Have something in your closet appropriate to wear to a funeral.
Really! Funerals pop up at the most inconvenient times, and if you should find yourself in the position to have to go to one, the last thing you’ll want to be worrying about is trying to find something to wear. For a guy, a dark suit is best, but a blazer and dark pants will do. For a girl, a conservative dress or pants-suit is in order. Remember to have appropriate shoes. Conveniently, you can also wear these things to job interviews!
From my mom: You will never regret money spent on travel. You won’t remember a sweater or a couch in ten years, but you will remember a trip to Europe.
From the Dean at my undergraduate college: You do not have to be a financial success at 21. or 25. Or ever. It’s okay to do what you love, or to do something stupid for awhile. You’ve got your whole life to work and grow–you don’t need to insist on being on a career trajectory the first time you hit the job market. If you want to work in a potato chip factory for a while, then do. [All of this was a paraphrase except that last sentence, an actual quote].
Life is short and you don’t know how many 'tomorrow’s you have. If there are things you want do, experiences you want to have, places you want to go… the right time is NOW.
KRL x 3 works well. “KRL” stands for Knowledge, Respect, Love. You have to know, respect and love yourself before you can know, respect and love someone else, and before someone else can know, respect and love you.
Don’t borrow money, and save a buck now and then, for sure.
Never keep to a job you don’t like actually doing from day to day, no matter how much it pays. Forty hours is a lot of time to spend being unhappy, and it won’t get better with time. Quit. Get another job, doing something that feels better, even if it pays less.
Take a swing at it! Babe Ruth was strike out king, some years! If you have never failed, you are simply not trying hard enough stuff. Go for it!
Find something you want to do as a job, and get into doing it/getting an education for it (if applicable) right away. If you don’t like your job the rest of life isn’t going to be much fun, and most jobs require/prefer some sort of education.
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-Note that I didn’t say anything about making money here, that’s not the point. The point is to avoid getting stuck in a lousy job you hate, and not be qualified for any other type of job.
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Never declare yourself too old for something you want.
I can remember making decisions IN MY TWENTIES that, because my youth had passed me by already, made me not do things I’d love now to have tried.
In my twenties! Too old!! (Among these foolish decisions was getting married before I turned 30, when I would become an old man who no one would want to marry anymore. Huge mistake! Huge!)
Where your friends are concerned, neither a lender nor a borrower be. Really. Money complicates friendships, and therefore the two should remain entirely separate.
I’ll agree with the advice to travel. Two years ago, I took a trip to America and I can put my hand on my heart and say it was the best thing I ever did. Now I’m out of work and living off my savings, the £3000 that trip cost me would have come in very handy… but those memories are priceless, so who cares?!
Finally, my favourite mantra: If you can’t afford it, learn to accept that you just can’t bloody have it. Don’t get into debt because you feel you’re entitled to something you don’t have the money to pay for. Always worked for me :).