What would you do if you could start your life over from 19??

[xxThe_Lebowskixx]

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Well it wasn't that long ago but..

1. [censored] more college girls, I had a gf for too long.
2. I would change my major for sure.
3. Play more poker, I could have made so much if I wouldn't have spent so many nights in the bar.
4. Work less hours, I have never had a spring break trip before.
5. Work out so I wouldn't graduate from college such a fatty.

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not to criticize your quote specifically, but don't you guys think that you were trying to bang more girls back in the day, too? what makes you think your efforts would be any more fruitful now?

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most guys have some horrible memories of girls they could have had throughout their adolesence but were too much of a puss to make a move.

[FlyWf]

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You said "most Americans". Most Americans aren't paying 27%.

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Most Americans aren't 55, either. I still have no idea what point you're trying to make.

[mason55]

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it may still be sensible to save sure but it's tough to see how it would be the main thing in your life that you'd do differently. If so you haven't made many mistakes.

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saving more when you're younger is one mistake that can't be fixed though and can possibly have bigger long term consequences than any other mistake most people will make.

you brought up the point of your salary increasing by the time you're older... i'll use this example from motley fool:

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Looking at it another way, let's compare two teenagers and their lifetime savings habits. Bianca baby-sits a lot and spends most of her spare time reading. She saves $1000 a year starting when she's 15 and invests it in the stock market for 10 years earning 12% per year on average. After 10 years, she comes out of her shell, stops adding money to her nest egg, and spends every penny she earns club hopping and on trips to Cancun. But she keeps her nest egg in the market.

Compare her account to that of her friend Patrice, who squandered her early paychecks on youthful indiscretions. At age 40 Patrice gets a wake-up call when her parents retire on nothing but Social Security. She starts vigorously socking away $10,000 every year for the next 25 years. Guess who has more at age 65? That's right, Bianca. (You figured it was a setup, didn't you?) Her 10 years of saving $1000 per year (just $10,000 total -- the same amount Patrice put away in just one year) netted her $1.6 million by age 65. Patrice, on the other hand, scrimped for 25 years to invest a quarter million dollars out of her own pocket and ended up with just under a million.

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Yeah obviously they both have money but the money saved is going to have a much smaller impact on younger one even if you want to argue that their final points (1.6 mil vs 1 mil) are approximately equal.

not even taking into account tax advantages since $10k/year is too much for a tax deferred IRA

[Jamougha]

Mason,

those figures are crazy because they assume a 12% return. Sure you can find investments that return that much, providing you have access to hindsight. But they're not a realistic representation of your expectation.

If you assume 7% then Bianca ends up with 225k vs 676k. 9% and it's 518k vs 923k.

Also that's ignoring inflation. Assume 3% - lower than historical trends by far. After 25 years the value of the dollar has halved. After 40 years it's down to less than one-third. In real terms it's like a 15 yo is saving $1k/year and a 40 yo saving $5k/year when each starts, and $1k vs $3k when they finish.

That's a really bad, slanted article.

[Jamougha]

Also,

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saving more when you're younger is one mistake that can't be fixed though and can possibly have bigger long term consequences than any other mistake most people will make.

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If you get to 50 and haven't made any provision for retirement then yes, but you're 24.

[gisb0rne]

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Mason,

those figures are crazy because they assume a 12% return. Sure you can find investments that return that much, providing you have access to hindsight. But they're not a realistic representation of your expectation.

If you assume 7% then Bianca ends up with 225k vs 676k. 9% and it's 518k vs 923k.

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How do you possibly only earn 7% on a long term investment?

[Hollywade]

I would keep going in math rather than deciding to major in English. I would play baseball in college. I would also try harder to find work in the summer during my college years. Also, transfer to a college that I could not commute to.

[amplify]

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How do you possibly only earn 7% on a long term investment?

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taxes? dumb investing? real estate in New Orleans?

[sunnycalifornia]

so almost everyone seems to agree that they would go for more girls. what exactly does that mean? im a freshman in college right now and i go to a college thats rated by playboy as having an A for girls (for example, arizona state/arizona got a A+). i go to frat parties and [censored] and see lots of drunk girls that i could potentially take advantage of but its kind of disgusting when i think about it.

is that what you guys mean?

[SoloAJ]

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not to criticize your quote specifically, but don't you guys think that you were trying to bang more girls back in the day, too? what makes you think your efforts would be any more fruitful now?

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fluff,

cuz most guys are clueless at 19, and dont really learn how to pick up women until they get older. Many of them (espeicially us nerdy types) hadnt had much (if any) sex at all at that age, and for many they hadnt even had much experience with dating at 19.

Also, as is the case for a lot of people, their first real relationship goes on for WAAAAAAAY too long. They end up with some girl for 2 or 3 years (or god forbid even longer) that in hindsight after a lot more experience they realize they shouldnt have dated for longer than 6 months. so they missed out on a huge chunk of time where they could have been chasing tail.

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Alobar,

For some reason, I felt a moment of clarity reading your post. Thanks sir.