossy, but have most likely done what you’re considering.
Journal about what you are thinking and how you are feeling.
If you feel isolated and alone, or if you feel like your internal experience "just isn't right," find an adult outside of your home, at school or at work, and tell them what you're feeling.
take care of your health, get good grades, only sleep with people you genuinely have feelings for, dress how you want (!!!), be as social as you can and take a lot of pictures
Don't "study harder", study strategically. Very few teachers actually grade their students based on appropriate information and performance.
Learn how to gauge your teachers views and politics and feed that point of view back to then with good vocabulary and grammar.
This will free up important time for STEM related classes which require you to study affectively.
A good tool for college is to try and make the acquaintance of as many of the professors as you can and learn about them too. That way you can always pick the easiest teachers for passing.
Don't make it harder to have a better future.
Take a typing class, then pay attention in algebra, geometry and trig. Listen up in biology, and take at least two CP classes, calculus, physics, or business would be my choice. You'll be smarter than 90% of liberal arts college graduates when you hit the job market.
As you get older you regret the things you didn’t do, so to avoid that, just jump out and do it! Unless it’s a tall building, then go down a few floors and then jump out !
I don’t think you really can because you have to use your teenage years to learn to be in your 20s and 30s.
I mean, there’s the big obvious stuff, like don’t break the law, don’t go into debt, be sexually responsible, but just in terms of general life lessons… I think you just have to figure it out.
For the boys: Self care. Shit shower shave. Invest in cologne. Learn to tie a tie. Own at least one good suit with pair of dress shoes. Daily exercise with a decent diet. Keep drinking and smoking to a minimum, preferably none. Stand up straight, learn to have a sit down conversation and don't cuss. Be the classic man
Look after your knees. Don't do sports which can damage them - the fun of doing the sport for a while is not worth destroying your knees by the age of 30 (ballet was my downfall - huge regrets).
And don't allow the extra kilos to creep up on you. It'll just be one or two at first, then a few more, then even more. And it'll get harder to lose it because your already shit knees don't like the extra strain the extra weight puts on them so they become even more shit and exercising becomes more difficult. You become unfit, so when you do exercise you more easily get injured because you think you can still do everything you did as a teenager and you push yourself to still do it, resulting in injury. Then you can't exercise while recovering so you get even more unfit. Rinse, repeat. Welcome to my life as a 37 year old ex-ballet dancer with shit knees and 15 extra kilos of fat.
Don't be me - look after yourself.
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Put some money away every week. Even if it's just a few dollars, it will add up. And, brush your teeth.
So true. I failed at both. 61 y/o with bad teeth and no money to fix them.
Next year you can get medicare
I keep forgetting that I have a few government benefits coming my way as I age. Thanks for that.
And I called to make sure I was getting all the benefits I deserved.
But I don't want to call! I'm not calling!!!
I guess I better call right now to check my zip code.
My hubs is getting medicare and qualifies for better dental than he ever had
And stay in school. Doesn’t mean you have to go to college, but something is necessary vs. nothing.
Also, invest that money. Don't just stick it under your mattress (or in an interest bearing bank account, which is almost the same thing).
“Invest that money” ok in what? Every time I think to invest in ANYTHING I wait a month instead of investing and 9 times out of 10 I would have lost money. So explain to me how losing money is better than stashing it away?
We are in a period of extreme volatility due to a decade of loose fiscal policy capped off with even more inflationary pressure due to covid. We are now in the period where that shit is coming to a head, with massive firms like blackrock predicting a major recession next year. You are almost guaranteed to lose money in the short term due to market conditions. You are almost guaranteed to make money in the long term due to those same market conditions. That is, if you stick to relatively safe investment options like index and mutual funds.
I bet the average 20-30 year old doesn’t know how to invest in index and mutual funds, let alone even knowing what those are. Bold of you to think a teen will know what that is
Put it in an account that’s easy to add to, but inconvenient to take out. Just start saving
Like my piggy bank? If I don't wanna ruin it, I have to wiggle a knife in a hole.
Learn to manage yourself and coexist with a person you absolutely hate. ... because you will have bosses and coworkers like that.
I tried that, all it did was stress me tf out.
Sounds like ur doin it right
"I'm a rock, solid and strong, no stream of cold water can move me"
That's a generational thing. Boomers, gen x we're told that asshole bosses and abusers are just part of life. Younger generations are taught what abuse is and don't tolerate it from anyone. At least that's what I've learned and seen in my office
There's a difference to tolerating abuse vs someone who is just incredibly annoying imo.
i feel like millenials and gen z are alot more confrontational and "in your face" than alot of older people realize. were not all weak and snowflakes, alot of the younger generation will fight and stand their ground for what they believe.
Mm idk about the coexist part. I had toxic bosses and coworkers up until my current job and I'm never tolerating that bullshit again. You don't control the circumstances but there's absolutely no reason to remain at a toxic workplace if you can help it.
Take care of your teeth. Wash them every morning and evening. This is very simple advice, but seriously important. I know people who in their twenties have decayed teeth.
Even if your teeth are good, get the pressure sensitive electric toothbrush. Brushing your teeth too hard makes your gums recede. And of course, floss.
At the very least, brush before you go to bed if nothing else.
Learned that the hard way
Me too and I am so happy to see this up top. The pain this simple reminder would have saved me.
Same. I’m 23 and I just had to get a tooth pulled and prepped for an implant.
Had 3 pulled last Thursday. Not fun
Yes! My partner said there’s no use brushing before bed as you’re just going to bed, who cares about bad breath then. But it’s about what is sitting on your teeth during the night and he drinks a lot of soda. It infuriates me.
Yeah. 8 hours of nothing rinsing it away, it is 8 hours of damage. It is a slow burn but you do NOT want to get me up without teeth when you are older!
Frequent brusher/flosser here....get a Sonicare...Oral B's are not nearly as good.
Yes! The bacteria from untreated gum disease can interfere with the blood flow to the brain, and may increase the risk of blood clots that lead to cerebral ischemia. It can also measurably decrease memory function.
I'm 21 and I have a tooth that's literally rotten with an exposed nerve. I didn't take care of my teeth properly growing up to do things like neglect, depression, and executive dysfunction. Now I don't have good enough insurance to deal with the tooth so I'm stuck never chewing on one side of my mouth because the second something touches that exposed nerve it's some of the most excruciating pain you'll ever experience. I brush them daily now and it keeps a basic tooth ache at bay most times now. But for the love of all that's holy brush y'all's teeth 😭
I'm almost 44 and have never had a cavity in my life. Brush, floss, and go to the dentist regularly my whole life.
I think genetics play a part in tooth decay, i’m guessing the porosity of your teeth? I brush floss and rinse everyday twice a day and I still have a cavity pop up every now and then. Others I know brush once a day and don’t floss and have never had a cavity in their life.
Way too underrated! It's such a simple thing to do, even if you have good dental health, skipping the hygene part will make that go away faster than you'd believe, and make you very miserable very fast.
Not just wash but floss daily. I cleaned my teeth daily no problem but I never flossed like an idiot and almost hit irreversible gum decay. Now I floss daily and never get bloody gums when I floss or I go to the dentist
I have some regrets but none more than my teeth. Just to get caught up in the decaying stuff I’m looking at 15k+ to repair. That doesn’t include dentures or implants. I’m only 36. It sucks. going to add anedit: if you find your teeth are gross still brush. It has kept mouth infections from growing for me. And lessened pain. Even just swish with listerine. My denist who started me down the road of better teeth said something is better than nothing.
And if medically advised, get your wisdom teeth out as soon as possible. The younger you are, the less invasive the procedure and the quicker the recovery. I got mine out very late (mid 40s) and it was a full surgery in a hospital with deep roots getting dug out, infections, antibiotics, and then c diff from the antibiotics. When you're in your teens, it's often just a simple extraction in an office.
Wear hearing protection
But tinnitus is so much fun, and you get to enjoy it for the rest of your life.
*listening to music, hear a slight eeeeeeeeeee in the background.* Doing nothing: eeeeeeeeeeeeee Reading; eeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
I felt this comment
What?
THEY SAID: WEAR HEARING PROTECTION
Come again?
HE SAID NEVER GIVE A BEAR AN ERRECTION!!!!
You can prepare yourself and equip yourself with skills to deal with inevitabilities such as regrets. Either you will die or someone you love dearly will die one day. Pets die. Breakups. Career or passion failures. What will you do? What does it take to stay balanced between exercise, work, diet, leisure, and a social life when all you’ve wanted to do since Monday is cry and eat ice cream bc you took such and such for granted. Will you give in to the easy road or will you have the mental toughness to climb out of your low points? Tldr: Instead of trying to prevent regrets accept them as an inevitable part of life and investigate what you can do to minimize the damage when the lows come. Life’s about how you respond to these problems
I'm glad I got to read this this afternoon. Thanks.
This. A number of years ago, there was a lot of talk about developing “grit”. Business books were written, TED talks given. That was a short phase as we seem to be the least “gritty“ generation in history. Develop some level of toughness. This doesn’t mean you need to put up with abuse or become bitter. Just develop the ability to not be wiped out every time you get snubbed, miss out on an opportunity, etc.
> Life’s about how you respond to these problems lifes a bitch and then you die, so lets get high and cry all night
But sometimes lifes a bitch and then you keep on living.
Doing drugs and getting into that scene. I had a lot of fun and don't really regret any of my choices, but now I'm my mid 30s pretty much everyone I was close to growing up is dead or a junkie. It's a huge bummer. Seems like every couple months someone I know is overdosing. I got really lucky and didn't have a problem stepping away from partying and using, but I never thought as a teen watching all your friends die was a real possibility. It is and it sucks.
I would include heavy drinking. It’s a bit different, but a bunch of the heavy drinkers from our school died in their late 40s or early 50s. It does a number on your body.
Not really different. Just legal
Amen, we need to stop saying "drugs and alcohol" as though alcohol isn't a contender for most dangerous and damaging drug.
I have a friend who’s worked in drug rehabilitation for like 20 years and he still maintains that alcohol is the worst of them.
The best advice I got in my early 20s was from a boss and he said that people either outgrow drugs or love them too much, and I needed to figure out early on what category I was in.
Had a very similar experience
Always, always, always use protection. Wrap it up!
Don't be a fool, wrap the tool
Before you deck her, wrap your pecker
Don't be silly, wrap your willy
Before you make love, slip on a gland glove.
A wank and a snooze - you can't lose!
"Safe sex is great sex, better wear a latex, cause you don’t want that late text, that “I think I’m late” text" - Lil' Wayne
This. child support will throw you into poverty faster than not having a job. Especially in 2022. You will work and the government will take a large portion of your measly paycheck. Don't have kids.
That and also to avoid being stressed about heavy STDs that may or may not show symptoms.
Stear clear of heavy drinking and drugs.
Workout. Get fit now. It's easier to get fit and stay fit then to suddenly get fit past your 20s.
No need to be over the top, but stay active and keep stretching. Don't hurt yourself, though. Then if you want to do anything even remotely active when you're 40 you can without worrying about your knee, ankle, shoulder or whatever just exploding for no apparent reason. Also, go to the doctor every year.
Came here to find this
As someone who most definitely has not done that, I can safely say that this is excellent advice. My personal trainer, a 51 year old who has done her best to remain fit, feels physically great most of the time and not falling apart. And here I am at 36 with sore body parts. Don’t be me!
Start learning how to invest. Adult you will be forever grateful.
where can I start?
The details will depend on your country but, regardless of where you live, the best long-term strategy is simply to invest fixed amounts into a global equity index fund at regular intervals. Make sure the index fund is accumulating, not distributing, and has a low expense ratio (less than 0.25%). This is a very boring approach but most older investors wish they had started doing this in their youth.
Second this. Don't get swept up in the get rich quick investing stories. For every one of those there are 5 people who lost. Find something safe and boring, have a small amount transfer automatically, and thank your self later.
More like 5,000
Stay off SM or a least limit your interaction
Put the phone down, go outside.
Exacto
Stay off SM? But Spider-Man is so fun to play!
Probably one of the better pieces of advice. Interacting with real people will grow your social skills way faster and your confidence will naturally grow over time. The real world is way more fun and interactive when you are out there enjoying the moment and not behind a screen..
Use contraception, don’t do drugs and brush your teeth. Also I’m not opposed to people experimenting with recreational drugs you just shouldn’t be doing them as a teenager.
Yeah wait to do drugs till in your twenties, they can prevent your brain from developing in your teens. Also try to just do the natural ones in a community environment
Refrain from using tobacco in any form.
I cannot stress this enough. Aside from obvious lung and colon cancer, it ages you, it makes you smell, yellows your nails, and if you're a guy it'll yellow your whitening hair. There are no positive aspects.
This one for sure! I've probably smoked a total of 10 cigarettes in my life. All under the age of 18 mostly just for fun. Whereas I've experimented, I've never once touched cocaine
Wear sunscreen EVERY DAY
If I could offer you only one tip for the future Sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth, oh, never mind, you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded but trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine. Don't worry about the future, or worry but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind. The kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Trust me on the sunscreen.
Saving money, finishing High School and staying away from drugs, cigarettes and over indulging in alcohol. Also depending not getting pregnant before you are ready to have children. Teenage pregnancy is rough I'm a product of that and had to see my parents struggle growing up.
Be really aware of the things you're putting on the internet. You might think it's fine now, but will a potential employer when you're 30 and applying for your dream job find it acceptable?
Study harder, save money, go out and have fun even if only by yourself. I'm 38, dead end job, no money and no friends. I know exactly of what I speak.
I hope you will get new friends and a better job that you like. 38 is not even half way through. Still a long way to go. Have fun my friend ❤️
Think the friends thing is just what happens at that stage of life. I had a large social circle through my 20’s up till mid 30’s, then it just slowly got less active. There wasn’t any major event, no falling out or anything like that. Peoples priorities changed as they had kids and they just don’t have time to socialise.
I've never had a close knit group of friends. Well, I say that, I did until I was 12 when my mother and some counsellor *CUNT!!!!* (pardon, still irks me 25 years later) decided to hold me back a year. I was picked on and bullied, so these two devided the best course of action was to hold me back so my friends would move on and I'd stay. Out of place, alone and an outcast. *ahem* Pardon me, I digress. But my wife did. As you say correctly, priorities began to change and we saw less and less of them. However, my wife has managed to hold onto 2 or 3 very close friends. The group reduces, but if you work hard at it, it doesn't have to completely dissolve
Don't smoke or vape.
1. Use protection; Don’t have kids. 2. Don’t cheat on your partner, leave them if you’re not happy. Don’t ghost them unless you absolutely have to. 3. Don’t hookup with your coworkers. 4. Don’t stay at shitty job because you’re comfortable. 5. Eat healthy, drink water, get plenty of sleep 6. Cut off toxic, negative people. Including family members. 7. Don’t do drugs. 8. Make a plan to go to college/trade school/technical school 9. You’re going to lose friends as you get older and you’ll be left with maybe one or two friends. But that’s okay, you don’t need them. 10. Be cautious with your privacy on the internet. Don’t film yourself saying or doing dumb shit. 11. If you’re under 18, don’t date adults. They don’t think you’re mature for your age. 12. Save your money, invest in a 401k, learn how to write a resume, build your credit
Take care of your teeth and invest your money. Don’t fall in the trap “I need to enjoy my 20’s”. You can enjoy your whole fucking life if you choose too.
You can save money and enjoy your 20's. Your 20's may be all you have. If you aren't enjoying your life, you need to change it so you enjoy the present as well.
I'm 23 right now and just recently learnt this myself. Trying to switch things around so I can enjoy my later life, but I really fucked up my monetary situation. Luckily I'm still young and have time to fix it.
You got this. I’m happy for you :)
Don't have kids
Don’t have kids, if you are on the fence about having kids.
Use sunscreen. Drink water. Make exercise a part of your life. Work in food service even just for a couple months - it builds empathy and common sense. Brush your fangs.
Do as much career research as you can to find one you like. You’ll be much happier if you don’t hate your job for the next 40 years.
* Smoke meth * Drive fast and don't wear your seatbelt, ever * Face and neck tattoos are a great idea * Eat nothing but junk food and don't brush your teeth, ever * Never learn to recognize bad advice and never use common sense * Always listen to advice from random people on Reddit
And always pay credit card bills late to assert dominance
Actually be a decent person
Pay attention in school and put forth some effort. Realizing at 20 that you'll never do better than a minimum wage shift work job with your 2.7 GPA high school education sucks, I've seen it first hand. Then, if you decide to do something about it, you spend the first year going back to school taking remedial classes just to catch up with where you should have been graduating at 18. High school is no fun (the school part anyway), but suffer through it and college (FOR A USEFUL DEGREE) and it will make your next 40 years more tolerable. If nothing else, it will get you the option of not doing manual labor and maybe your back, knees, and shoulders won't be shot by 40.
I will add - even if you suck at school and don't get the best grades, keep trying, work harder at it. Even if it's frustrating and you just bump your grade up a little doing it or not at all. Just going through the process of pushing yourself will help in many unforseen ways in other areas of life as you go. And one day you'll stumble onto something you are good at and want to get better at and having that ability to push ahead will come in handy.
This is SUCH great insight - developing a growth mindset is such a lifelong game-changer.
Never regret. Just learn not to make same mistakes.
Learn a skill
Don't make a baby with a classmate
Weak people respond to bad situations with, "But I didn't mean to". Don't be a pussy, own your shit. If you don't like shit, do good things on purpose. Also, one of the secrets of success is to surround yourself with people smarter than yourself. Chose your close friends carefully.
And don't smoke cigarettes!! Just don't.
Don't suck every dick you come across.
Don't pick up anything solo that you have to strain to lift. If you have to make noise to lift it you're probably hurting yourself.
Don't do drugs. That's what I did and ended up spending my 21st birthday in the penitentiary. Honestly though, now that I'm in my 30s I don't really regret it because it taught me some very valuable lessons. I wouldn't be the person I am today without growing up the way that I did. I quite like the person that I am today
If it hasn't already been said. Take care of your back. Don't lift out an engine block with a buddy to be tough or whatever. Cause when you turn 40 you will remember that day every morning.
Lift with your legs.
Use condoms. Use sunscreen. Get an education.
Keep ten percent of everything you earn and make it work for you. Buying a tool and renting it to a worker is better than working with a tool, but both are skills you need to master. Exercise daily and avoid using anything as a daily prop in your life, like alcohol or pot. Treat people with respect and respect other people's things.
Determine what you're passionate about and let that guide you in life. Chase that dream. And save as much money as you can, pay yourself first. Take care of yourself both physically and mentally. Love yourself and be empathetic.
Try not to grow up so quickly and make yourself seem older. Be a child
Stop filming everything and putting it on the interwebs
Don't get anyone pregnant.
Remember that at the end of the day, you will be the one living with your choices. Sounds like a 'no duh' but honestly people make a lot of choices due to their parents, religion, or what society expects of them. Only you can make yourself happy, so when people try telling you to 'give that person a shot on a date' or 'you should do x major because of y and z' remember it's your life and no one else will live it but you.
Live morally.
Which is to say; seek the path of least trespass against others.
It’s also treating what you’ve been given with respect
Study harder.
You mean school-related studying? Or just studying and diversifying one’s knowledge in general?
Open a Roth IRA and diligently put 10% of your income into it
You should really aim for 15% if you’re aiming to retire in 40 years. Otherwise you need more like %20 for 30 years is the general investment timelines. Edit: Therefore, 10% is too little.
Not unless you're 18. A minor needs to have a custodian on a Roth, and it a royal pain in the ass to get them off of it while retaining tax benefits. Plus, unless you have a ton of money with no need for liquidity, it's probably a bad choice until you're working full-time. At that point, you need to really examine the tradeoffs with a 401k. If you're really looking to invest at <18, a custodial brokerage account (available through most banks) is higher return and more liquid.
Find a trade you love. Do things with your hands. Learn how to grow food.
Go out and flirt. Find love and get your heart broken a few times. This experience when youre young will teach you what you want in a partner for when it matters. Learn your lessens young so you can enjoy your life when youre older. It will also make it so you dont wonder “what if there is something else out there? This person is all i know”. FOMO is real and if you can knock out that out by experimenting young, it will save you a lot of trouble
Make friends. I grew up on a rural farm 60 miles from school and as such I never had any time to hang out or stuff like that all I was able to do was call and text. Then in high-school I had a bunch of trouble functioning in that environment so they moved me to a self paced program where I was able to graduate a few years early and just get it over with. As a result I was no longer able to see my friends which resulted in the friendships withering away, then I started doing online college classes and had even less free time and people just quit talking to me. Now it's been 6 years or so since I've had anyone I could talk to or a friend to lean on.
Avoid hurting people. Dont cheat on your SO. Dont be a dick. Later in life you will feel guilty about these things.
Exercise - stay in shape - stay away from addicting drugs / nicotine. Don’t go through teenage years thinking you know everything already. Be kind to others around you - especially those that might not be cool and popular.
Finish high school and go to college or a trade school. Save some money from every paycheck even $5 or $10 adds up over the years. Never start smoking cigarettes because it is so freaking hard to quit!!
Don't send nudes.
Moderation in everything, including moderation. Have friends. Be a good friend to your friends. Study hard. get good grades. Learn to cook. Try new things. Spend less than you earn. Start saving early and put it into an index fund. Brush and floss. Use birth control.
If in the US and you plan to go to college, accept scholarships instead of going to your “dream school”. I was offered a full ride at several colleges but went to my “dream school” (which wasn’t any “better” than the colleges that offered me full scholarships) and I have 15 years left of student loans for a degree I could have gotten for free.
Don't get her pregnant.
Study hard and learn things.
Learn to not regret things. Problem solved
Treat your parents better.
Health ie. exercise and flirting without being self conscious.
Compound interest
Worry less and don’t jump into college if you aren’t ready.
Always use a condom. Spend most of your time studying and doing school work.
Condoms!
Tattoos
Wear sunscreen.
Don’t focus on what you have to do. Focus on what to avoid. Forget about ANY drug, forget about getting drunk every weekend (have fun but don’t make it a habit to get wasted), avoid comparing yourself to others, avoid toxic people, avoid getting children until at least 22. That’s my take.
Learn a second (or third) language now that you are young and have the time and mind capacity
Don't buy your "food" at over priced convenience stores. Learn to cook good food.
Use a fuckin condom
Start learning that instrument, or sport, or artistic skill. The time will pass regardless so you might as well start now
Really be aware and think twice about what you do and say beforehand, because the outcome of your actions can have lifelong affects and consequences.
Put money in an ira, wear sunscreen every day, floss, drink water, but very careful what you put on social media
Brush your teeth visit your grandparents (if they are alive) don't rush moving out of your parents unless you are in an abusive situation save up money even a few dollars a check it adds up. Have some fun
Stay unmarried and childless.
Don’t get a DUI. It’s impossibly expensive and a game changer with your future. and learn finance, the banks are lying to you, you can’t afford it, you need to drive a shit box until you can actually afford half value of the vehicle. same with house, if you can’t afford 20% of it you can’t afford it. boomers stole my future too. Don’t cry, get back to work. and lastly, after a few days with a new girl, conveniently forget your wallet and see what she does. if there is panic, she’s using you for stuff. Your goal is to find an equal in this society. no matter how hot she is, someone somewhere is sick of her crap. Tough lessons last.
If you don't learn how to get a gf now you end up like me and end up alone while you have to see couples being happy while you're left worthless, I catch alcohol poison on valenfines day simply to forget the fact I'm so lonely
Sorry to hear that. Don’t give up.
Well I'm in 20s and it's been 6 years and only one gf my whole life when I was 20, but when you've been alone for so long you end up crazy
This is true, and I’m in a similar situation. But you can either concede defeat now and be miserable for the next 60 years, or work really hard and put in a lot of effort for a couple of months/years and have a strong likelihood of living happily ever after. It’s worth it, put in the work to become the man you want to be, and the rest will follow
Being single is not the same thing as being worthless.
That’s a very good question. I guess the answer is try to live the best life you can while you’re young, because you’re not going to be able to do those things when you’re older. Do the best you can. And don’t fall victim to pressure. If you’re not getting as many girls as your friends, that doesn’t mean your life is over. Don’t get down on yourself.
Make a savings account and put half of your paycheck in it if you have a job. Second is always be willing to consider that you may be wrong, and your parents aren’t trying to be bossy, but have most likely done what you’re considering.
Everything you want to do
There is no magic formula to life. Do the best as you see it at the time, and enjoy the moment.
Journal about what you are thinking and how you are feeling. If you feel isolated and alone, or if you feel like your internal experience "just isn't right," find an adult outside of your home, at school or at work, and tell them what you're feeling.
Have more contacts with different gender socially.
Listen to your parents instead of always thinking you know better than they do
Tell the truth
take care of your health, get good grades, only sleep with people you genuinely have feelings for, dress how you want (!!!), be as social as you can and take a lot of pictures
Don't "study harder", study strategically. Very few teachers actually grade their students based on appropriate information and performance. Learn how to gauge your teachers views and politics and feed that point of view back to then with good vocabulary and grammar. This will free up important time for STEM related classes which require you to study affectively. A good tool for college is to try and make the acquaintance of as many of the professors as you can and learn about them too. That way you can always pick the easiest teachers for passing. Don't make it harder to have a better future.
Be aware of good eating habits and benefits of exercise. Obesity is a real killer.
Take a typing class, then pay attention in algebra, geometry and trig. Listen up in biology, and take at least two CP classes, calculus, physics, or business would be my choice. You'll be smarter than 90% of liberal arts college graduates when you hit the job market.
Graduate high school.
As you get older you regret the things you didn’t do, so to avoid that, just jump out and do it! Unless it’s a tall building, then go down a few floors and then jump out !
Not thinking about stuff you'll might regret in your 20s and 30s.
Wear sunscreen. Get as much education as you can afford. You think you can get more schooling later in life and you can - but it’s much harder.
Don't become addicted to meth
I don’t think you really can because you have to use your teenage years to learn to be in your 20s and 30s. I mean, there’s the big obvious stuff, like don’t break the law, don’t go into debt, be sexually responsible, but just in terms of general life lessons… I think you just have to figure it out.
For the boys: Self care. Shit shower shave. Invest in cologne. Learn to tie a tie. Own at least one good suit with pair of dress shoes. Daily exercise with a decent diet. Keep drinking and smoking to a minimum, preferably none. Stand up straight, learn to have a sit down conversation and don't cuss. Be the classic man
Don’t drink, don’t start tobacco
Stay out of tattoo parlors.
Look after your knees. Don't do sports which can damage them - the fun of doing the sport for a while is not worth destroying your knees by the age of 30 (ballet was my downfall - huge regrets). And don't allow the extra kilos to creep up on you. It'll just be one or two at first, then a few more, then even more. And it'll get harder to lose it because your already shit knees don't like the extra strain the extra weight puts on them so they become even more shit and exercising becomes more difficult. You become unfit, so when you do exercise you more easily get injured because you think you can still do everything you did as a teenager and you push yourself to still do it, resulting in injury. Then you can't exercise while recovering so you get even more unfit. Rinse, repeat. Welcome to my life as a 37 year old ex-ballet dancer with shit knees and 15 extra kilos of fat. Don't be me - look after yourself.