The 3 Things I Would Tell my Younger Self About Money

This question came up in a Facebook group last week and it really got me thinking, so I wanted to share my thoughts with you!

I’ll start this off by saying the younger version of me had no idea about money and spent no time thinking about the future. While I didn’t shy away from hard work, and started my first job at 15, I never gave any thought to saving or what I could do with my money to set my future self up for success.

If I could go back, I could tell my younger self:

1 - Don’t blow all your money! Save for your future! Save at least 25% of your paycheques, even better, save 50%! It will still leave you plenty of money to blow!

I worked every weekend and STAT holiday, usually 4 hours on Friday and 8 hours each on Saturday and Sunday. I also worked 40+ hours a week all summer. I had such a huge opportunity, but saved exactly $0 from each paycheque! I blew all my money on unhealthy food (hello cafeteria french fries and cookies), clothes, and other random shit (including ‘fancy’ flip phones - at one point I had a pink Razor - so cool, right??). Looking back, I can clearly see that I spent my money trying to make others happy and impress them.

Saving part of my income as soon as I started working would have meant that I didn’t need to start borrowing money for things like my first car. This would have meant so much to me long term.

2 - Don’t get a loan for every damn thing you want to buy! If you want to buy something bad enough, save up for it! I’ll say it again louder, SAVE UP FOR SHIT!!

Looking back I can clearly see how much money I wasted paying interest on things I didn’t really need. I got loans for bedroom furniture, a mattress (mostly because it came with a ‘free’ TV), a couch (before we even had a house) and of course my first car. It was pretty ridiculous actually. The companies I got these items from made it so easy to buy now and pay later. I didn’t know any better, but now I do. I hear and see the commercials today geared to getting you in debt and I can clearly see what they are up to. They are so good at what they do!

Being fully transparent here, I still have most of the things I got loans for. Current me knows that I paid way too much for these items because of the interest, so I will likely keep them until they fall apart.

3 - Invest time learning about investing and how to manage my money well. Learn how to build a plan for your money and save for your future. The most important thing, that budgeting goes so far beyond building a plan. Find ways that work for you to stay on track with your budget!!

Long before I got fired we had a budget, but every single month we had pretty big credit card bills that were for items outside of the plan. We weren’t really living on a budget. We were very much winging it with our money! If you’re ready to start making a plan for your money but aren’t sure where to start, CLICK HERE to get my free budget template!!

You’ve heard this saying before, ‘Hindsight is 20/20’! So I wanted to be able to share with you today all the things I wish I had known when I was younger. If I can help you make changes from the lessons I have learned that’s a huge win!

What is something that you wish your younger self had known about money?