What would you tell 30 year old you?

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Volando
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What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by Volando »

Hi all! I was reading through the retirement regret thread today and I found the discussion very illuminating. I'm in my early 30s. When I think about retirement I view it as an entirely positive thing. I think about all of the things that I will be able to do outside of work with family and friends. Of course, life is complicated and things can work out for better or worse. Reading everyone's experience (both positive and regretful) has given me a lot to ponder. There is a treasure trove of wisdom and experience on this forum. I'm sure that I'm not the only 30 year old who may have something to learn about retirement from those who have gone through it. I can only envision it from a "distance" as I still have quite a way to go until I can retire. But I'm certain that when I reach that point I will have gained knowledge that I wish I could tell my past self. So I'm curious, for those who are willing to share about their retirement experience (regretful or not): If you could give 30 year old "you" advice about retirement, what would it be?

I'm curious to know what you would have told yourself at 30 that would have prepared you for what you're experiencing now.

(I thought about posting this in the other thread but I didn't want to derail the wonderful conversation with my question so I thought I would post it separately.)
Gundy
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by Gundy »

Buy AMZN
"I look at a hundred deals a day. I pick one." -Gordon Gekko
oldfatguy
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by oldfatguy »

Ask for alimony.
runner3081
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by runner3081 »

1) Cars are appliances - nothing more. Don't waste money on them, no one cares what you drive.
2) Function over style in homes. Who cares if you live in an HGTV home. It is a waste of money at the end of the day
3) When you have a kid, do whatever in the heck works. If that means sleeping in your room, breaking all of the normal rules, who cares. Do what works.
4) Do not get cats.
Last edited by runner3081 on Thu Apr 22, 2021 1:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
DawgFan2001
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by DawgFan2001 »

Aside from the time travel tips of which stocks to buy like someone else posted, I would say get into the 3 fund portfolio and let it ride. I did too much unfocused allocations in my 30s. (I'm 42 now.) The hubris of that youth though in not at all reacting to 2008 was a good thing.

If you are asking, you are likely ahead of the game.
hi_there
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by hi_there »

1) Buy Bitcoin
2) Don't eat the sushi from the Newark airport vending machine
3) There is no such thing as "just one cat"
4) Don't get invested in Game of Thrones because the ending sucks
Hyperchicken
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by Hyperchicken »

Detailed spreadsheet with stock prices for a few hundred companies for the next 10 years.

That, and also - if I see you forgoing employer match ever again, I'll be back and kick your ass.
delamer
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by delamer »

Deferred gratification to prepare for your future is important, but today is the only guarantee you have.
One thing that humbles me deeply is to see that human genius has its limits while human stupidity does not. - Alexandre Dumas, fils
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btq96r
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by btq96r »

Aside from the hindsight stock/crypto moves, I actually got nothing of overwhelming substance. Not long after my 30th birthday I saw myself in a bad spot and set about fixing some major problems in my life to get things on the right track. It took a good bit of weekly therapy, and weaning off the toxic elements wearing on my life (people, not substance). 30 was when I made a lot of changes I'm quite happy with as I approach 40 here very soon.

Now if I could go back and talk to 20yr old me...I'd tell that jackass to get a pen and pad and listen up.
runninginvestor
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by runninginvestor »

Pay a little extra for quality products, especially if they come with lifetime warranties.
LittleMaggieMae
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by LittleMaggieMae »

I'd been working a 'real job" for 8 years at 30. I would tell my 30 year old self - bump up the 401K contribution - 8% is nice but 10% or up to 15% would be better. Do it... do it.... do it... do it.

Also, there's thing called a Roth IRA coming on the horizon - go ahead, put your yearly tax refund in it when you have access to it.. Do it.... do it.... do it..... do it...

I'd also tell her - Financial Independence is real... you can do it (bump up the 401K, put $$ in the Roth, keep putting some in savings/taxable....you won't miss the money - trust me I know... you fritter away LOT of money on stupid consumer stuff that you will just have to throw out in a few years. Stop it!!!

Most of the other stuff my 30year old self was doing/did was fine. I just wish I hadn't bought so much "crap tastic" crap back then. going thru it (time consuming/stressful) and tossing it years later was eye opening. Less IS more...
Last edited by LittleMaggieMae on Thu Apr 22, 2021 1:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Sheepdog
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Location: Indiana, retired 1998 at age 65

Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by Sheepdog »

Don't live alone. Nurture a loving companionship. And. don't take your partner lightly. They aren't toys. If you have kids, raise them to be good people and hopefully someday they may want to help you if you will ever need it (meaning health wise especially).
Adopt a homeless dog and/or cat and love them so that they can love you back.
At 30, I would have had a good education or am in training to secure a good living so that I can take care of myself and loved ones. At 30, I would hope to be ready to earn enough to have a good home and have some fun, but at the same time always put some money away for times when all is not good. And, always put some away for our senior years. You will be surprised that retirement will reach you before you realize it. It is never too early to start planning.
Happiness now and preparing for a happy future should be your goal.
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Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered you will never grow. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
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TomatoTomahto
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by TomatoTomahto »

Use Roth when your marginal rate is low.

Don’t marry crazy.

Serenity now.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
UpperNwGuy
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by UpperNwGuy »

Buy Apple stock and hold it forever. The rest of the FAANGs didn't exist when I was 30, and Microsoft had not yet gone public.
Grt2bOutdoors
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

Marriage is a legal transaction in the eyes of the courts. Make sure you go in eyes wide open and brain fully aware of just who and what you are entering into this contract with. Choose poorly and the financial ramifications can set you back severely.

Save, save now and every portion (preferably at least 20 percent) of earnings as you receive it. Invest for the long term, buy broad based index funds, ignore the news, ignore your brother in law. Read The Millionaire Next Door. If progress is forward then any setbacks are merely opportunities to buy in at a discount. Save what you need in the near future (1-5 years), invest the rest. If you must satisfy the need to speculate, not more than 10 percent of capital in total and preferably not all on the same batch of seed.

Invest in yourself. Eat healthy, exercise, drink in moderation, don’t smoke anything. Focus on your occupation and take opportunities to advance.

Travel to places you want to see and experience.
"One should invest based on their need, ability and willingness to take risk - Larry Swedroe" Asking Portfolio Questions
cheezit
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by cheezit »

0) Be a little gentler with $sons[0] : he's young, you've got plenty of time to work on behavioral stuff with him, and the approach your father took worked well with you but will be counterproductive with him due to his different temperament
1) Continue pushing hard on your fitness goals, as there's a pandemic coming in about 18 months that's going to shut everything down and erase a ton of your progress if you let it
2) Spend more time with your elderly friend Jim, as he's going to have a stroke during the aforementioned pandemic and you're not going to be allowed to visit him while he's dying


Financially? Buy bitcoin when it drops to $3500 I guess.
Grt2bOutdoors
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

UpperNwGuy wrote: Thu Apr 22, 2021 2:00 pm Buy Apple stock and hold it forever. The rest of the FAANGs didn't exist when I was 30, and Microsoft had not yet gone public.
Had you bought it when Sculley was CEO you’d likely not be holding it all too long. If it wasn’t for Jobs the company would have become zero.
"One should invest based on their need, ability and willingness to take risk - Larry Swedroe" Asking Portfolio Questions
Pikel
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by Pikel »

Read the Classics.

I actually wish I could tell that to 16 year old me.
Mishigami
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by Mishigami »

Spend more time over the next few years with mom and dad. They'll be checking out just as your kids are checking in.
Freefun
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by Freefun »

Stop buying expensive clothes at Barney's

Never play 3-card monty in NYC streets (ok that's to my 15-year old self)

Don't drink tea with ice cubes in El Salvador.
Remember when you wanted what you currently have?
stoptothink
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by stoptothink »

runner3081 wrote: Thu Apr 22, 2021 1:24 pm 1) Cars are appliances - nothing more. Don't waste money on them, no one cares what you drive.
2) Function over style in homes. Who cares if you live in an HGTV home. It is a waste of money at the end of the day
3) When you have a kid, do whatever in the heck works. If that means sleeping in your room, breaking all of the normal rules, who cares. Do what works.
4) Do not get cats.
These are fantastic. I learned lesson #1 at age 20 after my first new car right out of undergrad was vandalized multiple times then stolen. #3 is spot on, as someone who became a father at 31. One of my "deal-breakers" for a spouse was pets; I am thankful each and every time I visit my parents or in-laws that wife has never backtracked on agreeing that there are no pets in our home (2 kids are plenty of responsibility for me).

Nearing 40 and with a list of back issues a page long, that has resulted in chronic pain and and an inability to exercise for 9 months now: don't let your ego get the best of you in the weight room and get those nagging back pains checked out.
SteadyOne
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by SteadyOne »

1. If you are not married yet, be extremely careful whom to marry. And remember that you will marry not only that person but the whole bunch of that persons relatives. And they always will be around. I am mean always in your life
2. Listen to people who are really successful if you need advice of any sort. Ignore all others.
3. If you stopped growing in your current job after two years, look for another one. Do not listen to ‘plenty of future opportunities’ B.S.
4. Develop better writing and speaking skills. There are no limits to perfection and it will pay great dividends in the future.
“Every de­duc­tion is al­lowed as a mat­ter of leg­isla­tive grace.” US Federal Court
PVW
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by PVW »

Now that I know the future, I would tell 30 year old me to spend more money. I know it's counter to most advice on this board, but I have enough human capital and financial wisdom that there is virtually no risk of me going broke. I'd like to shift some of my current savings to my younger self, when I was legitimately poor.

There's nothing specific that I missed because of money, but I know that spending $1MM in my younger years would have meant a lot more souvenirs. That money wouldn't be missed.
hoofaman
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by hoofaman »

prenup
Flyer24
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Re: What would you tell 30 year old you?

Post by Flyer24 »

Topic has run its course (life advice). Threads need to be about your own personal finance situation or someone close to you. Keep also in mind that relationship advice is off-topic for this forum.
Welcome to the Personal Finance forum. This subforum is for personal financial issues that don't involve investments. Examples of acceptable topics are:

- insurance
- employment issues
- credit card and credit rating issues
- mortgage and loan issues
- legal issues that have a financial component like wills and pre-nuptial agreements

Note that topics must be directly connected to your (or your friend's or family's) financial life. General comments or complaints about these topics will be removed. If you aren't sure if a topic is OK, ask yourself these questions.

1) Does it relate to finance issues (but it's not an investing question)?

2) Is it personal? In other words, is it about you (or on behalf of someone specific).

3) Is it actionable? Can you do something with the replies that will make a difference in your financial life or the products or services you buy.
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