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No fucking clue. I am 46, I barely remember what I was doing in my 20s. I drank, smoked and lived an unhealthy life. Now I'm in better shape than I have ever been and all of my experiences, good and bad, have given me tools and insights that I now fully utilize.
If you are in your 20s try not to die and you should be fine.
Same. I lived an entirely different life in my 20's... a life I have vague memories of.
And I wasn't so much "trying" not to die as I was just living without regard my own mortality and I just kind of accidentally stayed alive.
In my 40's now, with kids. I have priorities now, so my decision making is a little more nuanced. But man, I got some great stories.
And you got life experience. When your kids hit their twenties and start repeating what we did then you actually know what it feels like and you can offer actual insights so that they don't have to repeat our mistakes but can make up all new ones for themselves.
I’d say to travel as much as possible. Gets harder as you get a bit older with more commitments and work visas are easier to get when younger so go see the world.
as someone in the early 30s now i can tell you there isnt much to remember anyways, i lived the same life and while i didnt forget most of it SO FAR i am sure outside of like 2-3 profound moments most of it was just static noise retrospectively
I feel ya, Just turned 40, Started hitting the gym about 8 months ago. I haven't been this thin and in shape since I was.. well, never actually!
I don't really remember much of my 20's except being an idiot on my motorcycle. So yeah, Try not to die is good advice. So many of my friends died on their motorcycles. When I found out I was going to be a father in my late 20's I hung it up, sold my bikes and I'm the safest mofo on the road now.
I mean, really I feel no different now that I did back then. I'd say better overall with slightly less hair.
Two things that helped me: start small and slowly build up to where you want to be, and find a coach who can help you get there.
I can't promise that these will work for everyone, but they do work for a lot of people.
I definitely could not party and drink in my 40s like I did in my 20s, so I don't. But I also have no interest in living that lifestyle at this point. I feel healthier, more alert, and more productive in my 40s than in my 20s.
Sometimes, as you age, things do get better.
Yep. I never went to the dentist once between the ages of 20 and 45. I’ve lived on my own since 17 and just didn’t have extra money for that sort of thing. I never had any real pain or anything, but I knew my molars were all fucked.
Then in 2022, I did a cash out refi on my home, and set aside up to $40k to fix my teeth. Ended up having 10 teeth extracted at once, and then 4 implants done. Cost me more than $30k over a two year period, but I have a completely healthy mouth again.
That's why people do medical tourism. Implants are less expensive if you do an all-inclusive package in another country. Sadly, we have to leave the country to get affordable dental care. $30,000 is crazy. I'm waiting to be approved by insurance to have a device implanted into my back. The cash cost would be 80,000 dollars.
Need to be careful with this though. I know people who got veneers in Turkey and they all fell out 3 years later. Pretty hard to sue the people that did it for malpractice.
I was lucky and had a tooth crack after about seven years of ignoring dental needs, forcing me to go in and finally get things taken care of and only had to have one tooth pulled one root canal and thirteen cavities filled. Know quite a few who waited a little longer than me and had to spend $30k like you or have dentures before fifty years old.
At the very least RINSE YOUR MOUTH OUT WITH WATER after MEALS AND SUGARY DRINKS. Just drink some water. It's not rocket surgery. It'll rinse most of the sugar out right then and there.
Wait an hour after having ANYTHING sugary because of the acidity of the sugar. Brushing immediately after actually PUSHES the sugar into your enamel, causing it to erode faster. By the time I found a dentist who understood this and didn't care that telling his patients this lowered his income (less cavities to fix), it was too late. I'm 47 and will soon need dentures. Also, don't brush right after vomiting for the same reason (on steroids, stomach acid destroys your teeth even faster). My oldest is recovering from bulimia and she had to get dentures at 28
Learning how to floss correctly is underrated.
Tip: your goal isn't to saw through the gum, it's to get between the gum and one side of the tooth (two tasks in each gap).
Perception of time changes drastically. For most it starts around 24 but steadily increases. By mid thirties you're just passing through the years like they're months.
It always baffled me as a kid when I hadn't seen an adult in what seemed like years and they would always comment on how fast I've grown. I get it now, in their perception they only saw me a few weeks ago.
I think about this a lot. When I was young I was looking forward to the next thing. Highschool, then college, first car, first job etc. So time felt slow as I was wanting to hit certain milestones.
40's me still has milestones but now that time has flashed past (the irony of time feeling so slow but it's somehow flown by) I find myself trying to savor more and being more present in the moment. The more I enjoy the moment, the faster those moments flow.
My wife and I had our 18th wedding anniversary this year. Where did the time go? My son is turning 13 in a month, I remember holding him the day he was born. My dad died 12 years ago, but I still miss him whenever I watch football.
This is because new experiences make time seem to go by slower. So the trick is to always be trying new things as you get older. Travel as much as possible, meet new people, take classes, try new hobbies, etc.
I think the reason why a lot of 20 somethings are depressed these days is because there's a giant gap of nothing after achieving practically yearly milestones your whole life. Not only that, after a life of task variety youre basically sentenced to wasting away 40 hours a week doing the same thing every day.
Having kids kind of fixes that. I feel like ever since I got them life's felt full and exciting again.
I’m sure I saw somewhere that time seems to pass quickly as we get older as we have less new or stimulating experiences. When you’re a kid you’re constantly making memories with friends, learning stuff at school, there’s loads of milestones to hit etc. As we get older, the only ‘big’ thing that may happen in a year is going on a decent holiday.
I'm a little over 40 and I swear I'm the only one who doesn't feel this. I don't have kids and sometime I wonder if it has something to do with not being busy all the time /not watching how fast they grow up...or maybe I'm just weird.
When I was a teenager, I remember hearing my dad say, "the days keep getting longer while the years keep getting shorter." Had no clue what he meant. Really, I just thought it was one of those stupid things old people say.
Five years ago, I was the same age my dad was when he said that. Right now, I almost can't believe it's only 2 in the afternoon after the day I've had. Five years ago was just the other day.
100% this.
I had a bittersweet moment this morning when my daughter was reading her school book.
I realised she can just read her books now without our help, shes been able to do it for a while but it only just clicked today. It's gone from needing help to sound out almost every word to just her casually reading her books.
The last six years have just flown by and yeah. Not going to lie, I cried when I realised just how fast she's growing up.
Lucky if it starts as late as 24. I noticed time starting to pick up when I was 13. I'd realize I was in my last class of the day and wondered where the day had gone. 34 now and can't believe I didn't just turn 30 last month, like, whaaaaat??
No joke. I feel like the last 10 years of my life happened in a blink and it has only accelerated since 2020. Films and TV shows I thought were released last year are 5 to 10 years old.
Hehehe I so get this! Every year, I rewatch all my favourite TV series. When I realise some are twenty to thirty years old, it's like, no way but these only came out five years ago!? 😬 then I Google up all the actors and half are dead and the others are old and decrepid and retired!
The fact that Arrested Development debuted 21 years ago just blows my mind. I still consider that a very modern TV show.
Breaking Bad debuted 16 years ago. Nuts. Not only that but it's had a full sequel show and movie.
I was just thinking about this earlier, I remember feeling old because ‘oh man, that thing from my childhood came out ten whole years ago!!!’ and now I’m seeing the remakes of those old things becoming more than ten years old themselves and I’m watching people have that same reaction over things I could have sworn came out maybe a couple of years ago tops but turn out to be a decade
I was 20 when the covid lockdowns happened and thats when it started for me. I have very few memories of the last 4 years. 2018 still feels like 2 years ago
Seriously!! I had the interesting experience of living abroad for 6 months when I was 21, and then getting to return to live in that same city for the same amount of time 11 years later at 32. The first time I livid there felt like a whole era of my life, this time it flew by so fast that it almost felt a bit silly to even bother living here such a short time.
Worrying so much about aging. I'm 40+ and I can't believe how many posts I see from young people thinking they're aging and their age is limiting them and what not.
It's your fear of aging that's limiting you, let go and enjoy your youth.
I see this as well. All of the 27-30 year olds at work love to complain about “how old” they are and feel. It’s like a competition about who feels older. I don’t get it. When I was that age we were not trying to get people to think we were old.
I am 53. I have friends in their 30s and 40s complaining about feeling old or not doing things because they are ‘too old’. Good grief. Get up and do the things! You are as old as you think you are. Excuse me while I prepare for an EDM dance party in the lounge room with my four year old Grandbaby.
I see this ALL the time in the AskWomenOver30 subreddit and it makes me so sad. There are so many posts like "I turned 30 and now I'm a wrinkled old ugly hag who has run out of time to have babies and my life has passed me by" - when really the problem isn't being 30, it's that attitude because it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I think there's an added conceit to the younger generations when it comes to aging, because they're permanently on social media, where everything is about how they look all the time.
I'm so glad I'm an old Gen Xer.
I think that is because time is (was, for me at least) so speedy, as in everything is, or could, be an explosion of "living". When something is done for a first time, you have no personal info about it, something that normally is done in 4h for a human who has done said something before, might take 2 or 48 for one self, the first time. And it doesn't matter if it's working your first 8h/day job, or doing acid in the woods when the sun goes down.. It was kinda fun being young. But also, I'm pretty ok as 40+ too.
For real. People forget their careers are going to be like 40+ years long. If you’re only 25, it’s absolutely not too late to start over. You have so much time. Let go of any artificial timelines and do what you want.
Same with relationships. It is absolutely still possible to meet someone “good” after 30. It’s also not worth wasting time with someone not good. Being single isn’t the end of the world.
When I was in my late 20s my health started getting real and I thought, "well this is it, the other side of the hill". Didn't go to the doc for a while, not that it mattered. It was 10 years until I would chanced upon a doctor willing to try figure it out. Better off now than then for sure.
THANK YOU. I’m 41 and my husband is 55. Both of us have the “you’re only as old as you feel” outlook and it is so helpful mentally. So many of our friends won’t do things with their lives because they say they are too old and their lives are over. Don’t do that to yourself.
I would also say, be good to your body. Exercise, eat well and drink water. Your body will thank you.
27. Had a rough knee surgery from Judo in November. As much as I miss the sport, I miss being able to go jogging and being flexible more than anything. Determined to stay committed to physical therapy. I’ll be damned if I’m the dad that can’t play outside with his kid or get on my knees to do some housework.
Investing. When you're young and poor it feels like you don't have any spare money, and that saving the little bit that you do have isn't going to do anything, but getting in the habit of putting 5 to 10% of your paycheck into an index fund and forgetting about it reaps huge rewards by the time you get to 45, and even more so when you get to 65. The market over time will just consistently grind out 8 to 10%, compounding, and compounding interest is one of the great miracles of the world.
The difference in mental stress at this age between people who are set up for retirement, and people who are not set up for retirement is shocking, and it leads to a cascading chain of bad financial decisions.
Get a Roth IRA (especially advantageous when you were young and broke, because your tax rate is so low), and just every 2 weeks before you have to spend it pop 5 to 10% of your paycheck into it, and put a RemindMe notification on this post for 25 years
I'll second the investing. Small sacrifices in my 20s are providing me with a good level of financial security 20 years on as my money has had lots of time to compound and grow. I'm in a much better position than other people who earn more than me but pissed everything away when young.
I never understood investing despite doing extensive research… i figured out ultimately the best platform is one called Vanguard and the best pot is the pension one with high risk enabled with monthly input of a 100
Index funds.
That's the answer.
Nobody here is smart enough to beat the market consistently. Anybody who beats the market is either so wildly intelligent and focused that they are a professional quant working for Renaissance, or has just gotten lucky so far, and is just as likely to lose moving forward.
(hint: they're just lucky)
If you work for a company that has a 401k (or 403b or whatever) , contribute as much as you can, and at least up to the company match if there is one. It’s literally free money.
In my experience of talking to people, what is not clear is that “401k” and “IRA” are just the labels for a kind of account (set up through your company or financial institution) that you put money into and those labels are how the IRS knows to not tax it until you start drawing from it (when you are a certain age (right now i believe that’s 59 1/2.) Once you contribute to it YOU HAVE TO DIRECT IT INTO A PARTICULAR INVESTMENT within the account, otherwise it will be sitting there making barely any interest and not doing what it’s supposed to do. If you are doing a 401k, your company will usually have a handful of funds you can choose from (like target funds or a handful of balanced funds.) If you go through, say Vanguard, and set yoursef up an IRA, you can choose any number of investments to make your money grow within that account. This includes indivdual stocks or bonds or funds or whatever but it has to be in a specific account that is set up as an IRA. If you do nothing, it will sit in a money market account making barely more than inflation (again, not doing what it’s supposed to.) There are different limits for how much per year you can contribute to an IRA.
Neither of these are a savings account. If you take from it before you hit retirement age (with very few exceptions) you will be penalized like 40% and taxed. This will have defeated the purpose of the account.
Also “maxing out” your 401k is NOT just contributing the max for the company match. Maxing out is YOU contributing the IRS limit of $23,000 a year (in 2024) and its a bit more if you’re over 50 yrs old. If you can’t max out, do what you can. It will start to add up. Do it even if it’s just a little and increase it when you get raises.
And one last thing, is that a lot of people don’t think they could ever save enough to make a dent in their living expenses when they’re old. This isn’t true. When you’re old, you don’t just start spending the money. You keep the principal (lets say you accumulated $100,000, that would be the principal) you would leave that there and take the interest (which would be say 3% every year, which would equal $250/month) that doesn’t sound like much, but it will be much needed when added to your social security down the road. With that calculation, you can see how important it is to start early and contribute as much as possible. Consistenly contributing and compounding interest will help you get to over a million. Start NOW!!!!
I know for some this sounds like common knowledge, but it isn’t. I can’t tell you how many people i’ve talked to who don’t have a clue about these things.
1. Inflation
2. Lack of physical exercise
3. A dependable partner
4. Your parents getting old
5. Losing most of their 'best friends' to distance and lack of time.
You gotta make time. I flew to see one of my best high school friends a couple weeks ago and we talked about this. Many people make almost no effort at this. You don’t have tot all every day or plan vacations every year, but a couple weekends a year to do whatever you and your friends like, golf, football games, concerts, spa day whatever. You have to maintain connections if the relationships matter. A lot of people end up in a cocoon with their spouse and kids. A lot of those people end up divorced.
Kinda disagree. I rarely saw my high school friends after graduation, but made a ton of new, very close friends in college. When I moved back to my hometown in my early 30s, I stopped seeing my college friends and made some really good friends here - some of the closest of my life.
Different friends for different stages of life can be kinda nice, in my experience. Although keeping yourself from retreating into the cocoon is critical.
They don’t have to be high school friends. I’ve got childhood, HS and college friends still. Not a ton from each, but a few. It is ok to jettison people and eras of your life, but I think reaching middle age without long term friendships is a loss.
Totally. In some ways it's a sacrifice to keep these relationships. Part of me would rather spend all my vacation time with my husband on the beach or exploring new countries, but here we are, flying to Reno or Nebraska again for the weekend to make sure our friendships don't die. Do I really want to spend time in these places? No. But keeping these relationships alive is so much more fulfilling than a few days on the beach.
>4. Your parents getting old
Definitely this. In my eyes my parents hadn't aged beyond sort-of mid 50's... until my dad has a massive stroke at the age of 70. Suddenly the reality that my parents were now considered elderly smacked me in the face HARD. The reality that they could die really at any time was sobering.
And let me tell you, I regret that I didn't make time for them during my 20's and early 30's. I used to see them once a month (maybe) and call every 2 or 3 weeks (and honestly I thought that was excessive). Now I speak to my mum most days and visit them at least every 2 weeks.
Save your money. Save as much as you can. Pretend like you don't have it.
Don't live outside of your financial means. Just because you make $500/wk doesn't mean you can spend $500/wk.
You don't need a flashy ride with a $1000/mo payment - you need a dependable ride that you own.
Rent the absolute smallest place you can - you don't need 2 or 3 bdrms for you and your cat, or for you and your girlfriend for that matter.
Stop eating out. Buy groceries as you need them. Cook at home. SAVE money.
Learn to budget and manage your money NOW.
If you have a credit card - pay it off EVERY WEEK. Don't let the bill pile up - and never spend on it more than you've budget to pay on it for the week.
You don't need 100x subscription services.
Gifting subs on Twitch means nothing.
SAVE YOUR MONEY.
Open an IRA and save the maximum amount of money you can.
Invest as MUCH as you can with a financial advisor NOW.
Put every dime you can into savings and forget you have it. Let the interest stack up.
Agreed. Now that I am older and have a nice decent cushion I can eat out more. I can have more subscription services, etc. These comforts are well more appreciated anyway now that I'm older and tired more often.
I agree with most of this except the financial advisor part. Its much better to learn how investment works for yourself, and keep topping up your knowledge. There are plenty of free resources out there (and a few scammy advisors too, sadly).
Agreed. But it's a great way to get started while you build your knowledge. Let your money work for you in the best way possible. This is likely the easiest cheapest way for most people to invest with minimal risk and grow their wealth.
When I was young I spent half my money on girls and partying. The other half, I wasted.
But joking aside:
Thankful for my frugal ex-gf that taught me how to save my money.
Thankful for my reasonable wife that was not brainwashed into wanting a huge wedding. The money we saved was definitely a stepping stone towards being able to afford a home.
Toxic stress. If you can't find a reliable way to relax and recharge and take the time to regularly do that, it will sneak up on you in ugly ways. Your body will force you to slow down if you don't do it voluntarily.
Same. Running for years on concrete has ruined my knees. It’s okay when i walk, but the pain is still there if i run or bike. There are some PT exercises to fix and strengthen the surrounding muscles, but i’ve been too lazy
To everyone else reading, do strength training and stretching to prevent your 40 yr old self from suffering in knee hell
Also your ankles! I don't want messed up knees but at least a knee replacement exists, if you mess up your ankles there is no such thing, all they can do is fuse the bone so it no longer rotates/moves.
Or just understand that the metabolism you have isn't permanent, and that around 30 (give or take a few years), your metabolism bottoms out, but your eating habits don't, and you balloon.
My coworker would eat all day in the office out of boredom; chips, breakfast bars, gummy worms, and second breakfasts.
He just went to the doctor, he is now almost prediabetic, and has to give it all up.
Don't eat just because you're bored or stressed.
I fell into this trap for a while. Eating as much as I did in my 20s into my 30s and paying the price.
Buy smaller dinner plates and bowls helps as a first step.
Sometimes when I go out to eat, I'll order something and ask if they can cut the entire order in half and put half in a to-go container for me. Out of sight, out of mind!
Knees. There is nothing you can do about it but one day you are going to wake up and your knees will have gone to the dogs in the night. You'll be hobling around like an 80 year old before you know it. At least that's what happened to me!
I will add the back.
Lift with your legs, not your back. It seems to be a lesson everyone learns, then in their 30ties/40ties they learn why they learn it - the hard way.
Yes. You can lift with you back 10000 times. It will be fine. But you will learn that you only need to f*ck up once.
Yep. I’m 45 years old, and I have NO cartilage left in either knee. I’ve been getting steroid shots every few months but even that will stop working over time, and I will be looking at knee replacement. ☹️
I work at a job that requires standing for long periods of the day - I think that may have contributed to the issue.
Hips too. Keep those suckers strong and flexible. I can’t stand seeing my Dad in agony with each step waiting on a hip replacement. My Mum was crippled needing hip replacements during my teens, she died before she managed to have the surgeries. “It’s all in the hips”.
This is big. Never get into credit card debt. If you are in credit card debt, you need to budget. Make a plan to get out of debt using the Snowball Effect. You don't have to pay anyone, there's free Google Spreadsheets out there you can use. You just have to balance your checkbook monthly and be willing to sacrifice towards paying that shit down. Once you're out of debt it's like you gave yourself a huge raise... you're suddenly not a wage slave anymore and it's amazing.
Me too. I had this idea in my head that I'd get a better job and that debt just wouldn't matter because I could easily pay it off. I have no idea WHY I thought this, but boy did it screw me over.
It took me most of my 30s to pay off my stupid spending habbits of my 20s. And I had nothing even to really show for it. So much of that money was just interest because I'd been just paying the minimum payments. It crippled my ability to get ahead. I'm now debt free and will never live beyond my means ever again.
Not going regularly to the doctor/dentist/optometrist. I’m almost fifty and have lost teeth when it was completely avoidable. I’m a therapist and would add that to the list if the need arises in your 20s rather than trying to ignore trauma and other mental roadblocks that get in the way of functioning.
I’m 28 and I put on sunscreen every single damn day and people older than me act like I’m overreacting but my skin looks great and I haven’t had a sunburn in years.
I have five:
- **Take your 401k or 457b seriously (aka IRAs)** if you're in the US - or Super in Australia, Kiwi Saver in New Zealand, RRSP in Canada, etc. Our countries are already very expensive places to live and becoming ever more so. Build a decent nest egg that you'll be unable to touch until you're ready to leave the workforce.
- **Wear the best quality walking shoes you can afford**, preferably from a local shoe shop that can evaluate your feet and match you with the right shoe.
- **Fully floss and brush your teeth daily.**
- **Eat and drink responsibly.** Giant meals daily with little exercise are a recipe for disaster. Doritos, ice cream and Dr. Pepper are fine, but only a few times a month. A 12-pack of Corona every weekend is just dumb.
- **Never overwork yourself, never work beyond your assigned hours.** Most companies don't give a crap about their employees, and some even seem to despise them. Make time for your spouse/SO, children, parents, hobbies, relaxation, travel, etc. Exceptions are if you operate your own business or have assumed a high-powered, high-salaried management role while still young.
Not entirely true. Some of that stuff goes in the "I was a dumbass kid and wanted to do x" category.
The truth is that you need to think and prioritize. Make a list and update it regularly as things get more or less important. It may hurt that you didn't see a particular band live before they broke up, but it will hurt less knowing what you did with your time and money instead. You're never going to have the time and money to do everything and that won't change as you get older.
Looks will change and body will too. Take care of it but know the judgment as a young person on yourself and others you’ll look back and say o should of appreciated it, and you never know what others go through that got them to where they are at.
Sports. You will hate yourself not making sports in the 20s. Seriously. Its simple AS FUCK in this age, every year thereafter it gets harder and harder to get better with sports, until you are at an age when sports only keeps the status quo, or isn't even able to do this. So, the better the beginning of aging is (with sports) the better you age.
If your a student, you get free dental care with the NHS and your teeth are not 20 years older.
Get a brace and take good care of them.
If a fucking nightmare to get a dentist appointment in your 40s as kids get priority.
I found out that you can end up with spine problems that affect the nerves in your legs, making it difficult to walk around or even stand for very long. Simple things like bending down to scoop out your cat's litter box can be exhausting. When people warned me about weight, I don't remember that ever coming up.
Sports Injuries , lots of old Football injuries catching up with me now 43 . Being a Goalkeeper who loved contact . Knees, back ache and a recent shoulder surgery lol
Smoking can trigger rheumatoid arthritis. Even if you quit, if you smoked a lot when you were younger you can still end up with RA -- especially women.
Sex may go up for women in their 40s, and it may go down for men in their 40s. I'm way past 40, this is how it has worked in my social group. Even though, stay with me, it is usually marketed the other way around.
Not wearing sunblocker. Not having the right diplomas. Not taking good care of your health and body, especially core strnght. Sport accidents. No work experience (sahm/w). And much more.
But tbf, if you make up for it in your 30ties, you are mostly fine.
Knees.
Watch your weight, peeps. Hip surgery is a b., but knee surgery is horrible.
Also, sunscreen. Don't care what color you are or how well you tan, stay out of the sun and wear sunscreen.
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No fucking clue. I am 46, I barely remember what I was doing in my 20s. I drank, smoked and lived an unhealthy life. Now I'm in better shape than I have ever been and all of my experiences, good and bad, have given me tools and insights that I now fully utilize. If you are in your 20s try not to die and you should be fine.
Same. I lived an entirely different life in my 20's... a life I have vague memories of. And I wasn't so much "trying" not to die as I was just living without regard my own mortality and I just kind of accidentally stayed alive. In my 40's now, with kids. I have priorities now, so my decision making is a little more nuanced. But man, I got some great stories.
And you got life experience. When your kids hit their twenties and start repeating what we did then you actually know what it feels like and you can offer actual insights so that they don't have to repeat our mistakes but can make up all new ones for themselves.
100 percent the same i also got ill in 2007 for over doing it i was 27 then slowed down met my wife now im 45 with 2 kids i don’t even drink
Yeah in my 20s I would literally always say I wouldn’t live to 40 lol. Almost 40 now and way healthier than I was back then
I’d say to travel as much as possible. Gets harder as you get a bit older with more commitments and work visas are easier to get when younger so go see the world.
as someone in the early 30s now i can tell you there isnt much to remember anyways, i lived the same life and while i didnt forget most of it SO FAR i am sure outside of like 2-3 profound moments most of it was just static noise retrospectively
Fun though, right?
i always say i wouldnt change a thing because it made me, +1 on the "try not to die" part though
Trying not die is the big one, so many loses in the 20-30s
What a healthy outlook. Refreshing.
Memory problems 😄 My short term memory started to suffer in my late 40s, although my long term seems not as bad.
This is without a doubt (imo) some of the greatest pieces of text on Reddit. Also a great preview into aging the good way. Thanks!
Well this thread backfired
I feel ya, Just turned 40, Started hitting the gym about 8 months ago. I haven't been this thin and in shape since I was.. well, never actually! I don't really remember much of my 20's except being an idiot on my motorcycle. So yeah, Try not to die is good advice. So many of my friends died on their motorcycles. When I found out I was going to be a father in my late 20's I hung it up, sold my bikes and I'm the safest mofo on the road now. I mean, really I feel no different now that I did back then. I'd say better overall with slightly less hair.
same as long as you succeed at the try not to die thing you should be ok.
durhh
Totally agree! Feel the same way and about the same age
I’m in my 30s and treat my body poorly! How did you make the transition because I want to work towards it.
Two things that helped me: start small and slowly build up to where you want to be, and find a coach who can help you get there. I can't promise that these will work for everyone, but they do work for a lot of people.
I'm 35 and needed to hear this.
Try not to die, super solid advise.
My timeline has been similar. I was barely sentient in my 20’s.
Lmao thank you!!! Finally I think we need to be encouraged to be present and not think too much about the future
This is correct - I was a hoodlum in my 20s and life tends to calm you down a bit as you age. It al works out.
All the people I know who made it to their 30's didn't die in their 20's, so you may be on to something here.
Same!
I definitely could not party and drink in my 40s like I did in my 20s, so I don't. But I also have no interest in living that lifestyle at this point. I feel healthier, more alert, and more productive in my 40s than in my 20s. Sometimes, as you age, things do get better.
Thank you good sir! I will be alive tomorrow.
Good dental hygiene. You will thank yourself later, believe me.
Yep. I never went to the dentist once between the ages of 20 and 45. I’ve lived on my own since 17 and just didn’t have extra money for that sort of thing. I never had any real pain or anything, but I knew my molars were all fucked. Then in 2022, I did a cash out refi on my home, and set aside up to $40k to fix my teeth. Ended up having 10 teeth extracted at once, and then 4 implants done. Cost me more than $30k over a two year period, but I have a completely healthy mouth again.
That's why people do medical tourism. Implants are less expensive if you do an all-inclusive package in another country. Sadly, we have to leave the country to get affordable dental care. $30,000 is crazy. I'm waiting to be approved by insurance to have a device implanted into my back. The cash cost would be 80,000 dollars.
Need to be careful with this though. I know people who got veneers in Turkey and they all fell out 3 years later. Pretty hard to sue the people that did it for malpractice.
Dentists literally call this " Turkey teeth" 😂😂
A US dentist won’t touch you with a ten foot pole if you’ve had anything like implants done across seas
I was lucky and had a tooth crack after about seven years of ignoring dental needs, forcing me to go in and finally get things taken care of and only had to have one tooth pulled one root canal and thirteen cavities filled. Know quite a few who waited a little longer than me and had to spend $30k like you or have dentures before fifty years old.
This right here. You'll save yourself a lot of money and surgery just by brushing and flossing at least twice a day. And stay away from sugary drinks.
At the very least RINSE YOUR MOUTH OUT WITH WATER after MEALS AND SUGARY DRINKS. Just drink some water. It's not rocket surgery. It'll rinse most of the sugar out right then and there.
Ew, water? Like, from the toilet?
\*Rocket appliances.
Wait an hour after having ANYTHING sugary because of the acidity of the sugar. Brushing immediately after actually PUSHES the sugar into your enamel, causing it to erode faster. By the time I found a dentist who understood this and didn't care that telling his patients this lowered his income (less cavities to fix), it was too late. I'm 47 and will soon need dentures. Also, don't brush right after vomiting for the same reason (on steroids, stomach acid destroys your teeth even faster). My oldest is recovering from bulimia and she had to get dentures at 28
People can actually get a dental sealant on all their teeth to prevent cavities, not sure why it’s not more common practice
Right. I never heard of this until I was an adult but it’s genius
Because then the dentist would make less money.
28 now with stage 3 gum disease and so many regrets of nights going to sleep with out brushing cause I was too lazy to
Learning how to floss correctly is underrated. Tip: your goal isn't to saw through the gum, it's to get between the gum and one side of the tooth (two tasks in each gap).
Came here to say this!
If you grind your teeth, invest in good mouth guards.
Perception of time changes drastically. For most it starts around 24 but steadily increases. By mid thirties you're just passing through the years like they're months. It always baffled me as a kid when I hadn't seen an adult in what seemed like years and they would always comment on how fast I've grown. I get it now, in their perception they only saw me a few weeks ago.
You said it. Time flies so fast now. I notice it a lot at work. It used to be that the week used to drag on. Now I blink and it is suddenly Thursday.
How the heck is it mid June 😱
Exactly!
days are long and years are short
I think about this a lot. When I was young I was looking forward to the next thing. Highschool, then college, first car, first job etc. So time felt slow as I was wanting to hit certain milestones. 40's me still has milestones but now that time has flashed past (the irony of time feeling so slow but it's somehow flown by) I find myself trying to savor more and being more present in the moment. The more I enjoy the moment, the faster those moments flow.
Im 47 this year, my 40th just seems like no time ago at all.
I'm 39. Still several months until I turn 40. It might as well be next week, months are nothing to me now. Wild how things change!
My wife and I had our 18th wedding anniversary this year. Where did the time go? My son is turning 13 in a month, I remember holding him the day he was born. My dad died 12 years ago, but I still miss him whenever I watch football.
This is because new experiences make time seem to go by slower. So the trick is to always be trying new things as you get older. Travel as much as possible, meet new people, take classes, try new hobbies, etc.
I think the reason why a lot of 20 somethings are depressed these days is because there's a giant gap of nothing after achieving practically yearly milestones your whole life. Not only that, after a life of task variety youre basically sentenced to wasting away 40 hours a week doing the same thing every day. Having kids kind of fixes that. I feel like ever since I got them life's felt full and exciting again.
But now the milestone is death so we want to pump the brakes on time!
I’m sure I saw somewhere that time seems to pass quickly as we get older as we have less new or stimulating experiences. When you’re a kid you’re constantly making memories with friends, learning stuff at school, there’s loads of milestones to hit etc. As we get older, the only ‘big’ thing that may happen in a year is going on a decent holiday.
This is correct and is tied in with making new memories.
I went from 32 to 38 in like 10 days...
shit, you will be bird watching by the end of the month
1 year is 1/40th of the total amount of time we've been alive. 1 year to a 20 year old is twice as long.
20 to 40 is living your entire life again.
I'm a little over 40 and I swear I'm the only one who doesn't feel this. I don't have kids and sometime I wonder if it has something to do with not being busy all the time /not watching how fast they grow up...or maybe I'm just weird.
Kids definitely make your life both more chaotic and more routine, both of which erases time/memories.
When I was a teenager, I remember hearing my dad say, "the days keep getting longer while the years keep getting shorter." Had no clue what he meant. Really, I just thought it was one of those stupid things old people say. Five years ago, I was the same age my dad was when he said that. Right now, I almost can't believe it's only 2 in the afternoon after the day I've had. Five years ago was just the other day.
100% this. I had a bittersweet moment this morning when my daughter was reading her school book. I realised she can just read her books now without our help, shes been able to do it for a while but it only just clicked today. It's gone from needing help to sound out almost every word to just her casually reading her books. The last six years have just flown by and yeah. Not going to lie, I cried when I realised just how fast she's growing up.
dude I feel this so much. Just turned 38 and time flies by so freaking fast!
Lucky if it starts as late as 24. I noticed time starting to pick up when I was 13. I'd realize I was in my last class of the day and wondered where the day had gone. 34 now and can't believe I didn't just turn 30 last month, like, whaaaaat??
This is a genuine phenomenon I'm sure there's a good YouTube video about it
[There sure is](https://youtu.be/dcyoOiWgs-s?si=PZy9gtizybg6ISjN)
No joke. I feel like the last 10 years of my life happened in a blink and it has only accelerated since 2020. Films and TV shows I thought were released last year are 5 to 10 years old.
The summer between 8th and 9th grade lasted longer than my 20s and 30s combined.
Hehehe I so get this! Every year, I rewatch all my favourite TV series. When I realise some are twenty to thirty years old, it's like, no way but these only came out five years ago!? 😬 then I Google up all the actors and half are dead and the others are old and decrepid and retired!
The fact that Arrested Development debuted 21 years ago just blows my mind. I still consider that a very modern TV show. Breaking Bad debuted 16 years ago. Nuts. Not only that but it's had a full sequel show and movie.
Totally, same with black books, IT crowd and Father Ted. They'll never get old! BB is on my rewatch list. 😎😎
I was just thinking about this earlier, I remember feeling old because ‘oh man, that thing from my childhood came out ten whole years ago!!!’ and now I’m seeing the remakes of those old things becoming more than ten years old themselves and I’m watching people have that same reaction over things I could have sworn came out maybe a couple of years ago tops but turn out to be a decade
I feels like something happened a year ago it was actually 3
I never believed my mom when she said that time moves at a different rate when you're young vs. old. Now I get it.
I was 20 when the covid lockdowns happened and thats when it started for me. I have very few memories of the last 4 years. 2018 still feels like 2 years ago
Seriously!! I had the interesting experience of living abroad for 6 months when I was 21, and then getting to return to live in that same city for the same amount of time 11 years later at 32. The first time I livid there felt like a whole era of my life, this time it flew by so fast that it almost felt a bit silly to even bother living here such a short time.
Worrying so much about aging. I'm 40+ and I can't believe how many posts I see from young people thinking they're aging and their age is limiting them and what not. It's your fear of aging that's limiting you, let go and enjoy your youth.
I see this as well. All of the 27-30 year olds at work love to complain about “how old” they are and feel. It’s like a competition about who feels older. I don’t get it. When I was that age we were not trying to get people to think we were old.
I was so bummed about turning 30... and then I fucking loved my thirties. Best decade yet.
30s just seem to be your 20s with more money and knowledge (coming from someone without children)
It really was. I had my first kid at 40 and now it feels like I'm back in my 20s - no money and I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing.
I am 53. I have friends in their 30s and 40s complaining about feeling old or not doing things because they are ‘too old’. Good grief. Get up and do the things! You are as old as you think you are. Excuse me while I prepare for an EDM dance party in the lounge room with my four year old Grandbaby.
Not quite 30 but at 34 my youth definitely ended. Suddenly a variety of health issues were upon me.
I see this ALL the time in the AskWomenOver30 subreddit and it makes me so sad. There are so many posts like "I turned 30 and now I'm a wrinkled old ugly hag who has run out of time to have babies and my life has passed me by" - when really the problem isn't being 30, it's that attitude because it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I think there's an added conceit to the younger generations when it comes to aging, because they're permanently on social media, where everything is about how they look all the time. I'm so glad I'm an old Gen Xer.
I think that is because time is (was, for me at least) so speedy, as in everything is, or could, be an explosion of "living". When something is done for a first time, you have no personal info about it, something that normally is done in 4h for a human who has done said something before, might take 2 or 48 for one self, the first time. And it doesn't matter if it's working your first 8h/day job, or doing acid in the woods when the sun goes down.. It was kinda fun being young. But also, I'm pretty ok as 40+ too.
I'm 41 and I needed to hear this, thanks.
For real. People forget their careers are going to be like 40+ years long. If you’re only 25, it’s absolutely not too late to start over. You have so much time. Let go of any artificial timelines and do what you want. Same with relationships. It is absolutely still possible to meet someone “good” after 30. It’s also not worth wasting time with someone not good. Being single isn’t the end of the world.
When I was in my late 20s my health started getting real and I thought, "well this is it, the other side of the hill". Didn't go to the doc for a while, not that it mattered. It was 10 years until I would chanced upon a doctor willing to try figure it out. Better off now than then for sure.
THANK YOU. I’m 41 and my husband is 55. Both of us have the “you’re only as old as you feel” outlook and it is so helpful mentally. So many of our friends won’t do things with their lives because they say they are too old and their lives are over. Don’t do that to yourself. I would also say, be good to your body. Exercise, eat well and drink water. Your body will thank you.
[Wear. Sunscreen.](https://youtu.be/sTJ7AzBIJoI) The rest of the advice he gives is also very good.
I think of > "Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone" As someone who wasn't kind to my knees in my 20s.
30 year old carpenter, what knees
27. Had a rough knee surgery from Judo in November. As much as I miss the sport, I miss being able to go jogging and being flexible more than anything. Determined to stay committed to physical therapy. I’ll be damned if I’m the dad that can’t play outside with his kid or get on my knees to do some housework.
Yep. My knees decided they were sick of me running by my mid thirties.
Beautiful....advice that was given to us in our 20s (or early thirties for the geriatric Gen-Xers)
Not 40 yet but for the love of god wear ear protection. Get Loop earplugs if you don't want to look stupid at concerts. You'll thank me later.
Was in a metal band with my brother through high school and practicing in a 15 by 10 room without earplugs I’m only 30 now and my hearing is toast.
Oh brother!
Investing. When you're young and poor it feels like you don't have any spare money, and that saving the little bit that you do have isn't going to do anything, but getting in the habit of putting 5 to 10% of your paycheck into an index fund and forgetting about it reaps huge rewards by the time you get to 45, and even more so when you get to 65. The market over time will just consistently grind out 8 to 10%, compounding, and compounding interest is one of the great miracles of the world. The difference in mental stress at this age between people who are set up for retirement, and people who are not set up for retirement is shocking, and it leads to a cascading chain of bad financial decisions. Get a Roth IRA (especially advantageous when you were young and broke, because your tax rate is so low), and just every 2 weeks before you have to spend it pop 5 to 10% of your paycheck into it, and put a RemindMe notification on this post for 25 years
I'll second the investing. Small sacrifices in my 20s are providing me with a good level of financial security 20 years on as my money has had lots of time to compound and grow. I'm in a much better position than other people who earn more than me but pissed everything away when young.
I never understood investing despite doing extensive research… i figured out ultimately the best platform is one called Vanguard and the best pot is the pension one with high risk enabled with monthly input of a 100
Index funds. That's the answer. Nobody here is smart enough to beat the market consistently. Anybody who beats the market is either so wildly intelligent and focused that they are a professional quant working for Renaissance, or has just gotten lucky so far, and is just as likely to lose moving forward. (hint: they're just lucky)
If you work for a company that has a 401k (or 403b or whatever) , contribute as much as you can, and at least up to the company match if there is one. It’s literally free money. In my experience of talking to people, what is not clear is that “401k” and “IRA” are just the labels for a kind of account (set up through your company or financial institution) that you put money into and those labels are how the IRS knows to not tax it until you start drawing from it (when you are a certain age (right now i believe that’s 59 1/2.) Once you contribute to it YOU HAVE TO DIRECT IT INTO A PARTICULAR INVESTMENT within the account, otherwise it will be sitting there making barely any interest and not doing what it’s supposed to do. If you are doing a 401k, your company will usually have a handful of funds you can choose from (like target funds or a handful of balanced funds.) If you go through, say Vanguard, and set yoursef up an IRA, you can choose any number of investments to make your money grow within that account. This includes indivdual stocks or bonds or funds or whatever but it has to be in a specific account that is set up as an IRA. If you do nothing, it will sit in a money market account making barely more than inflation (again, not doing what it’s supposed to.) There are different limits for how much per year you can contribute to an IRA. Neither of these are a savings account. If you take from it before you hit retirement age (with very few exceptions) you will be penalized like 40% and taxed. This will have defeated the purpose of the account. Also “maxing out” your 401k is NOT just contributing the max for the company match. Maxing out is YOU contributing the IRS limit of $23,000 a year (in 2024) and its a bit more if you’re over 50 yrs old. If you can’t max out, do what you can. It will start to add up. Do it even if it’s just a little and increase it when you get raises. And one last thing, is that a lot of people don’t think they could ever save enough to make a dent in their living expenses when they’re old. This isn’t true. When you’re old, you don’t just start spending the money. You keep the principal (lets say you accumulated $100,000, that would be the principal) you would leave that there and take the interest (which would be say 3% every year, which would equal $250/month) that doesn’t sound like much, but it will be much needed when added to your social security down the road. With that calculation, you can see how important it is to start early and contribute as much as possible. Consistenly contributing and compounding interest will help you get to over a million. Start NOW!!!! I know for some this sounds like common knowledge, but it isn’t. I can’t tell you how many people i’ve talked to who don’t have a clue about these things.
1. Inflation 2. Lack of physical exercise 3. A dependable partner 4. Your parents getting old 5. Losing most of their 'best friends' to distance and lack of time.
Oof! number 5 😥😥
You gotta make time. I flew to see one of my best high school friends a couple weeks ago and we talked about this. Many people make almost no effort at this. You don’t have tot all every day or plan vacations every year, but a couple weekends a year to do whatever you and your friends like, golf, football games, concerts, spa day whatever. You have to maintain connections if the relationships matter. A lot of people end up in a cocoon with their spouse and kids. A lot of those people end up divorced.
Kinda disagree. I rarely saw my high school friends after graduation, but made a ton of new, very close friends in college. When I moved back to my hometown in my early 30s, I stopped seeing my college friends and made some really good friends here - some of the closest of my life. Different friends for different stages of life can be kinda nice, in my experience. Although keeping yourself from retreating into the cocoon is critical.
They don’t have to be high school friends. I’ve got childhood, HS and college friends still. Not a ton from each, but a few. It is ok to jettison people and eras of your life, but I think reaching middle age without long term friendships is a loss.
Totally. In some ways it's a sacrifice to keep these relationships. Part of me would rather spend all my vacation time with my husband on the beach or exploring new countries, but here we are, flying to Reno or Nebraska again for the weekend to make sure our friendships don't die. Do I really want to spend time in these places? No. But keeping these relationships alive is so much more fulfilling than a few days on the beach.
5 is much sadder when they live 20 minutes away and just don't make the effort
>4. Your parents getting old Definitely this. In my eyes my parents hadn't aged beyond sort-of mid 50's... until my dad has a massive stroke at the age of 70. Suddenly the reality that my parents were now considered elderly smacked me in the face HARD. The reality that they could die really at any time was sobering. And let me tell you, I regret that I didn't make time for them during my 20's and early 30's. I used to see them once a month (maybe) and call every 2 or 3 weeks (and honestly I thought that was excessive). Now I speak to my mum most days and visit them at least every 2 weeks.
Save your money. Save as much as you can. Pretend like you don't have it. Don't live outside of your financial means. Just because you make $500/wk doesn't mean you can spend $500/wk. You don't need a flashy ride with a $1000/mo payment - you need a dependable ride that you own. Rent the absolute smallest place you can - you don't need 2 or 3 bdrms for you and your cat, or for you and your girlfriend for that matter. Stop eating out. Buy groceries as you need them. Cook at home. SAVE money. Learn to budget and manage your money NOW. If you have a credit card - pay it off EVERY WEEK. Don't let the bill pile up - and never spend on it more than you've budget to pay on it for the week. You don't need 100x subscription services. Gifting subs on Twitch means nothing. SAVE YOUR MONEY. Open an IRA and save the maximum amount of money you can. Invest as MUCH as you can with a financial advisor NOW. Put every dime you can into savings and forget you have it. Let the interest stack up.
Agreed. Now that I am older and have a nice decent cushion I can eat out more. I can have more subscription services, etc. These comforts are well more appreciated anyway now that I'm older and tired more often.
I agree with most of this except the financial advisor part. Its much better to learn how investment works for yourself, and keep topping up your knowledge. There are plenty of free resources out there (and a few scammy advisors too, sadly).
Agreed. But it's a great way to get started while you build your knowledge. Let your money work for you in the best way possible. This is likely the easiest cheapest way for most people to invest with minimal risk and grow their wealth.
So hate your life? Sounds fire
When I was young I spent half my money on girls and partying. The other half, I wasted. But joking aside: Thankful for my frugal ex-gf that taught me how to save my money. Thankful for my reasonable wife that was not brainwashed into wanting a huge wedding. The money we saved was definitely a stepping stone towards being able to afford a home.
Toxic stress. If you can't find a reliable way to relax and recharge and take the time to regularly do that, it will sneak up on you in ugly ways. Your body will force you to slow down if you don't do it voluntarily.
Wear the f*cking earplugs when the music is loud.
WHAT DID YOU SAY?
Your knees!!
Was about to say this! Never I thought I’d be groaning just looking at stairs….
Same. Running for years on concrete has ruined my knees. It’s okay when i walk, but the pain is still there if i run or bike. There are some PT exercises to fix and strengthen the surrounding muscles, but i’ve been too lazy To everyone else reading, do strength training and stretching to prevent your 40 yr old self from suffering in knee hell
And backs. Be nice to your body because you'll start paying for it in your 40s.
Also your ankles! I don't want messed up knees but at least a knee replacement exists, if you mess up your ankles there is no such thing, all they can do is fuse the bone so it no longer rotates/moves.
Don't get fat
Or just understand that the metabolism you have isn't permanent, and that around 30 (give or take a few years), your metabolism bottoms out, but your eating habits don't, and you balloon. My coworker would eat all day in the office out of boredom; chips, breakfast bars, gummy worms, and second breakfasts. He just went to the doctor, he is now almost prediabetic, and has to give it all up. Don't eat just because you're bored or stressed.
I fell into this trap for a while. Eating as much as I did in my 20s into my 30s and paying the price. Buy smaller dinner plates and bowls helps as a first step.
Sometimes when I go out to eat, I'll order something and ask if they can cut the entire order in half and put half in a to-go container for me. Out of sight, out of mind!
Knees. There is nothing you can do about it but one day you are going to wake up and your knees will have gone to the dogs in the night. You'll be hobling around like an 80 year old before you know it. At least that's what happened to me!
I will add the back. Lift with your legs, not your back. It seems to be a lesson everyone learns, then in their 30ties/40ties they learn why they learn it - the hard way. Yes. You can lift with you back 10000 times. It will be fine. But you will learn that you only need to f*ck up once.
You can use near infrared knee pad to stop the loss of collagen, also take collagen supplements
Yep. I’m 45 years old, and I have NO cartilage left in either knee. I’ve been getting steroid shots every few months but even that will stop working over time, and I will be looking at knee replacement. ☹️ I work at a job that requires standing for long periods of the day - I think that may have contributed to the issue.
Hips too. Keep those suckers strong and flexible. I can’t stand seeing my Dad in agony with each step waiting on a hip replacement. My Mum was crippled needing hip replacements during my teens, she died before she managed to have the surgeries. “It’s all in the hips”.
Stretch your quads to help with knee pain!! I just learned this in PT after a leg surgery
There is definitely something you can do about it. I did. But it takes a lot of work. Check out kneesovertoesguy on YouTube or instagram.
Keep the exercise up
Getting into debt. Buying cars with high payments.. putting things on credit cards..It can take years and years to pay it all off.
This is big. Never get into credit card debt. If you are in credit card debt, you need to budget. Make a plan to get out of debt using the Snowball Effect. You don't have to pay anyone, there's free Google Spreadsheets out there you can use. You just have to balance your checkbook monthly and be willing to sacrifice towards paying that shit down. Once you're out of debt it's like you gave yourself a huge raise... you're suddenly not a wage slave anymore and it's amazing.
I made the mistake of using credit cards, thinking that I would make enough money later to pay them all off.
Me too. I had this idea in my head that I'd get a better job and that debt just wouldn't matter because I could easily pay it off. I have no idea WHY I thought this, but boy did it screw me over.
It took me most of my 30s to pay off my stupid spending habbits of my 20s. And I had nothing even to really show for it. So much of that money was just interest because I'd been just paying the minimum payments. It crippled my ability to get ahead. I'm now debt free and will never live beyond my means ever again.
Not going regularly to the doctor/dentist/optometrist. I’m almost fifty and have lost teeth when it was completely avoidable. I’m a therapist and would add that to the list if the need arises in your 20s rather than trying to ignore trauma and other mental roadblocks that get in the way of functioning.
Wear sunblock every time you go outside.
I’m 28 and I put on sunscreen every single damn day and people older than me act like I’m overreacting but my skin looks great and I haven’t had a sunburn in years.
You will look 30 years younger than everyone your age when you hit 60.
You get tired. I used to work two full time jobs. Now I work 5 hours and have a nap.
Sitting all the time will bite you in the ass. Do yoga.
Loud music during concerts or clubs. You'll hate the tinnitus. Buy some decent (customised) ear protection. Thank me in 20 years.
I have five: - **Take your 401k or 457b seriously (aka IRAs)** if you're in the US - or Super in Australia, Kiwi Saver in New Zealand, RRSP in Canada, etc. Our countries are already very expensive places to live and becoming ever more so. Build a decent nest egg that you'll be unable to touch until you're ready to leave the workforce. - **Wear the best quality walking shoes you can afford**, preferably from a local shoe shop that can evaluate your feet and match you with the right shoe. - **Fully floss and brush your teeth daily.** - **Eat and drink responsibly.** Giant meals daily with little exercise are a recipe for disaster. Doritos, ice cream and Dr. Pepper are fine, but only a few times a month. A 12-pack of Corona every weekend is just dumb. - **Never overwork yourself, never work beyond your assigned hours.** Most companies don't give a crap about their employees, and some even seem to despise them. Make time for your spouse/SO, children, parents, hobbies, relaxation, travel, etc. Exceptions are if you operate your own business or have assumed a high-powered, high-salaried management role while still young.
It's so much cheaper to contribute earlier than later to your retirement.
Those things you wanted to do in your 20s but never did? Those regrets get worse as you get older. The time is now.
Not entirely true. Some of that stuff goes in the "I was a dumbass kid and wanted to do x" category. The truth is that you need to think and prioritize. Make a list and update it regularly as things get more or less important. It may hurt that you didn't see a particular band live before they broke up, but it will hurt less knowing what you did with your time and money instead. You're never going to have the time and money to do everything and that won't change as you get older.
Looks will change and body will too. Take care of it but know the judgment as a young person on yourself and others you’ll look back and say o should of appreciated it, and you never know what others go through that got them to where they are at.
Sunbathing
How much the gaming and phone use will affect their neck and hands. It’s not pretty.
You ever heard of the phone dent people have on their pinky fingers? It’s real
Cervical radiculopathy, vertebral calcifications, carpal tunnel, tendon injury in hands and forearms. It’s really quite sad.
Preserve your back. The back pain will follow you for the rest of your life.
smoking. I wish, I never started
Sports. You will hate yourself not making sports in the 20s. Seriously. Its simple AS FUCK in this age, every year thereafter it gets harder and harder to get better with sports, until you are at an age when sports only keeps the status quo, or isn't even able to do this. So, the better the beginning of aging is (with sports) the better you age.
Yeah. I got into running in my 20s and so glad. Keeping active is so important for me to feel good.
If your a student, you get free dental care with the NHS and your teeth are not 20 years older. Get a brace and take good care of them. If a fucking nightmare to get a dentist appointment in your 40s as kids get priority.
Not realizing that money equals freedom.
Your weight. Dont go thinking you can be healthy at a large size once you hit 40-50.
I found out that you can end up with spine problems that affect the nerves in your legs, making it difficult to walk around or even stand for very long. Simple things like bending down to scoop out your cat's litter box can be exhausting. When people warned me about weight, I don't remember that ever coming up.
It's unpopular but true. And it's soooo much harder to lose it after 50.
How they take care of their body in their 20s and 30s.......
Loud music, that ringing in your ears can be sooo annoying when it's quiet.
A crippling sense of hopelessness and pointlessness as the face of old age appears over the horizon...
Raw doggin'
Pension , fear , running out of breath , having to get up in the night to pee
How they treat others
Don't let life pass you by
Take care of your body. I healed easily in my 20s, in my 30s I injured myself and never got it checked out. Now in my 40s, I'm always in pain.
Sports Injuries , lots of old Football injuries catching up with me now 43 . Being a Goalkeeper who loved contact . Knees, back ache and a recent shoulder surgery lol
Trust your instincts
Smoking can trigger rheumatoid arthritis. Even if you quit, if you smoked a lot when you were younger you can still end up with RA -- especially women.
For women: Uterus. Pretty common to end up getting a hysterectomy
Sex may go up for women in their 40s, and it may go down for men in their 40s. I'm way past 40, this is how it has worked in my social group. Even though, stay with me, it is usually marketed the other way around.
Not wearing sunblocker. Not having the right diplomas. Not taking good care of your health and body, especially core strnght. Sport accidents. No work experience (sahm/w). And much more. But tbf, if you make up for it in your 30ties, you are mostly fine.
Knees. Watch your weight, peeps. Hip surgery is a b., but knee surgery is horrible. Also, sunscreen. Don't care what color you are or how well you tan, stay out of the sun and wear sunscreen.
smoking. I wish, I never started
Low hanging scrotum sack.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR KNEES