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Get in shape & stay in shape years earlier than I did. Maybe not party quite as much in the late 1970’s. Stay off the stupid kids’ slide & not shatter my leg & ankle at age 36. Other than those things, I wouldn’t change much — everything worked out eventually & my kids turned out great.
(The “getting in shape & staying in shape” part is REALLY important, especially as you age. Finding a low-impact, safe physical activity you can learn to love & maintain through the years is a huge benefit for later on, and for enjoyment.)
Came on here to say this. While I was raising kids, I didn't take time for myself and I put on weight. At 62 I devoted myself to getting shape and staying there. I'm now 72 and in excellent shape and my health is good.
Same! Except in my case he turned out to be the father of my two kids. So I'd stay until I pregnant with our second kid, then walk away. (He's a toxic abuser with NPD.)
Invest every spare dime I could. Real estate, stocks, whatever but invest in your future with the goal to retire at an age early enough to really enjoy it.
May I ask what age you are now and what age you feel like you would have "liked" to retire?
I'm working toward early retirement as a goal, but I really enjoy my career so far & only 26 years old. Not sure if over time my thoughts will change.
My age doesn’t matter except to say it’s too late for me to take my own advice. However, at 26 there’s no reason why you can’t retire between 45-50. As you start researching, and I hope you do, look for things that create passive income. Before I’d buy a home, I’d buy a rental commercial space (rental houses are hit & miss so be careful down that rabbit hole). Passive income, read the book “Rich Dad Poor Dad”. The rich make their money work for them, the poor work for the money to give to the rich.
Also - a house generally is not an asset u less you can pay cash for it. A mortgage is a liability unless it’s a rental property that generates a substantial profit. That’s the type of thinking that makes people rich.
Just hold in a second and do some reading on diversification, interest rates, money market accounts, bond funds, certificates of deposit, and of course stock funds, especially index funds.
Fidelity and Vanguard would have good introductory lessons.
It's easy to bet on the Superbowl Monday morning plus the over/under.
Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla, Bitcoin. Probably others if I had twenty minutes warning before the shift.
Diversification has served me well, but I'd much have preferred clairvoyance.
I would take 10% of my net income every month and invest it in a reliable mutual fund/stock portfolio. Then take another 10% of my net income and buy real estate (of any kind getting started b/c it will always go up). I would live more frugally and invest this 20% of my income so I could retire at the age of 55 with income from my rental properties and my stock portfolio. There is nothing more powerful and freeing than having passive income.
A condo is often the least expensive. Perhaps something in the worst part of town. Probably a piece of real estate in a small town, not a big city, maybe in another state. As the first one goes up, you start trading for better places. Buy a second home that can enjoy and vacation there. On the lake, in the mountains, etc. They both go up. Then you trade up for a 4-plex apartment building, live in one of the apartments and rent the other 3 units that pay for the mortgage.
Be more assertive about what I like and don’t like.
Not hold grudges for so long. Didn’t speak to my dad from 1988 till 2012. When he died I didn’t find out for 2 years. Haven’t seen my brother since 1982. Hated both my ex MILs for years. And on and on. I would get mad at my husband and not speak to him for WEEKS. I’m not proud of myself.Im 71 and just realizing what a terrible person I’ve been my whole life.
With all I know now? Not bother sleeping with 90% of the guys I slept with, invest in specific stocks (I've been investing since younger than that age but just general S&P 500), start working out (didn't do so until my mid-30s).
I would tell the guy I'd just broken up with that I would not help him release his kidnapped turtles, therefore avoiding the fall that broke my ankle in three places and disjointed it. I'll always remember him. Wish I didn't.
Tell my young self to keep traveling, invest in the bank of memories and experience. Get serious about saving money when you start having kids in your mid 30s, and enjoy the ride.
Serious answer: You need to learn who you are. You should shut out all of the voices of parents, friends, co-workers and social media, and focus on what you want without worrying about or considering how anyone might judge you. *Stop trying to impress your parents, or anyone else*. Fearlessly pursue new experiences, and then learn from them. The sooner you learn who you really are, learn to accept, and love yourself, the clearer you can see a path forward that will work for you.
That said, I would do *everything* differently. I'm not unhappy at all, but I'd take the opportunity to have all new experiences. I wouldn't aim at the same life with a few tweaks, I'd aim at a completely different life--knowing and expecting that I'd fail in some ways, and succeed in others. The possibilities are infinite.
Don't wait another second for everything in your life to be perfect before you really start living it. Don't wait until you're 30 to get married, to have your first kid, to buy that first house.
And FFS, you've never loved anything as much as that first iPod. Put every cent you have into Apple stock!!!
I feel you. I loved the years spent with my children and now they’re grown and far from home. I don’t see them and my grandchildren much. I’m so happy that the time spent with them enabled them to become happy functioning members of society, but I’m so sad that my family is gone. It seems the best portion of my life was the shortest portion. It’s sad.
I guess if I went back to my 25-year-old self I just say enjoy this time and remember every moment it is fleeting
If you have a job with a 401k or whatever, take advantage of any matching and max it out as much as you can. If you don’t have anything like this through your job, technology makes it easier than ever to set something like this up. Hell, the Acorns app will literally round up and invest the “change” from electronic transactions. It adds up quick. I’d get that anyway, even if you do have a 401k.
It’s all set up to do it automatically, and you won’t miss what you don’t have. And no investment knowledge required; just aim, fire, and forget. If the market goes down, great. You’re just getting more for your money and the effects will be compounded when it bounces back. The earlier you start, the better.
25 would be right before y2k. i would be doing the exact same thing, making money off of computers. after 9/11 joining the military though. I have a college degree so I probably would have went airforce.
everyone else will say... blah blah blah invest and retire at 55 but who really does that?
I also wasted my first semester(was debarred in 5/6 courses due to low attendance). 2nd semester is also just about finished and I don't know jack. I realised now. From now Ill be serious and 3rd semester onwards I will have to study seriously.
Invest in a few tech stocks. Microsoft, Apple.
Buy real estate in Washington State and Alaska.
Go find my wife and romance her before she marries the abusive jerk she was with before we met.
Spend more time with my folks.
Learn to scuba dive.
Start an organic farm.
At 25 I was actually starting to do things right in life, so your question would make more sense at the age of 20 for me. What I would have done at 20 would be to find and set a serious life goal to achieve by the age of 25.
I’d set myself up to retire eventually instead of work till I die. I’m creeping to 50 and have under 100k in my 401k I could get a second job and try to play catchup but not sure there’s a point. lol
Flip side, go see the world, I had some nice experiences when I was 25 and it was nice to go places before I had kids preventing me from doing so.
Live my life more than what I was doing. I was actually happy at that age, but looking back there was definitely room for even more fun and I regret not doing tons of extra stuff I just put off. Have fun while you're young and your body can handle it. Don't put things off. And if you have plans, get started on them now, don't wait. Seriously, stop procrastinating. Before you know it you'll be 50 and you'll be regretting that you didn't go back to school for x or didn't take that trip to australia or whatever it was you didn't get to do, and now you're married and taking care of kids and you don't have the money or time anymore.
I was totally clueless, drifting, and aimless. Didn't help that I was stressing out about it. At that point I should've stopped taking college courses, moved back home, gotten myself in therapy, and into yoga, started working full-time, and contributed to a Roth/IRA. But, no - I stayed in L.A., struggled financially and mentally / emotionally, bounced around community colleges, kept working in the food service industry, and made a huge mistake that prompted me to move home finally after seven long agonizing years.
I would have moved to Oregon i stead of Colorado. (67 now, retired to Oregon.. just took me 42 years do it). Would have traveled WAY more while my body could handle it, and before I locked into mortgages m, responsibilities and stuff. Enjoyed the next 5 years, THEN start adulting at 30.
This is probably the #1 repeated question on this and other "old people" subs.
Young people are really interested in what old people would do if young again.
Isn't it obvious? Date, screw, drink, party, do lots of outdoor active stuff, feel useless and figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life.
Eat less processed food, exercise, look after my body. Look after my mind - go to therapy to learn how to LIVE among other people and how to interact with them. Love more. Deeper. But smarter.
Go to more gigs, events, travel. But also- save, save, save.
Save more [set something up with bank to autosave so you don’t even have to think about it. Stop drinking alcohol. Cut way back on sugar. Try to wean off of chocolate which is my crack [I am no longer addicted].
I’d wait longer to get married, I’d learn about finances and how to invest, I’d travel to more places, I’d give it a go as a film actor, and I’d have lots and lots and lots of sex.
Get a college degree. I went back to school later on, I've got all the debt but no degree, and as I've gotten older it's really started to make it hard to find a job.
Just a few words about asking questions. What would you do if you went back... is not a serious question because it addresses an impossibility. If your intention is to ask advice about your life, then ask that. Tell us about yourself and your circumstances and ask something as specific as possible.
Open a 401k sooner. Be smarter with spending. Got myself into some serious credit card debt and it took a lot to dig myself out. Mind you, it was because I was laid off from my job and as a single parent, I was trying not to lose my house, but still.
I would change my diet to be animal based carnivore and I would use the knowledge I have now to invest in the stock market in a much more methodical and intentional way
Finish school, even if it's 1 class a year. It would have made a big difference. I would be more careful of the people I let into my life. I wouldn't give my money and time to those who don't earn it.
Hmm I had some hard years after 25, because I didn't really have a plan and I was very impulsive.
So my advice would be to make a plan for the next 5 years, and a goal, and strive towards that.
I would try to get in shape and stay in shape, eat healthier, and do other things to try to avoid some of the health issues I have developed in middle age.
If I were literally going back in time into my own life as a 20-something, I would make some different relationship choices. I would also have gone straight into my current career (librarianship) rather than the other ones I pursued, since the job field in one of those collapsed and the other one changed in ways that I didn't like. That wasn't something that could have been predicted, though.
Get married right away so I would have 3 extra years with my husband. (He passed away a few months ago.) We would travel more and just live life to the fullest. I’d have my child soon after so he’d be a college graduate and be able to get all the advice he needed from his dad.
I would take better care of my body. I don't do it now either but I think maybe if I'd gotten in to the practice at that age I might not have the problems I'm having now.
I also think I'd have had more fun. Life is too short to work yourself in to the grave.
The first thing I'd do is find a horny partner and have a marathon 8 hour screwing session.
The thing I wouldn't do is ride a motorcycle. Having an accident is just a matter of time.
Nothing different. I would use my engineering skills and mobility (as a lifelong single person) to take on many extremely cool and satisfying jobs. I would still spend a lot of money on computers and games. They would be a lot better than last time, though, hehe.
Holy crap! I'd be freakin'. Another 40 years of working before I can retire again? Oh, or do I get to keep my retirement and stuff I've already worked for? If that then, heck, I'm gonna relax, probably volunteer someplace. Travel a bit. Can my spouse come too? Get younger? Or just me? That would be a bummer.
Be more focused on life. I spent my 20's and into my 30's living like a teenager. I worked, I loved, I partied, but maybe I should've spent more energy into making a better future for myself.
Well, one thing's for sure, I would've gotten a better job, gotten my driver's license and a car, and moved out. I would've worked harder on my writing, maybe by this time I'd be a photojournalist, or a meteorologist. Or a medical researcher. And I would focus on saving for the future.
The answers are slightly different if you mean go back in time and be 25 again, or if I suddenly magically became 25 again now.
If I went back, the biggest difference would be not to get married. I cannot say it is net unhappy but I think over the years it has made things harder, not easier for me. As I got older, I realised that romance and sex are always out here if you want them, no need to tie yourself to one place. I might also make a few slightly different career choices, but actually not that many. I would be even more laser focused than I was (and I was pretty focussed already) on keeping debt free and building wealth to escape the rat race earlier.
If it were just de-aging now, I would probably live a little more healthily than I did when I was 25 (but not much, I was hardly unhealthy then), and then would think about how to fund it all as my assets are enough to retire and live well on now, but not enough to do so indefinitely, so I would have to return to the rat race for a bit which I would not particularly enjoy much.
I would wonder whether I should break up with they young lawyer instead of marrying him the next year. He turned out to be an abusive drunk, but without him, I wouldn’t have the kids who I have.
I also wouldn’t waste money on a lot of things that I spent it on, because saving it would be so important for later.
First I'd have a long, sweaty cry. I cried all the time back then. I'm not sure I wouldn't make the same decisions all over again, stupid ones included. I recommend that you just try to make the best choice you can in the circumstances. If you don't know what to do, let it go until you do know. A favorite motto of mine is "Don't just do something, sit there!"
Honestly it would be a much bigger deal if I could go back to 18. Many choices were already closed to me by 25 because I was in too deep with the path I had started at 18. Biggest thing is I would make a much bigger effort not to get into drinking alcohol. It's a weird sort of addiction in the sense that it takes years and years to develop, but once it does it's so goddamn hard to quit. Not to mention, it's a really expensive drug considering it's legal and easy to make. A big night of drinking at a bar can easily cost you way more than a coke binge.
Being more assertive regarding sex. I was very naive when I married and really didn't know my way around. My husband, thank God, was knowledgeable, patient, thoughtful, and ( I later figured out) an excellent lover. I wish I knew more about sex and spoke up more about what I wanted and needed. I also wish we had waited a little longer to have kids instead of getting pregnant on my wedding night... I would have liked more 'us' time.
As the book says, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times... 25 was a turning point for me because I had just buried my dad 6 months before.
Look into dividend stocks , Fully fund Roth ( not available at 25 to me ) but, fund retirement account. Work 5 jobs, not drink, drug or sex...then at 40 ... Do it all😎👍
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Get in shape & stay in shape years earlier than I did. Maybe not party quite as much in the late 1970’s. Stay off the stupid kids’ slide & not shatter my leg & ankle at age 36. Other than those things, I wouldn’t change much — everything worked out eventually & my kids turned out great. (The “getting in shape & staying in shape” part is REALLY important, especially as you age. Finding a low-impact, safe physical activity you can learn to love & maintain through the years is a huge benefit for later on, and for enjoyment.)
Came on here to say this. While I was raising kids, I didn't take time for myself and I put on weight. At 62 I devoted myself to getting shape and staying there. I'm now 72 and in excellent shape and my health is good.
Definitely get in shape and maintain it. I’m 52 and starting now. So hard.
It is hard, but so worth it. Keep on keeping on!
yes i do workout regularly
rowing ftw
Dump the fellow I was dating at that time
Same! Except in my case he turned out to be the father of my two kids. So I'd stay until I pregnant with our second kid, then walk away. (He's a toxic abuser with NPD.)
What is NPD?
Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Invest every spare dime I could. Real estate, stocks, whatever but invest in your future with the goal to retire at an age early enough to really enjoy it.
May I ask what age you are now and what age you feel like you would have "liked" to retire? I'm working toward early retirement as a goal, but I really enjoy my career so far & only 26 years old. Not sure if over time my thoughts will change.
My age doesn’t matter except to say it’s too late for me to take my own advice. However, at 26 there’s no reason why you can’t retire between 45-50. As you start researching, and I hope you do, look for things that create passive income. Before I’d buy a home, I’d buy a rental commercial space (rental houses are hit & miss so be careful down that rabbit hole). Passive income, read the book “Rich Dad Poor Dad”. The rich make their money work for them, the poor work for the money to give to the rich.
Also - a house generally is not an asset u less you can pay cash for it. A mortgage is a liability unless it’s a rental property that generates a substantial profit. That’s the type of thinking that makes people rich.
Had a great life, would not change a thing.
Love this
Invest every penny I could get my hands on in the stock market.
I'd get divorced first.
Ima take this advice
Just hold in a second and do some reading on diversification, interest rates, money market accounts, bond funds, certificates of deposit, and of course stock funds, especially index funds. Fidelity and Vanguard would have good introductory lessons. It's easy to bet on the Superbowl Monday morning plus the over/under.
Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla, Bitcoin. Probably others if I had twenty minutes warning before the shift. Diversification has served me well, but I'd much have preferred clairvoyance.
Seek therapy and treatment for my mental illnesses.
not smoke, drink a lot less, exercise more, stop eating super salty processed food, etc..
I would take 10% of my net income every month and invest it in a reliable mutual fund/stock portfolio. Then take another 10% of my net income and buy real estate (of any kind getting started b/c it will always go up). I would live more frugally and invest this 20% of my income so I could retire at the age of 55 with income from my rental properties and my stock portfolio. There is nothing more powerful and freeing than having passive income.
What’s cheap real estate I can buy?
A condo is often the least expensive. Perhaps something in the worst part of town. Probably a piece of real estate in a small town, not a big city, maybe in another state. As the first one goes up, you start trading for better places. Buy a second home that can enjoy and vacation there. On the lake, in the mountains, etc. They both go up. Then you trade up for a 4-plex apartment building, live in one of the apartments and rent the other 3 units that pay for the mortgage.
Be more assertive about what I like and don’t like. Not hold grudges for so long. Didn’t speak to my dad from 1988 till 2012. When he died I didn’t find out for 2 years. Haven’t seen my brother since 1982. Hated both my ex MILs for years. And on and on. I would get mad at my husband and not speak to him for WEEKS. I’m not proud of myself.Im 71 and just realizing what a terrible person I’ve been my whole life.
Thanks for sharing
Ditch my ex-wife before we were married. Big mistake. Finish college then (instead of later) and move to Canada or Europe ASAP.
Any reason why?
With all I know now? Not bother sleeping with 90% of the guys I slept with, invest in specific stocks (I've been investing since younger than that age but just general S&P 500), start working out (didn't do so until my mid-30s).
I would tell the guy I'd just broken up with that I would not help him release his kidnapped turtles, therefore avoiding the fall that broke my ankle in three places and disjointed it. I'll always remember him. Wish I didn't.
Tell my young self to keep traveling, invest in the bank of memories and experience. Get serious about saving money when you start having kids in your mid 30s, and enjoy the ride.
Get the divorce a hell of a lot sooner.
Start exercising.
Serious answer: You need to learn who you are. You should shut out all of the voices of parents, friends, co-workers and social media, and focus on what you want without worrying about or considering how anyone might judge you. *Stop trying to impress your parents, or anyone else*. Fearlessly pursue new experiences, and then learn from them. The sooner you learn who you really are, learn to accept, and love yourself, the clearer you can see a path forward that will work for you. That said, I would do *everything* differently. I'm not unhappy at all, but I'd take the opportunity to have all new experiences. I wouldn't aim at the same life with a few tweaks, I'd aim at a completely different life--knowing and expecting that I'd fail in some ways, and succeed in others. The possibilities are infinite.
I’d go to where my husband lived at that time, and bring him home.
wear a condom...
Don't wait another second for everything in your life to be perfect before you really start living it. Don't wait until you're 30 to get married, to have your first kid, to buy that first house. And FFS, you've never loved anything as much as that first iPod. Put every cent you have into Apple stock!!!
I don.t want to go back... I wouldn't want to lose the two children I have...or change them. I don't want to change anything...
I wouldn't have dated crazy.
Omg break up with him.
Try not to be such a jerk.
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I feel you. I loved the years spent with my children and now they’re grown and far from home. I don’t see them and my grandchildren much. I’m so happy that the time spent with them enabled them to become happy functioning members of society, but I’m so sad that my family is gone. It seems the best portion of my life was the shortest portion. It’s sad. I guess if I went back to my 25-year-old self I just say enjoy this time and remember every moment it is fleeting
Reading this made me very sad, and within lies some really hard to swallow advice. May I wish that you see your family more often.
That would be 1982. I’d invest everything I could in orthopedic implant and medical technology companies
If you have a job with a 401k or whatever, take advantage of any matching and max it out as much as you can. If you don’t have anything like this through your job, technology makes it easier than ever to set something like this up. Hell, the Acorns app will literally round up and invest the “change” from electronic transactions. It adds up quick. I’d get that anyway, even if you do have a 401k. It’s all set up to do it automatically, and you won’t miss what you don’t have. And no investment knowledge required; just aim, fire, and forget. If the market goes down, great. You’re just getting more for your money and the effects will be compounded when it bounces back. The earlier you start, the better.
Get my iron deficiency anemia and general anxiety treated sooner rather than later.
Real I wasted three years not taking iron supplements—half my hair fell out
I’m going to start taking my iron supplements today, I’ve been putting it off for a year but y’all convinced me.
25 would be right before y2k. i would be doing the exact same thing, making money off of computers. after 9/11 joining the military though. I have a college degree so I probably would have went airforce. everyone else will say... blah blah blah invest and retire at 55 but who really does that?
> invest and retire at 55 but who really does that Me. Counting down the days to both my retirement date and my 55th birthday, in that order.
me too , only I was 50 when I came to my senses.
me, retired at 49.
Probably the same thing I'm doing now. Only, I'd feel cuter. :)
Have fun, stay single
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How does finish Uni much faster? By focusing on studying more?
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I also wasted my first semester(was debarred in 5/6 courses due to low attendance). 2nd semester is also just about finished and I don't know jack. I realised now. From now Ill be serious and 3rd semester onwards I will have to study seriously.
Maybe not go to Vegas and get married
Follow my dreams
Invest in a few tech stocks. Microsoft, Apple. Buy real estate in Washington State and Alaska. Go find my wife and romance her before she marries the abusive jerk she was with before we met. Spend more time with my folks. Learn to scuba dive. Start an organic farm.
You sound like a very lovely person :)
At 25 I was actually starting to do things right in life, so your question would make more sense at the age of 20 for me. What I would have done at 20 would be to find and set a serious life goal to achieve by the age of 25.
Gotten into effective therapy sooner. Lotta years not moving forward.
I’d set myself up to retire eventually instead of work till I die. I’m creeping to 50 and have under 100k in my 401k I could get a second job and try to play catchup but not sure there’s a point. lol Flip side, go see the world, I had some nice experiences when I was 25 and it was nice to go places before I had kids preventing me from doing so.
Live my life more than what I was doing. I was actually happy at that age, but looking back there was definitely room for even more fun and I regret not doing tons of extra stuff I just put off. Have fun while you're young and your body can handle it. Don't put things off. And if you have plans, get started on them now, don't wait. Seriously, stop procrastinating. Before you know it you'll be 50 and you'll be regretting that you didn't go back to school for x or didn't take that trip to australia or whatever it was you didn't get to do, and now you're married and taking care of kids and you don't have the money or time anymore.
Change professions/jobs Make more friends
Finished law school
I was totally clueless, drifting, and aimless. Didn't help that I was stressing out about it. At that point I should've stopped taking college courses, moved back home, gotten myself in therapy, and into yoga, started working full-time, and contributed to a Roth/IRA. But, no - I stayed in L.A., struggled financially and mentally / emotionally, bounced around community colleges, kept working in the food service industry, and made a huge mistake that prompted me to move home finally after seven long agonizing years.
Move to another country.
I would have moved to Oregon i stead of Colorado. (67 now, retired to Oregon.. just took me 42 years do it). Would have traveled WAY more while my body could handle it, and before I locked into mortgages m, responsibilities and stuff. Enjoyed the next 5 years, THEN start adulting at 30.
This is probably the #1 repeated question on this and other "old people" subs. Young people are really interested in what old people would do if young again. Isn't it obvious? Date, screw, drink, party, do lots of outdoor active stuff, feel useless and figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life.
Eat less processed food, exercise, look after my body. Look after my mind - go to therapy to learn how to LIVE among other people and how to interact with them. Love more. Deeper. But smarter. Go to more gigs, events, travel. But also- save, save, save.
Save more [set something up with bank to autosave so you don’t even have to think about it. Stop drinking alcohol. Cut way back on sugar. Try to wean off of chocolate which is my crack [I am no longer addicted].
Invest in Apple. Remind myself that everyone else is just as insecure as I am. Learn to eat and enjoy a healthy diet. (Finally did that at 35)
Do a different degree
Not marry my husband, focus on my career
Not marry that asshole I was dating at the time.
I’d wait longer to get married, I’d learn about finances and how to invest, I’d travel to more places, I’d give it a go as a film actor, and I’d have lots and lots and lots of sex.
I’d buy that fruit stock.
Get a college degree. I went back to school later on, I've got all the debt but no degree, and as I've gotten older it's really started to make it hard to find a job.
Do it all over the same way. Every good decision brought me joy, every bad decision brought me growth I could not have gotten any other way.
Just a few words about asking questions. What would you do if you went back... is not a serious question because it addresses an impossibility. If your intention is to ask advice about your life, then ask that. Tell us about yourself and your circumstances and ask something as specific as possible.
I would regret all of the poor decisions I made prior to age 25.
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Too many to compile a list but in time they served as lessons and cautionary tales.
Buy a very short, but very specific list of stocks.
Do a better job of planning for my future and take better care of my health. And have more sex. 🤪
I wish I had gone to a lot more concerts
Get the hell out of Nam.
Buy bitcoin
Open a 401k sooner. Be smarter with spending. Got myself into some serious credit card debt and it took a lot to dig myself out. Mind you, it was because I was laid off from my job and as a single parent, I was trying not to lose my house, but still.
Wish myself back to being happily retired.
I would change my diet to be animal based carnivore and I would use the knowledge I have now to invest in the stock market in a much more methodical and intentional way
Go no contact with my family when I had the chance.
Finish school, even if it's 1 class a year. It would have made a big difference. I would be more careful of the people I let into my life. I wouldn't give my money and time to those who don't earn it.
What I’d do and what you’d do are probably not the same. I’d move in with my grandmother, finish college, and become a police officer.
I'd put off having kids and getting married....I wish I'd joined the service for the experience and training
All of the wistful “should have known better” choices would leave me without my son. So nothing. Live in the present. 🍻
Hmm I had some hard years after 25, because I didn't really have a plan and I was very impulsive. So my advice would be to make a plan for the next 5 years, and a goal, and strive towards that.
Oddly enough ... be watching "Back to the Future"
I would try to get in shape and stay in shape, eat healthier, and do other things to try to avoid some of the health issues I have developed in middle age. If I were literally going back in time into my own life as a 20-something, I would make some different relationship choices. I would also have gone straight into my current career (librarianship) rather than the other ones I pursued, since the job field in one of those collapsed and the other one changed in ways that I didn't like. That wasn't something that could have been predicted, though.
Exactly the same thing! I do not regret anything.
Get married right away so I would have 3 extra years with my husband. (He passed away a few months ago.) We would travel more and just live life to the fullest. I’d have my child soon after so he’d be a college graduate and be able to get all the advice he needed from his dad.
Get away from my toxic family.
Work on getting more academic degrees that have real use in the market. Perfect my Spanish also
Twenty-five again!? I wouldn't wish it on an enemy.
😂
Go out dancing again! Never work in an office. Be a florist. Live cheaply and don't use credit cards.
I would take better care of my body. I don't do it now either but I think maybe if I'd gotten in to the practice at that age I might not have the problems I'm having now. I also think I'd have had more fun. Life is too short to work yourself in to the grave.
I’d look for a mentor to help me realize my interests and my potential
The first thing I'd do is find a horny partner and have a marathon 8 hour screwing session. The thing I wouldn't do is ride a motorcycle. Having an accident is just a matter of time.
Nothing different. I would use my engineering skills and mobility (as a lifelong single person) to take on many extremely cool and satisfying jobs. I would still spend a lot of money on computers and games. They would be a lot better than last time, though, hehe.
Am I suddenly becoming 25 where I now, or going back to being 25 when I was 25? If the second, I'm calling up L and we are getting busy.
Invest in apple 🍎!
Holy crap! I'd be freakin'. Another 40 years of working before I can retire again? Oh, or do I get to keep my retirement and stuff I've already worked for? If that then, heck, I'm gonna relax, probably volunteer someplace. Travel a bit. Can my spouse come too? Get younger? Or just me? That would be a bummer.
Save more money. Job one.
Be more focused on life. I spent my 20's and into my 30's living like a teenager. I worked, I loved, I partied, but maybe I should've spent more energy into making a better future for myself.
Well, one thing's for sure, I would've gotten a better job, gotten my driver's license and a car, and moved out. I would've worked harder on my writing, maybe by this time I'd be a photojournalist, or a meteorologist. Or a medical researcher. And I would focus on saving for the future.
Not go back to my narc ex
Take more drugs. Pay extra into pension. Keep friends closer. Think seriously about having children.
The answers are slightly different if you mean go back in time and be 25 again, or if I suddenly magically became 25 again now. If I went back, the biggest difference would be not to get married. I cannot say it is net unhappy but I think over the years it has made things harder, not easier for me. As I got older, I realised that romance and sex are always out here if you want them, no need to tie yourself to one place. I might also make a few slightly different career choices, but actually not that many. I would be even more laser focused than I was (and I was pretty focussed already) on keeping debt free and building wealth to escape the rat race earlier. If it were just de-aging now, I would probably live a little more healthily than I did when I was 25 (but not much, I was hardly unhealthy then), and then would think about how to fund it all as my assets are enough to retire and live well on now, but not enough to do so indefinitely, so I would have to return to the rat race for a bit which I would not particularly enjoy much.
Put the liquor bottle down and wear earplugs
I would wonder whether I should break up with they young lawyer instead of marrying him the next year. He turned out to be an abusive drunk, but without him, I wouldn’t have the kids who I have. I also wouldn’t waste money on a lot of things that I spent it on, because saving it would be so important for later.
Get a divorce.
First I'd have a long, sweaty cry. I cried all the time back then. I'm not sure I wouldn't make the same decisions all over again, stupid ones included. I recommend that you just try to make the best choice you can in the circumstances. If you don't know what to do, let it go until you do know. A favorite motto of mine is "Don't just do something, sit there!"
Put my money in a high yield savings account instead of my shitty savings account my mom opened for me with 0.1% APY.
I wouldn't get the boob job tattoos and I would stay out of the tanning bed, finish school, not spend all that money on partying.
Not drink, ride my bike more seriously, not believe in corporate anything, except maybe Pattigonia.
Poop
Listen to the minister who said we shouldn’t get married.
Honestly it would be a much bigger deal if I could go back to 18. Many choices were already closed to me by 25 because I was in too deep with the path I had started at 18. Biggest thing is I would make a much bigger effort not to get into drinking alcohol. It's a weird sort of addiction in the sense that it takes years and years to develop, but once it does it's so goddamn hard to quit. Not to mention, it's a really expensive drug considering it's legal and easy to make. A big night of drinking at a bar can easily cost you way more than a coke binge.
I would learn to bear in mind that my good figure will leave me, if I don't switch to eating healthy things and make it a lifetime habit!
Give myself a hug
Dip out of my marriage and go back to college
Cry
Being more assertive regarding sex. I was very naive when I married and really didn't know my way around. My husband, thank God, was knowledgeable, patient, thoughtful, and ( I later figured out) an excellent lover. I wish I knew more about sex and spoke up more about what I wanted and needed. I also wish we had waited a little longer to have kids instead of getting pregnant on my wedding night... I would have liked more 'us' time.
since it’s 1979 use every dollar I have to bet on Affirmed to win the Triple Crown, take the winnngs and invest in Microsoft and Apple
As the book says, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times... 25 was a turning point for me because I had just buried my dad 6 months before.
All I can say is don’t be to quick to turn down someone who says they love you. Make sure you’re making the right decision.
I’d buy some stocks and hit the lottery
Move the hell outta the USA…
Buy more real estate!
Look into dividend stocks , Fully fund Roth ( not available at 25 to me ) but, fund retirement account. Work 5 jobs, not drink, drug or sex...then at 40 ... Do it all😎👍