What I wish I’d known at 30

[Jenson71]

http://www.bankrate.com/financing/re...#ixzz1nnpnhKut

By Jennie L. Phipps · Bankrate.com
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Posted: 6 am ET

I talked to a young friend the other day -- one who was just about to celebrate his 30th birthday. He was complaining about feeling old. I laughed at him because he just doesn't know what feeling old is.

When I was 30, I thought I'd be young forever. It wasn't until just a few years ago that I began to have an inkling that youth is fleeting and failure to recognize that reality could be costly.

Now, as I navigate my 60s, there are many things I wish I had known when I was my young friend's age, but here are the four most important:

The value of compound interest. If I had steadfastly invested 10 percent of my paycheck every payday for the last 30 years, retirement planning would be a breeze, and I wouldn't have to worry about how I was going to pay the bills in retirement.

Things don't matter. I was cleaning out the attic a few months ago and found boxes jam-packed with expensive toys and athletic equipment my sons begged me to buy. Twenty years later, some of the stuff still looks brand new. I don't want it; they can't be persuaded to take it. When they asked for this stuff in the first place, why didn't I just say no?

People can't be replaced. The last Christmas my grandmother was alive, she begged me to bring the kids to visit. I was feeling strapped and told her we'd try to get there in the summer. By then, she was dead, and no amount of money could replace the memories we didn't have.

Regrets, I've had a few, mostly about what I didn't do rather than what I did. For instance, 40 years ago, I had a chance to buy a large piece of property on the Atlantic Ocean in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for a very small price. My father offered me the money to pay for it, but I didn't want to be bothered or tied down, and I refused his gift. Once in a while, I drive by the buildings that are there now and scold myself for my stupidity.

To my young friend, mazel tov.

[Jenson71]

Originally Posted by PunkinDrublic

Life's too short to spend time in the DC forum arguing with complete ****ing morons.

That has to be true.

[Fat Elvis]

I wish that I had known about the iPad. Apple stock was under $8/share.

[Setsuna]

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

#2 and #3 are outright lies.

Trollerific bro, trollerific.

[saphojunkie]

On a long enough timeline, surfing ends in disaster. 100% of the time.

[boogblaster]

Originally Posted by PunkinDrublic

Life's too short to spend time in the DC forum arguing with complete ****ing morons.

Life's too short for any thing stupid .. but some things stupid were fun ......

[BWillie]

Things I wish I knew when I was 18 now that I am 28.

Going to college is a waste of time.
Move as far away from your family as possible so you don't have to go to multiple family gatherings expending many of your precious weekends.
Buy a house and rent it to people right away. Pay more to principal, own two houses out right by the time you are 30 and retire.
Work at a golf course instead of doing things you don't like to do.
Take poker more seriously.
Instead of having a girlfriend, only hookers and cocaine.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by BWillie007

Things I wish I knew when I was 18 now that I am 28.

Going to college is a waste of time.
Move as far away from your family as possible so you don't have to go to multiple family gatherings expending many of your precious weekends.
Buy a house and rent it to people right away. Pay more to principal, own two houses out right by the time you are 30 and retire.
Work at a golf course instead of doing things you don't like to do.
Take poker more seriously.
Instead of having a girlfriend, only hookers and cocaine.

Mad props, brah.

[Jenson71]

So I want to know: 1) How to actively use rejection as a fuel for positive change? and 2) How to improve.

Tips, please.

[Saulbadguy]

Originally Posted by Literature

So I want to know: 1) How to actively use rejection as a fuel for positive change? and 2) How to improve.

Tips, please.

1. Hatred
2. Pick up a book once in awhile

[Slainte]

#4 sounds like a canard...

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by Literature

So I want to know: 1) How to actively use rejection as a fuel for positive change? and 2) How to improve.

Tips, please.

1) Be open and willing to accept constructive criticism... if it doesn't take much for you to get defensive, people are less likely to honest and direct negative feedback. Accept that not everyone may like you (I think you've posted about that before), just as you're not required to like everyone. A lot of it comes down to getting over yourself and being open to other people's opinions, experiences, etc.

2) You'll have to be a little more specific, but #1 above and Saul's post are good places to start, I guess...

[El Jefe]

Originally Posted by Bump

That is true, my biggest regret in life is when my mom asked me to drive my father to the hospital and I couldn't be bothered and went and hung out with my friends, I was 18. He died there, I really wish I would have hung out with him that one last time.

Man that is terrible, that's a burden I feel sorry you have to carry.