I have just turned 22 and looking to see what some of the older members wish they knew when they were 22.
I know a lot of you will say you wish you had an ozbargain around when you were 22!
What You Wish You Knew at 22
spacebanana on 22/09/2015 - 12:20
Comments
Gambling isn't for me at all, given it a go but it was nothing special.
What I can't understand are people who feed pokies all day, it is a computer that is designed to take your money.Actually those people who have glorious win temporarily is the technique that casino developed.
They might do it on purpose sometimes to encourage people to be pokie addict.This is the source of conversion from normal people to become people who chase these fake "reward"
And this is how most casino make their source of income from these few people
"I will win at the end, no worries. If I win I can cover all of the expense and get more"They end up paying more because they didn't overlook their equity (how much they spend to get that reward)
Perhaps gambling is good because it feel so much rewarding (psychologically feel damn good) if you can control yourself after you win these rewardsLimit your budget by $50 if you about to play. Set the limit of how much you will spend and try not to cover all the money you lost (expense)
Just think about it for the expense of having that adrenaline / fun of gambling
I wish I took it more seriously when someone told me - you can't turn back the clock.
Take care of people you love. You can't do that when they're no longer around.
Money only lives once. If you spend it, you kill it. You might get more later, but the ones you spent are dead. Keep it alive though, and it will give birth to more money that will also belong to you, which in turn will also reproduce. Use your money to buy the right things for long enough, and your money will reproduce to the point that your living costs become negligible.
Don't waste your money on crap. Use it wisely for your freedom.
Appreciate and take care of your health at all costs. Once you lose that you lose it all. Enjoy the simple things in life such as going for a walk, friends etc. We never imagine horrific events can occur that can totally change the course of life. Things that stress you now you will look back on and wonder why you were even worried. Good luck for the future and realise you have vast potential only limited by ones own fear. Unfortunately it could take some lessons to learn this, hopefully not permanent ones. Play the system, don't let the system play you.
Some good advice here in this thread. A lot of it practical. Here is another piece of practical advice, I think I heard it as a quote from some old people when asked if they lived their life over, what would they do differently:
"look after your teeth"
might seem like something small and insignificant, but I agree with them, relatively easy to do, but expensive and painful repercussions if you don't.
[ie. floss daily!]
So true.
I wish at 22 I knew that it wasn't a good idea to kill all those solo backpackers in South America.
Seriously though I was lucky enough to find a good mentor at around 22 that instilled a heap of wise teachings in me that I still use to this day, many of them in fact are still manifesting and reappearing as I become ready in my early thirties.
If I could pass on any advice regarding what it is you should learn in your early 20's it would be some of the following:
Learn about energy fields, charkras, the power of prayer and anything divine.
Study history, ancient texts, religious books and the creation of democracy.
Learn criticle thinking, lateral thinking, manifestation and mandarin.
Learn tai chi, nutrition, how the muscles work and sports science.
Also learn some party tricks like dancing, acting and how to play an instrument.
Above all else though OP and as mentioned before: Read, Read, Read.
Spelling is also a critical skill.
That's not critical in online forums.
Just read through some of your comments steamtrain, you don't really walk the line between funny and crude very well do you !?.
Oh i dunno - i had a little fun typing that.
Hell, it made me laugh, and that's the important thing.I went to Tassie in a car once, and when i came off the ferry there was this chick handing out some stuff, and i wound my window down and said "Hey, you don't have two heads!".
That made me laugh too, though i may have been straddling several lines there…Thanks for cyber-stalking me BTW - makes me feel special.
Hang on, backpackers in South America??
You should talk…
If you a gym rat after highschool. Don't give in to beer and fun eating time. All these years wasted I could have guns right now.
You sure it was the beer and not the chicken adobo?
You need the right balance. Work hard and play hard. You need to enjoy your youth while you have it, but also now is the time you can set yourself up for life. Stay with your parents as long as you can, but property and rent it out, then use the collateral in that house to buy the next. Plan to buy at least 1 property every couple of years. Don't buy what you want to live in, but what you can afford. Do renovations yourself.
I wish I knew enough to see real estate agents coming.
If they write 'Clean, no issues' on the condition report, it's dirty and has issues.
Some great advice here.
I would like to add a few things, be decisive and confident in what you do and what you want to do. Never doubt your ability to succeed. Don't worry about failing and always think positive. If something bad happens, it's okay, keep going forward and think positive.
Apply this in all aspects of your life.
I used to be negative and never progressed when I was 18-21, as soon as I changed my attitude, becoming positive, everything went up.
Tell yourself, what's the advantages of being negative? Of course reflect, but if you want to reach high, be positive and never doubt yourself. It really works, it's not fluff, but you have to back yourself.
Also, another big point is, when you're having arguments with your wife/husband/family member etc, don't end it on a bad note, resolve it before the day has ended. It's tough to not want to argue and attack, take the other approach, it's better to waste the day then a few weeks not talking. Hug them and see it from their point of view. Never stop learning and improving yourself. Be open to opinions.
I'd like to add, I have always been behind with investing, stocks, property, business etc. Never really understood how to get ahead in this game. I know I want to buy a house soon, but is that it? Is there some secret book everyone reads? Not sure.
There is no secret to investing, it's just another skill to learn so pick up an investing book and start reading or watch some youtube videos to start thinking about it, what I've found is what keeps people out of investing is negativity, they've heard this one story about someone losing all their money so they never invest ever.
Stay at home and start saving your arse off for a deposit on property. Really wish I'd done that properly.
I wish I didn't lend money to my ex-GF for her study back then (as she didn't repay and I was in debt for about a year)…
Have a read on this article too, pretty good: Top 10 Things About Money Everyone Should Know http://lifehacker.com/top-10-things-about-money-everyone-sho…
Whats with people in relationships making dumb decisions! Pure gold digger she sounds like.
I wish I knew at 22 how important a profession would be
Could you please explain this?
Did you follow a passion that didn't work out?
that the silver screen was only for beauty queens.
Stop (profanity) that chick before she
Was able to lie to you about being her kids dad for 3 yearsNot worthing wasting time wallowing in despair
Its better and important to work towards goals instead of doing everything on the fly
Roll anything but a priest in WoW. Maybe avoid WoW all together
Learn to budget and stick to it
Challenge myself to complete something and see it through to the end. Then do it again with something more difficult
Don't sleep with women you work with
Learn & use more practical skills
Avoid debt
Learn to realise when you are abusing meaningless distractions
Priests suck shit. I played one throughout the whole of Pandaria. Apart from being OP in raids and PVP as a disc priest, rest of the specs were awful and shadow priests were absolutely bad in both PVP and PVE. Single target dps was a joke.
I played Draenor on and off. I don't think I'll ever go back. It's so boring..
Cant help but smile at the fact that out of all the things i mentioned. It was the Wow comment that got the reply haha
Agree with you. Dont play WoW, it is as addictive as drugs for the young and weak-minded!
Seems funny, reading advice for 22 yr olds coming from 26 yr olds…… that 4 years must make a big difference.
It's also funny contemplating the important things in life, from a site filled with offers of largely unnecessary trinkets…. An inadvertant temple to consumerism.
I'm a bit older than many on here, well past my 'half way stage' of life. I think one of the most important things to remember, is…. we do this only once…. we don't get a lot of time to do it…. and it can end at any time. Make the most of it.
And, in the words of the late, great Joe Strummer……. "without people…. you're nothing"Live your life and enjoy freedom before you have kids. I'm 45 and still feel trapped. When I was 22 I had cats with high vet bills - just the same as having kids. Travel, explore, have fun before responsibilities.
Read (nicer to listen to in audible) anything by David Bach - they are books about "finishing rich". Just how to make money, and if you start at 22 you have a great advantage. I've just finished "start late, finish rich".
At 22, I already had 2 degrees,a tiny little flat,some money in the bank account,a job I loved and was married to the woman of my dreams. I had it all. Fast forward 10 years and my life sucks. I'll spare you the details but the gist is that there's no guarantees in life. So my advice would be :
- Who you are is what makes you special.Don't change for anyone.
- What lies ahead will always be a mystery. Don't be afraid to explore.
- When life pushes you over, push back harder.
- Where there are choices to make, make the one that you won't regret.
- Why things happen will never be certain.Take it in stride and move forward.
That's about it.
I'm sorry your life sucks :(
Sending you e-support and happiness.
Don't regret anything since 22. Between 17 and 22 however….
Missed travelling. I wanted to make life practical and to have good property at the end, not just waste years in backpacking. Yes, I missed out lots of fun in life and now I am stuck with lots of debts and installments here and there for my future.
I wish I focused less on studying and more at developing life skills. And I wish I had a hobby!
Ozbargaining is a hobby
It is for JV,TA, and EC. I'm not as passionate as them
Great thread…!
I'm nearly 40. I could have appreciated what I had more and been nicer to the friends/family that were around me. I've gradually grown into a different person from when I was 22. Same also goes for the people that used to be around me.
Below are the things I would have told the 22 years old me:
1) Be happy with where you are. A young person sacrifices their health to gain wealth. An old person spends their fortune in the hopes to regain just a portion of the health of their youth.
2) Learn to be yourself. Distinguish what is you and what influences you. Is it culture or family upbringing? There is a common saying “We buy things we don't need, with money we don't have, to impress people we don't like.”.
3) By far "THE" most important social skill is be a good listener. Closely followed by empathy.
4) Almost everything in your life will require you to work in a team. So make sure to develop your people skills.
5) Don't be afraid to fail. The quicker you get the failing over and done with, the quicker you can do something else. When you do fail or encounter hardships there is always something you can learn from it. (eg. love relationship, friendship betrayal, a bad investment, failed religion).
6) There's no reason to feel self conscious or shy. People aren't thinking about you. According to psychology texts most people are too busy thinking of themselves to be thinking about you.
7) Hate only harms you. The other person isn't even thinking of you.
8) Nobody's perfect. You won't believe how better things will seem once you accept this. Be easy on yourself. Live and let live.
9) Everybody does not think like you. You aren't short but that doesn't mean Short man syndrome does not exist. Same for Tall poppy syndrome.
10) Humans don't make decisions rationally, they make them emotionally! Additionally, people "DEFINITELY" don't say what they mean (eg. I am scared, anxious, jealous, competitive). Save your breath arguing rationally. Instead exercise your listening skills.
Should have bought my family friends home in Glen Waverley- It basically is in the Glen Waverley HS catchment area and the block size is around 800m2.
He offered it to me for 200K, this was only 15 years ago!
I will go it alone here…
Have fun but do not hurt any one along the way including your self!
Try to find your self and figure out your self out before you try to settle down with some one.
Some times love isn't enough!
You will loose friends no matter what! but some times its for the better we choose friends a lot different the older we get!
Try to save the bigger life decisions until your older or at least until you feel ready!
Remember you will read this and not take the advise but life is a journey and we learn from our mistakes so embrace them.
Last but not least i wish i knew all IFBB pros where on steroids and almost every fitness celebratory that you see!
If you don't ask, you don't get.
Great thread. I am currently turning 21. All I can suggest is that, get out more. Try to live independently. This helped me a lot and I experienced the good and the bad sides of the society and how to manage them. Always keep in touch with your parents, as they are you strongest ally.
Also, try to be positive and cheerful. Definitely live life like you will die tomorrow and take smart risks. We are young, so we don't have much to loose.
Try and make good friends and get a girl friend. Life will just be a lot more fun. You wont get your youth back. Loneliness is a man's biggest enemy. If your lonely now, there is a high chance you will be lonely in the future.
Lastly, try to build up your image. Improve your dress style, speaking skills and your general personality (outgoing and friendliness). First impressions make a huge different. It is important to get this skills ASAP as they can help you both socially and professionally. Society favors extroverts. DO NOT LET THEM STEREOTYPE YOU !!
Source: Personal experiences. Although I have mentioned the above, I still dont have any friends, gf and stay by myself lol. A lot of my peers hated me and this really helped me look at myself and develop myself. I just was not given a chance, people stereotyped me very quickly and tried to push me down. I have had a tough time with society, even though I have a large heart and help others. All I can hope is for the tide to change in my favor one day lol.
Things seem tough when you are young. The best thing I can tell you is that hardship builds character.
Also, be careful what you wish for. Read the other posters comments and you'll find a pattern of advice about painful and short marriages.
Your experiences will help you to better sympathise + empathise with others. I assure you that the situation changes. As one ages they are exposed to more people, they gain wisdom and can better read people. You'll find at age 50 that people are cautious not to stereo type, instead they are intrigued to meet people with depth and character (especially the ladies).
Don't take this the wrong way but you really haven't experienced much at 21. School life is very different to outside life. At school it is easy to meet new acquaintances and even easier to discard them. There is no incentive to think long term relationship, being considerate or getting to know people. Being shallow, offensive and shooting from the hip is what most youngsters are like. For those that keep this up they WILL be alone and/or insecure when they are older.
If you don't believe me that life will be different then think about it logically. You will have been in school for the ages 6 to 21. 67 is the retirement/pension age for a male in Australia. Average life expectancy will be close to 80. That means you have not even lived a third of life and all of that was in school.
Loneliness and depression is a serious issue in Australia. This is not the case in other countries. I've travelled overseas and realised that other places have a sense of community. I visited one of my university friends in Jakarta Indonesia and he literally knew everybody in his city block, they had been family friends/neighbours for multiple generations!
Definitely, agree with you in this regard.
What I was suggesting to the OP is to enjoy life currently and try to build up your personality and character to the best of the ability. Doing this, can definitely end up improving your current and future life. We all need to make the best of the current situation as it is, even if it means interacting with the shallow youngsters - no point in waiting till you become older.
During high school and University, I was always deprived of opportunity due to negative stereotyping. People assumed me as a nerdy type and were not even trying to interact/converse with me. We were all extroverts but society was forcing us to be introverts.
Add to that, I was even deprived of the opportunity of joining sporting and social clubs (despite being a top of the line sportsman). I needed to be 10x better than an average individual to be even given a consideration. Moreover, I had amassed a number of extra-curricular activities - Cadets, volunteering etc more so than an average individual. All of this meant nothing due to a negative first perception.
A friend of mine, similar to me had the exact same problem. He decided to change himself. He chucked out his glasses, changed his hair style, wore street shirts from T-shirts and skate shoes (from sports shoes). The effects were dramatic. He had a very positive social response and was even scoring 9/10's.
Hence, my suggestion to the OP is that avoid being the negative stereotype that our society has, as it can get you a long way both socially and professionally.
The biggest financial committment in your life is who you marry (if you are that way inclined - i recommend), whatever you do, whatever material investment you buy will halve in value if you divorce, so I would suggest work on finding a life partner. the rest of life is window dressing, travel etc. You will likely grow old and it is nice to have someone to travel with or just have a cup of tea. By partnering right you can have kids earlier and hence have a chance of meeting/playing with your grandkids when you are old/infirm. If you leave it till you are in 40's (both males and females) it is likely you will be dead if your children follow a similar pathway to you, that is if you can still have kids- so expand your mind and a uterus. Every relationship you have before you finally settle will be a memory that you can't share or update on your social media. your photo album of life will only start when you are partnered, else everything else before will be like living in a metered parking zone -its time limited and then you move on. Work on what gives you happiness and contentment. A peaceful life is underrated by those in the west.
Nice post peterw1!
How does one become extroverted?
Get along with others. Be thankful, be grateful, be interested in them. Emotional intelligence. Expect the best of others, and let them know your dreams. People are drawn to help others who have a clarity of purpose.
That gearbest would take over 3 months to send my item and not to buy from them
Follow a simple weight/power lifting or bodybuilding program. You only have to spend 30-60 minutes 3-4 hours a week. You don't have to go crazily hard. Just be consistent. You won't see results quickly but it'll accumulate over time, over years, it will pay off.
I'd prefer to have been able to tell myself that at 14 but even 22 would have been an improvement. Didn't really figure that out until I was 31.
If anyone reads this and thinks it sounds like a good idea a simple program to start with is Stronglifts. After you start hitting linear progression walls or your workouts are taking too long switch to 5/3/1 BBB. You can switch around to other programs as you get bored.
A normal person running these programs casually without pushing themselves won't get particularly muscular. If you want to get "big" you have to put in a huge amount of effort and seriously control your diet, do bulking and cutting cycles, blah blah blah. If you don't do all that you'll just be stronger and fitter than you'd otherwise be. You'll just feel better.
thanks a lot man! I got into going to the gym around 12 months ago and been quite happy with how I have progressed. No incredible results, but still feels good to see change.
I also find this improves my general happiness too, espcaially working an office job. Feels great letting off steam in the gym!Thanks for the links, I will definitely check them out when I get home :)
When I was 22yr old I thought I knew it all, but you really don't. There is so much to learn about this world. You really have no idea.
I (like quite a few ozbargainers) worked really hard at uni. I could look back and say "I regret working so hard", but that's just my style — so I don't regret it. I sometimes see pictures of happy young people on Facebook backpacking around Europe. However even if I delayed uni, I wouldn't have magically become social and outgoing.
So, do I regret where I am or what decisions I've made? Nah. I've gotta spend more time looking ahead rather than hoping for "what might have been"
What i wish i knew at 22:
The price of everything is determined by Supply and Demand. Theories like 'you get what you pay for' and 'if it seems to good to be true it probably is' are made up my people that dont understand supply and demand and like to hide behind a phrase. Understand the fundamentals and they show the path to where the money is
Everything we buy, use and crave was invented by somebody no smarter than you. I used to assume there was a 'place' or 'destiny' for me and that i fit into a particular pigeon hole. There were certain things I could not even imagine doing etc. Reality is that the people that know this thinking is BS are the people that get ahead. Most people can be and achieve whatever they want to, the question normally is whether they are prepared to pay the cost to get there or whether they find it easier to hide behind an excuse.
You make your on luck through hard work
Napoleon once said: 'time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted' apply this to your everyday life. How easy is it to spend 10 mins on the internet researching something before you commit.
The deal of a lifetime happens every 20 mins. I used to think i had missed the boat because I hadnt bought property in the 80's or a particular share before it went crazy. Guess what…..these things happen all the time. Pick yourself up, understand what went wriong and go again. Einstein once said that success was 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.
Sometimes it is about working smarter not harder. I have a relative that works a gruelling blue collar job. Guy is up at dawn and works his @rse off for pretty average pay. he often jokes about how easy i have it with a desk job. I earn maybe a few times what he does. I work smarter not necessarily harder.
At 22 I wish I'd:
1) Had better financial sense and understanding of how money stuff works
2) Been tighter than the average OzBer
3) Known that hanging around with wasters turns you into one also.
4) Listened to my Dad
5) Not wasted cash on crappy cars and crappy possessions.
6) Knew what women wanted (still don't know this one for sure)
7) Saved 10% of my take home salary each month.
8) Not been such an ass and thought I knew everything - I still don't know much at all.
9) Spent more time chasing girls rather than getting wasted
10) PlannedThere's more words of wisdom as well, but those 10 will do for now.
Things I learnt at 22 which have served me well:
(1) relationships don't have to be hard. Drama doesn't = excitement. If you are arguing before marriage and kids - run.
(2) always set up a "running away" account. It doesn't have to be much bond money and small set up costs. You may never have to use it but I see so many people who are blindsided by life and have no backup plan. I started mine with some bank shares at 21 and just keep dividend reinvesting . At the start I would have had a basic bond now 20 years later I could runaway and have rent for a year at least.
(3) there is always going to be someone richer, smarter or prettier than you so don't compare yourself to others. Just try and be the best you.
(4) most "lucky" people you see have worked really hard to be "lucky". The "luck" will come from doing something that you enjoy so it doesn't seem that hard.4 excellent points.
Never gamble, including games of perceived skill such as poker. The house always wins, you cannot beat the odds. If you meet someone who boasts how much they're winning, they are either lying by omitting their losses or part of the few top percent of gamblers who do manage to get rich. You won't be one of them. Don't even try.