8 Mistakes to Avoid in Your 20s
Jun 19, 2019 • Kyzia Maramara
Your 20s is a crucial period in your life where the foundation for your future is being laid out. Also, you’ll never be as young as you are in this moment, so it’s considered as a decade of your life where you have the license to live to the fullest. But keep in mind that your decisions and actions in these years will define your life in the next few decades. While each person’s life is different, try your hardest to avoid these mistakes 20-somethings always commit.
Spending a lot on alcohol and other vices
Sure, it’s fun to spend almost every weekend in your 20s hammered and hung over. Other than the fact that it’s tiring and not good for your health or money, it can get old quick. Actively choose instead to spend your money on things that would improve your work skill or gain you powerful connections. Investing in your future is important; a truckload of empty beer bottles and a bit of ashes in your lungs maybe fun, but everything in moderation is more prudent.
Buying items on a whim
Those retail shops know how the minds of young adults work. They drop new clothing lines and gadgets and announce massive sales on salary week because they know we’re a weak species. At the end of the day, these stores aren’t the enemy – your impulsive ass is. Do yourself a favor, the next time you see an item that is begging you to buy it, consult your financial track record first and ask yourself if you will die within the next few hours if you don’t purchase it. If the answer is no, walk away.
Sticking to a job you don’t like anymore
A job is like an unhealthy relationship, if the only reason you’re sticking around is just that you’re comfortable and familiar with the environment, maybe it’s time to go. Even after a number of years, your job should still be teaching you something new and letting you acquire more skills. If you wake up every day unhappy and unmotivated, you could either turn that situation around or look for a new workplace. Try to get as much experience work-wise in your 20s as possible.
Traveling
Traveling everywhere might look good on your Instagram feed, but you know your wallet has different ideas. More often, traveling is a luxury where you spend time and money you don’t have to scratch an itch. Most millennials fall into the over-romanticized notion of escaping their ‘suffocating’ work life. If you have the money for it, why not? But if you’re earning a living making ends meet, it’s wiser to focus on building your career first and saving enough money. Everything else will follow in the end. Besides, traveling is sweeter not worrying about your credit card.
Rushing to fall in love and ending with broken relationships
Staying single in a society where it’s highly encouraged to date at least 10 people before you settle down is a challenge. In your 20s, you’re still maturing, and you need to focus on your own needs. Getting in a relationship means hitching your wagon with another’s (perhaps someone who’s still also in the process of maturing).
Cultivate friendship instead, and once you’re stable emotionally (maybe also financially), embark on the journey of love. And if you pick a person, please don’t pick someone because you want to ‘change’ them. It’s never worth the effort.
Not saving money
The best time to save money is not in your late 40s or when you’re about to retire; it’s the moment you land a job. Ideally, each person should have a savings account and an emergency fund that’s three times their current salary to tide them over in case things go awry. But you should be saving up for a bigger goal: retirement. Store a fixed amount of money every payday: you won’t die if you won’t get a sip of milk tea every once in a while.
Neglecting to spend quality time with your family
It’s a fast-paced life you’re living in your 20s, some are still pursuing degrees in universities, busy with their own relationships, or venturing into the workforce for the first time. We’re kept in a never-ending loop of deadlines and personal matters that we brush aside the people who matter most to us.
In your 20s, your parents could be a great help if only you confided in them enough and trusted in their wisdom. If your schedules aren’t compatible (you arrive late at night and wake up late with everybody already gone) then make an effort to change it. Spend your weekdays with your family or you’ll notice the years flying by and it’ll be too late to grow with them.
Worshiping that credit card
Thinking that you can have anything in the world because of that little plastic card in your pocket is a dangerous way to live. Sure all it takes is one swipe and those brand new kicks are yours, but remember, you’re going to pay for it eventually! There are a lot of people buried under mountains of credit card bills; it literally took them years to pay off their loans, and for what? Clothes that will go out of style? Food you’ll digest in a few hours?
Sure, it will make you feel good for a spell. But it’s not worth the grief of being in debt for years, long after your 20s has passed.
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