# What are the things I should know before I hit 20? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 23, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038 "2013-12-23T21:22:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/21 "2013-12-24T13:13:53Z")
Leave no witnesses. ---
**Author:** ![ASGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@ASGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/22 "2013-12-24T13:18:31Z")
You can’t live on Sugar Mountain. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/23 "2013-12-24T14:15:46Z")
Dye your hair fun and crazy colors now, because you won’t be able to get away with it in 5-10 years. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/24 "2013-12-24T14:40:10Z")
Ayn Rand was a selfish, repetitive, hypocritical crank. Impress your friends by having already come to that realization well before they do. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/25 "2013-12-24T14:46:54Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > — Robert Heinlein, [Time Enough for Love](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Enough_for_Love) > > Master only one of those by age 20. You have another ten years after that to master all of the rest. Ideally not change a diaper. If there’s any piece of advice to give before you turn 20, it would be to use condoms. Children that early would seriously and irrevocably change your life’s trajectory, probably in a way that you wouldn’t want. So would STDs, although potentially in a lesser way than children. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/26 "2013-12-24T14:51:03Z")
Things I wished I had known when I was 20. [ul] [li]God doesn’t care. (Assuming he exist, which he doesn’t)[/li][li]It isn’t worth the hassle & pain. (“It” can be anything)[/li][li]Life sucks, then you die.[/li][/ul] **Merry Christmas!** ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/27 "2013-12-24T15:21:46Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Ideally not change a diaper. You don’t have to have children of your own to need to know how to change a diaper. I was an old hand at it before I was 10. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/28 "2013-12-24T15:23:51Z")
> [@Doctor\_Why\_Bother](#): > > One of the most useful things you can ever learn is how to file your own paperwork. Get a bunch of folders, one for each area of your life that generates paper (mortgage, utilities, credit cards etc…) and file away everything you receive in date order. Seriously, you will not believe how useful this will turn out to be. These days, _many_ of these companies provide PDF versions of the statements online. I download them into separate folders (one for the cell phone account, one for the cable company account, one for my bank account, etc.) and name each PDF statement in the form YYYYMM. That makes it easy to sort and find any given statement. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/29 "2013-12-24T15:40:20Z")
When asking questions, one should stick around and listen to the answers. ---
**Author:** ![Haunted\_Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Haunted\_Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted_Pasta)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/30 "2013-12-24T17:07:56Z")
It’s been said, but to emphasize: Invest. At a minimum in a 401(K), but ideally beyond that in a stock account. The math factoid that stuck with me from way back when I was an early-career adult was this: If you assume the historical rate of return in the U.S. stock market, a person who starts putting X amount into the stock market at age 25 and then stops at 35 has more money at age 65 than the person who starts at 35 and continues every year until they’re 65. Compounding returns are a wonderful, wonderful thing and the sooner you get started, the better off you’ll be. Most mutual funds do worse than the market overall. You can match the market’s performance with an index fund. A good one is the Vanguard S&P 500 fund. It charges 0.1% per year for the exact same performance for which other S&P 500 funds charge ten times that amount or more. If you want to invest in individual stocks, the Motley Fool is a pretty good resource. They also have a couple of mutual funds you can join, and they typically do very well compared to the overall market. The two pieces of non-financial advice I’d offer a young person are (i) learn to cook, and (ii) learn to be happy alone. It’s healthier, cheaper, and more satisfying to eat something awesome you made yourself, and cooking is a skill that is appreciated by absolutely everybody you’ll ever meet. The ability to be content by yourself means you can be satisfied with the one and only person whose company you’re absolutely guaranteed to always have. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/31 "2013-12-24T19:57:04Z")
Apart from planning and saving for retirement NOW (as others have said) I think you need to know how to thread a needle, sew on a button, do basic seam and hem repairs. You should have a general knowledge of how a car works and what you need to do to care for it. You should know how a toilet works, be familiar with the basics of electricity in the home, and how to follow a recipe. LOOK at things to figure out how they work - don’t be afraid to take things apart, but be meticulous so you can reassemble them. And know your limits - OK, that can’t happen when you’re really young, but you need to learn when you have to ask for help. Be kind, be fair, be smart, be careful. And don’t lend anything you’d hate to lose, money or otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/32 "2013-12-24T22:44:11Z")
Since the OP hasn’t made a return visit, I’m guessing he created this thread to promote the e-book. ---
**Author:** ![SerafinaPekala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SerafinaPekala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SerafinaPekala)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/33 "2013-12-24T22:55:00Z")
> [@Haunted\_Pasta](#): > > \ The ability to be content by yourself means you can be satisfied with the one and only person whose company you’re absolutely guaranteed to always have. Your entire post is spot-on but esp this^. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/34 "2013-12-24T23:14:55Z")
It is winter. Assuming there is snow where you live, buy a sled. Find the biggest, coolest hill you can find with tons of snow. Get on the sled and go! Wasn’t that fun at the top when you were zooming along as fast as you can, without a care in the world!? And didn’t it suck when the sled started to slow down and eventually come to a dead stop? At your age, you are at the top of the hill. Trust me, the ride down goes quickly. Plus, you only get to go down that hill once, dude. Enjoy the ride, but plan for it to slow down eventually and come to an end. Read, ask questions, travel, take risks, prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Have fun! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/35 "2013-12-24T23:15:38Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > When asking questions, one should stick around and listen to the answers. Sing it, brother. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/36 "2013-12-25T04:30:41Z")
learn from your parents. I’ve seen many a teen ignore every damn thing their parents taught them and were clueless about the skill-sets their parents had. Granted not every child has a useful care taker who will mentor them. But if they do, take advantage of the free education. I learned a lot from both my parents and wish I’d been more proactive with some of it. Cooking was one of the things I should have spent more time learning from my mother. I really kick myself over that one. But they taught me the best thing and that’s to keep learning new things. If I want something done right I learn how to do it. It’s saved me a great deal of money over the years and it’s very satisfying. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/37 "2013-12-25T05:35:54Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Here are mine: > > 1. You are not invulnerable, regardless of how you feel now. > 2. If you smoke, stop NOW before the permanent damage is done. > 3. If you drink to excess, back off NOW before the permanent damage is done. > > Being free of addictions gives you more time to devote to improving your life, your work and your relationships. You’ll also feel so much better in the morning by waking up rather than coming to. Also: cancer, diabetes, liver damage, respiratory illness and heart disease are really not a barrel of fun. > > 1. Travel to other countries as much as you can. It broadens your outlook on the world. > 2. If your parents never taught you this, everything you do in life has a consequence. The good news is that you pretty much get to choose if those consequences are good or bad by considering what they might be _prior_ to taking any course of action. > > Taxes: > > 1. File a return every year, without fail. > 2. Don’t cheat. They may not ever catch you, but you’ll know that you’re a cheat and a liar by doing it. > 3. Use the easiest tax return form available for your income level. At your age, that’s usually just a one-page form that you attach the W-2 form from your employer to. As you get older and make more money and acquire things like a mortgage, medical expenses, stocks, etc., you may want to either take a tax prep course or go to H&R block and have them prepare your tax returns. May I add to your list that getting a tax refund is a bad thing. It really means that you have loaned the government money by not calculating your tax liability correctly. Your tax refund is simply getting this money back without interest. Don’t get me wrong, owing money is also a bad thing. Talk to a tax accountant or even go to some tax help websites and try to calculate your liability for the next year and try not to pay too much or too little. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/38 "2013-12-25T06:03:16Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Ayn Rand was a selfish, repetitive, hypocritical crank. Impress your friends by having already come to that realization well before they do. You are an adult now. Don’t take any one’s word on how you should feel about Ayn Rand (or any one else). Read _Atlas Shrugged_ and decide for yourself who and what she was. Then go ahead and read _Looking Backwards_ by Edward Bellamy. When you have finished these books, you may feel that one or both of these authors are a “selfish, repetitive, hypocritical crank”, but at least the analysis will be yours. ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/39 "2013-12-25T09:48:48Z")
Pick a job with a high ceiling. Don’t take the easy money with no future. If you do when you are 35 you will be earning more than your peers and feeling smug. When you are 45 you will be earning the same as your peers and feeling lost. When you are 55 you will be struggling to survive while your peers enjoy success and you will be feeling suicidal. Trust me. ---
**Author:** ![Waxwinged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@Waxwinged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waxwinged)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038/40 "2013-12-25T12:42:45Z")
If you are into art and craft, remember that you are going to get better and better at it with every year you do it. There is no ceiling to betterment as long as you keep pushing yourself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-things-i-should-know-before-i-hit-20/677038.md?page=3)