At almost 33 I’m finally getting some perspective. One of the big lessons of my 20s was that most of the advice I got from older people from childhood on (that I ignored of course) was pretty good.
Now that I am teachable, tell me, what did you spend your 30s figuring out that you wish you’d known sooner?
Go back and attempt the things you failed at in your teens and 20s, because of lack of maturity (in my case, a university degree).
Your energy and stamina wont be as great in your 40s, so do it NOW!
Don’t buy new cars. Don’t maintain credit card debt. Invest at least a couple of hundred bucks a month, like clockwork.
Man, what a couple of great responses. My body kinda started to fall apart right around 40. I used it kinda hard up til then, and got some unambiguous signals that I had better slow down a thing or two. But in my late 30s, I was in the best shape of my life – fighting competitively and working out with guys ½ my age. So if there is ANYTHING physical you want to do, do it now. You won’t get a better chance. And as far as vanity is concerned, tho you won’t turn into a troll as you pass 4 decades, you sure won’t be “young” anymore.
Big second to the idea of not mortgaging your future. It is great to be adult, comfortable with yourself, and have the financial freedom to do some things you want to.
However, I must temper that by saying, don’t always put things off in order to save for tomorrow. And don’t try to figure out the “perfect time” to do things. The perfect time never comes, and too many people experience changes in their circumstances such that they never get to do the things they were planning on. Worst thing would be to be old and decrepit with a pile of money and regrets.
One of the hardest things about the 30s is to realize you are not the person you were when you were younger – say in college. Just because you used to do a certain thing all the time with a certain group of people when you were 21, doesn’t mean you have to keep doing the same thing. And at times you have to recognize that you grow apart from people who you were tremendously close to in an earlier stage of your life. That doesn’t make you a bad person.
Finally, be comfortable with making the choices that are right for you. Play life by YOUR rules. You do not need to look to a social group for affirmation. That, IMO, is the best lesson I have learned about maturity. Decide who you are or who you want to be, and take the steps necessary to get there. Tho you have a few years behind you, you hopefully have even more to go.
I’m 37. And I really needed to hear that. Thanks guys.
Forever doesn’t necessarily mean forever, and that’s okay. If you don’t yet know what you want, figure it out and then go after it.
One more thing - at the risk of sounding exactly like the pig that I am, don’t believe the crap you hear about women becoming over-the-hill past a certain age. Was just down in Fla, and while those pretty young coeds on the beach were mighty fine to look at, I know that I truly would prefer the company of the many intelligent sexy women I know in their 4th, 5th, and 6th decades. (Maybe part of it is realizing that the young lovelies pay no more attention to my form than to a piece of smelly detritus washed up with the tide …) But in addition to remaining physically attractive, the mature woman has had the time and experiences to become intellectually stimulating in ways not available to most younger folk.
Any of you women wanna complain about not being noticed? Come sit over here right next to me. I’ll notice you, yes indeedy! 
Lessons from my 30’s:
a) you really ARE going to die - sooner than you think. Do the math - it is depressing (for a while)
b) regrets come in two flavors:
c) Time is getting short for you to become who, what, and where you want to be - get crackin’!
d) If you are going to nest, and haven’t done so yet, or, even if you are NOT going to nest - BUY something - rents will continue to go up. Mortgages don’t (or do so very little). I could not afford to rent my home, let alone but it at current rates.
e) If you think Social Security (US) is going to provide you with a tolerable life, think again - start saving NOW.
f) Avoid beepers. Alarm clocks too - they ruin your day. (personal peeve)
g) ENJOY! This is the only life most of are REALLY sure we get - when it’s over, you don’t get to say “NO! That was only a PRACTICE life”
h) Turn off the damned computer, go out, and have a life!
When it comes to massive idealistic and ideologically-driven projects, you may accomplish just as much sleeping in the sun like a happy cat as you would by tilting at windmills, and sleeping in the sun is considerably more pleasant.
You don’t have to do anything. You don’t even have to live, and if you forego suicide after having decided that neither you nor the world itself are as they should be, you may as well consider this life to be an “accidental freebie” – you don’t have to do anything with it, it’s yours to waste, ruin, or have fun with as you see fit. Quick kicking yourself.
If you look up one day and see an opportunity to actually strike down an evil windmill, you can stretch and yawn like a lazy cat waking up from a nap in the sun and nonchalantly grab your old lance and impale it and no one will be expecting it. It’s a lot more effective than storming around trying to be Don Quixote.
You’ve known for awhile that forty isn’t all that old. You’re starting to realize sixty isn’t old either. Eighty is still old but you’re starting to realize that in a couple decades eighty won’t look so old either. Or maybe you’re starting to realize that you yourself are going to be an old person in real life, in this life, and you start looking forward to it the way you used to look forward to being a grownup when you were a kid.
Don’t wait to have children. It’s harder on the body as you get older.
Don’t wait to take the ‘grand tour’. If it is important to you, take the plunge.
Don’t forget to let your family know you appreciate them. They will be changing faster than you know.
Check the rear-view. Jeans are not for everyone forever.
Stop using pre-printed cards and get some proper writing paper–you are a grown-up now.
You regret things you don’t do about a million times more than what you do. Mistakes can be corrected, often missed opportunities cannot.
Take care of your body. It’s all you got. Sleep, eat, exercise, avoid drink & drugs. All the stuff they tell you to do, do.
Money is cheap. Someone is always willing to pay you to do something you are willing to do.
Everyone’s life has problems all the time. That’s no excuse for anything.
Don’t worry about the future. Deal with things when they get here. You can’t deal with the imaginery, and real things are never so bad.
Watch the news and read newspapers. Follow the news. I’m appalled at how little some people know about 9/11.
Start enjoying what you’ve got, rather than wanting what you don’t have.
Get some humility. Have a truer understanding of both your faults and your virtues.
Learn to differentiate between things you can and can’t control. You can’t control other people, places, or things. You can control your own response to other people, places, and things.
Never give up your health for money. Too much noise rapes your hearing. Too much occupational chemical ruins your lungs, or worse. Too much repetitive motion kills your hands, and your plans to learn to play the guitar go right down the drain. Too much football, or even softball, and you’re looking at knee surgery and flashes of pain:eek: at least once a week while you’re doing something ordinary.
When you start looking at retirement, you’ll start saying, “man! I wish I had worked more overtime when I younger.”
Working to make a marriage work is a whole lot cheaper than paying lawyers and ex-spouses.
If you want to gamble, do it on Wall Street. Over the course of several decades, I have had a few bad years, but I have NEVER lost my entire bet. Never. Try and find somebody who went to Las Vegas or Atlantic City who can say that.