I am 27, if you could go back just a few years in time, are there any things you wish you would have started doing earlier?
Like exercise, skincare, sauna etc
*edit: ty for all the replies, definitely helps me make better decisions for my future self
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Investing. Even just a little bit. I started at 28. If I had started 10 years earlier I’d be way farther ahead than I am now.
Reading the Adrian Mole novels. I read them in real time, one day per in-novel day, so I’d be much farther along. They’re diary novels, and just one book spans over more than a year.
Lifting weights
bulking up. now im at the stage i dont really want to bulk because im 40 and the thought of putting on more fat whilst i bulk kinda scares me because i look at a packet of crisps and i add on weight. i would have preferred to bulk more in my 20s when it was easier to pack on muscle rather than do that now when its harder to shed the fat.
Maxing out my 401k. I’ve put a decent bit in each year. I’m 37, with 480k in 401k. I’ve maxed my contributions for the past 6 years, but I was probably only 25-30% of what I could contribute in 20s. It’s growing so fast, and tax free. I should have put every penny I could in.
Wish we would have went down the path of figuring out why we were having troubles having a kid earlier. Maybe would have gotten another few viable eggs to try and implant.
The number one answer is always exercising, but something that is never mentioned is your partner. Taking care and appreciating your partner. Took my divorce after 10 years to realise I should have taken better care of my wife.
I started lifting at 27 and it changed my life more than any other one thing
Therapy
Going to appointments like eye doctors, dermatologists and basic checkups with a primary. You only get one body… 33m
I did a lot of things people say you should start earlier — investing in my 20s, fitness etc.
But three things come to mind:
I did a couple of startups in my 20s and 30s. It’s far easier to be broke and live on very little at that stage in your life. And working out meant I suddenly had a lot of money at 26, and that made a huge difference in terms of optionality in life.
I bought a house in my late 20s but I should have bought one sooner and bought a couple. Easier to refinance when interest rates go down and you can keep paying down the mortgage, building home equity.
Same as others. Investing is the way. But understand you have so many things you want to spend when young. Convincing yourself gonna tough.
It would have to be exercise. I didn’t start getting serious until my mid-40s. It would have been a lot better if I started earlier.
Honorable mention goes to saving money. The earlier you start, the better.
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Saving money/investing
I started something for my kids before they were even born and will def teach them the ways.
I also wish I spent less time (and MONEY) on cars and more on music.
Quitting drinking is 100% #1. It ain’t worth it.
Sometimes I wish I’d started lifting weights earlier, but if I had got into it when I was younger, I know I would have taken steroids. 100% I would have done it. And probably would have done it again and again, and now I’d be on required TRT.
So thankfully that didn’t happen.
I wish I had figured out solving acne earlier, as I have a lot of scars. I always thought it would go away on its own, but it didn’t.
I’m a nurse. And I’m former military.
I wish I had pursued nursing at the VA. I’d have been able to retire with a monthly pension 13 years ago.
I’d still be working. But I’d be getting two checks.
Taking fitness seriously.
Atheism and celebacy
Investing
Quit smoking if you do. Exercise a sport or weight lifting. Read The Slight Edge… you’ll immediately change your life. This book will recommend you more to keep reading. Invest! Invest! Invest! At work maximize your 401K; the work company usually match up to 6%. With the rest of your check; google the 50 30 20 rule, and apply it. Get you favorite hobby alive! Eat healthy and drink lots of water.
Dump all the people that pull you down.
Getting out of the house, trying new experiences, taking risks. That can be doing new hobbies, traveling, dating, etc. I am someone who is starting the whole “discovering myself” phase way later in life.
When I was younger, growth and maturity seemed to happen passively (I guess from my brain developing?). Now, it feels like a lot of the growth and lessons I learn only come from putting myself out there and trying new things.
Like I’ll notice someone much younger than me be more mature than me in some aspect, or vice versa, and I’ll realize it’s simply because one of us has lived that chapter of our lives and one hasn’t.
Wish I started regular exercise, basic skincare (just SPF + moisturizer), journaling, and saving money earlier. They seem small but seriously pay off over time. You’re 27, still plenty of time to build solid habits!
Quit smoking and drinking
Exercise
Invest
Goto doctor yearly
Eat healthier
Buy investment properties
Have kids…we waited to 32 and only had 2…a third woypd have been cool but I’m too impatient now approaching 40
Quit smoking and excessive drinking. Taking care of your body.
Saving and self care.
Every other answer is just icing on the cake, but those two are the big ones.
No ragrets.
Invest early as others have said. I chose owning a home for first major money goal. Education was before that I guess. Sometimes wish I would have focused on that compounding interest via IRA, or paid off my student loans, but hindsight is 2020 and I could say the same for throwing everything I owned into Bitcoin, or gambling with options.
Taking the time in the 2nd half of my 30s to really dig into staying in shape, happy I didn’t fall into the bottle or let myself get too far weight wise. There were a couple close calls.
Prioritize having fun 50% and building for the future 50% the past already happened.
Exercises to prevent back pain.
Pension (boring but true)
I started pretty early in fitness so that doesn’t really apply.
Investing Investing Investing…I’m not even concerned with owning real estate since I have lived in 5 cities in the last 10 years who knows where next but investing in the stock markets, or some index funds would be a lot more relaxing.
Started hockey at 38. Really wish I’d gotten a 30-year head-start on that.
Saving for retirement. If you don’t already have one, open a Roth IRA account and put as much as you can in it.
Finding a mate. Having kids. Prepping for retirement.
Learning about health, taking care of your body and avoiding the things that damage it. A lifetime is a long time to live in just one water based meat suit. They say it doesn’t come with instructions manual, except that isn’t entirely true. You can learn about your body. You need to do this early in life. It’s like the most important thing. I’m an old man now and facing the consequences of my own ignorance as it relates to my health. I’m learning things now that I should have learned when I was young. I’m not sure I would have listened but just the same, the information was there. For young people today everything you need to know to care your your body is at your finger tips. Don’t wait for a lifetime of neglect to learn the simple things.
Not giving a crap about what other people think of me.
Cutting everyone off after turning 25.
Gym. Also should’ve tried to focus on a career path more instead of chasing a useless college degree. The biggest waste of my time in my 20’s is not the partying. It’s going to college.
Investing, exercising, and eating cleaner
I should have canceled out people earlier in life instead of thinking that ”they gonna get better”. Not to confuse anyone, i dont yeet people at first mistake or wrongful doing, but i had my fair share of people that should never have had so much of my time or energy.
Growing trees. If I’d started sooner they’d all be bigger by now.
Save and invest
Strength and conditioning, couple with combat sports.
Learn more languages. When I learned English it opened me to a whole world and opportunities that I took advantage of, but if I was smart also would have learned French as is spoken widely in Africa as well, I would have been unstoppable. Everyone loves a foreigner they can actually talk to lol.
Gay sex
Having kids
Skincare, Exercise, Habits in general, Hobbies, BUDGETING/Saving.
Pay yourself first – that means invest an amount every pay check no matter what. 100-200-500 doesn’t matter pick an amount and stick to it. -Anytime your salary increases increase the savings by the salary raise x1.5. So if you were saving 100 and got a 5% raise don’t save 105 save 107.50.
Diet/Excercise it’s easier to be in shape then to get in shape. Knees hurt less, back hurts less etc. find a sustainable diet and excercise program
And be consistent.
Skin care – do it wear sunscreen on your face daily, moisturize daily. Doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.
Cut back on drinking – I don’t believe in hard stops but I definitely drink less then I used to, don’t get me wrong have some drinks with on a night out is still fun but I’ve reduced my drinking by probably 50-70% probably averages to 1 drink a week.
wear sunscreen! men tend to look so much older than their wives as we get older, and way more important than that is skin cancer is not uncommon and people of any and every ethnicity can get it.
Riding r/motorcycles
Staying away from credit card debt. If you can’t pay it off when the bill arrives, don’t buy it! This applies to discretionary spending.
For absolutely imperative spending (refrigerator, car tires) pay that off ASAP. The insane interest will kill you financially.
Sleeping better
Buying bullion
Psychedelics and meditation. Mushrooms acid yoga
Investing.
Warren Buffet has said he would have done better just buying SP500 instead of all his moves.
You’re still young, get in and buy buy buy. Price drops buy more. Price raises buy more. Just buy. Don’t plan to sell until you’re close to retire. Don’t spend more than you can afford.
Setting some fucking boundaries
Should have minded my hearing more.
Investing.
Torn. I would be at so much higher level now, if I started playing it years ago. Yeah, thatˋs about it.
The standard answers are investing, eating a proper diet, getting enough sleep and participating in daily exercise.
The nonstandard answers are whatever your weird little hearts desire.
Take it to the hoops, kings: it’s never too late to make incremental updates that change all your tomorrows.
Musical instrument.
I played guitar as a kid but essentially stopped in high school. I always had a guitar with me, but never did anything serious for 40 years.
Now I’m taking it seriously, and wish I had played during those years. All the bands I could have been a part of. All the fun I could have had.
Moving out of my parent’s place sooner. Something about being independent and developing problem solving skills does wonders for developing self-confidence.
Investing.
Working out
On top of optimizing for 401k savings, I wish I learned sooner to not plan expenses around performance bonuses. For the early part of my career, I took jobs that promised good performance bonuses but rarely paid the full amount, even when my performance was allegedly strong. It’s a discretionary bonus, so it’s just a carrot that employers don’t have any obligation to pay. Now I just treat those bonuses as gravy if/when they happen.
Workout and invest in crypto when I was 20. 31 now
Parenthood
Paying more attention to the red flags blowing in the wind of the women I choose to love lol
Here’s the list in no particular order
1) Invest in retirement. Look at a compound interest calculator. Set a monthly contribution and then just play with the years only and see how much of an impact times has. Hint, it’s not linear.
2) Hair care. There’s a 66% chance your hair will start thinning around age 30. Start the Rogain now. It doesn’t make hair grow back, it just stops it from thinning.
3) Exercise. This is a no-brainer. The results of exercise diminish with age. Basically, whatever you look like going into your 30’s is pretty much the upper bound of what you can look like at the end of your 30’s, more or less. Don’t get me wrong, you can get really fat, my point is that it becomes much harder to drop weight.
4) Stop dating for hook-ups and start dating to find a wife and have kids. Seriously, don’t waste your time. Think about a realistic timeline for dating, finding the right woman, dating for a few years, getting engaged for 1 year and then getting married. You are looking at a 3-6 year process, putting you at 30 to 33 years old. That doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for having kids, especially if you want a few years of marriage before kids. On this note – a harsh reality, is that, despite what the politically correct rhetoric tells you, women start having fertility issues in their mid-30’s. So, if you can, try to marry someone who is 3 or 4 years younger than you.
We all have our things. Ultimately you are asking, how do we regret how we prioritized sh*t in our life. You, I, we, all know what one ‘should’ do. I did what I thought I should do full tilt.
I invested, maxing out retirement from my first ‘real’ job on, at this point money is not really an issue, for that I am grateful and feel very fortunate/lucky.
Away from work, I lifted/exercised hard 5+ days a week for 40 oddw years, moved into mobility and functional exercising in my mid-50’s.
I think I regret not cultivating other hobbies in that 40 yr time. The ‘ must prioritize exercise above all’ was way too much in retrospect. I loved it, but really, it was a one dimensional outlet, and maybe, just maybe, 3 days a week of hard training would have been plenty.
I have subsequently gotten way into woodworking and have built a couple of Acoustic Guitars and Ukuleles. What if I had actually spent time and energy learning to really play those things far earlier in life? Something I always wanted to do, but never made the time for because, you know, work & exercise.
So, what I wish I did earlier? Explore and do a lot of different hobbies/interests/things and be a bit more adventuresome in that regard. Be a bit more balanced, Oh, what 61yo me could/would share with scrawny 15yo me.
Good luck in your search.
Music. Ive always loved writing rhymes as an expressive outlet, now i look back and think “damn i let too much time pass”
Traveling
Divorce
Everyone should start these asap:
Exercise
Sunscreen
Good sleep
Positive friendships
Healthy thoughts
I’ve really gotten into self help stuff within the last year, after a breakup that really messed me up. Buying/reading a lot of books, and listening to dozens of hours of podcasts since then has seriously changed my life, and my outlook on many things in a positive way. I’m a lot closer to my friends, who have gained a ton of respect for me. It’s also helped me find a sense of direction. Even if it’s not self help, I’d say reading in general. Never miss a chance to invest in yourself, if you can.
I’d also say investing, like many others here. I didn’t realize time was such a powerful tool when it comes to building wealth. I know that now, due to everything mentioned above.
I should have taken college seriously when I was going full time 10 years ago. I didn’t know what I wanted to do at the time, and I was abusing alcohol and dealing with PTSD. I’m 33 now and starting over. Wish I had better coping mechanisms. Head is more clear these days.
Investing
BJJ
Traveling
Learning how to day trade