Bad common advice given to teens and young adults

[Rockbadchild]

I head people say that to their kid

''If you don't like a specific job don't be good at it''

I understand it but I think its a terrible thing to tell to a kid I much ratter,

''If you don't like a specific job do it as fast as you can so you spend less time doing it but do it well enough so you don't have to start over. ''


a other one I like ''if you don't know what to do, do something until you figure it out, the worst it's going to happen is you will figure out what you don't like.''

 

[Rockbadchild]

1. Pay yourself first...live below your means and save 10% of every paycheck towards future purchases.
2. Never finance anything that depreciates.
3. Find a partner that agrees with 1&2
4. Pick a career that you enjoy... you'll spend 1/4 of your time on earth doing it.

I agree but how do you buy your first car if you need a car to go to work ?

 

[ultrarunner]

I agree but how do you buy your first car if you need a car to go to work ?

Never lost money on a car…

Buy cheap and drive until something better comes along and upgrade selling the old for more than you have into it… never had a car payment yet.

My grandmother’s simple advice was without cash in hand you can’t afford it…

She did have a mortgage and never rested until it was paid and paid off early…

Elders that experienced the Depression were often quite frugal and debt adverse…

 

[oosik]

I'm retired. Have been for a long time. Retired in 1982 @ the age of 40. Was able to do this for a couple reasons.

- began saving the first day I got a permanent job
- very conservative on what we spent money on
- never lived lavishly, just comfortably
- retired to where I am now and built upon that
- have always paid cash for everything, except our first house
- timing was everything. Sold our first house, made a bloody fortune. Used this money to build our retirement here in Ea WA.

 

[Rockbadchild]

Never lost money on a car…

Buy cheap and drive until something better comes along and upgrade selling the old for more than you have into it… never had a car payment yet.

My grandmother’s simple advice was without cash in hand you can’t afford it…

She did have a mortgage and never rested until it was paid and paid off early…

Elders that experienced the Depression were often quite frugal and debt adverse…

I am surprise you where always able to sell for more than you bought it you are a very good salesmen ... I always sell for less or equal to what I bought because cars depreciate and even then I sometime had a hard time selling, you pay a beater $1500 put in $500 in for safety but after a few year it's now rotten through, it wont pass the safety so how can you sell it for $2000 ? even if I was able too I wouldn't feel good about myself since I just pass a dirty one to this guy...


My parents lived out of town, I needed a vehicles to go to work, I had very little money what was I suppose to do ? hitchhike and risk being late and get fired ? at this point its a investment I bought a $3000 vehicle took payments for 3 months built my credit at the same time and I made much more money working ... I agree with the premise but for the first vehicle when you need to travel for work and there is no other options, as bad of a investment a car is, in this case it is a good investment. If I would've took the payments for 3 years it would've been a different story... Taking these vehicle loans made me save quite a few percentage on my first mortgage.

 

[Omega Woods]

Here's some good advice I was not given when I was a lad 30+ years ago:

1. Take some ag/welding/shop classes in high school if you can. Four years of science, math and English are great but those elective hours should be filled with practical courses to the maximum extent possible. I regret not having taken mechanical drawing, for instance. I had to learn it anyway and I'm not very good at it.

2. Go learn a trade before going to college if you can. If you can make it something you can do as a one-man side business, even better. You'll always be able to get some work to keep the wolves away from the door when life takes an unexpected turn and you'll be able to supplement your income whenever you need to.

 

[Fixastuff]

Sometimes lucky is better than smart or work harding, unfortunately(or fortunately,lol)

 

[ultrarunner]

I would say I'm more of the buy it right than selling side.

Some of my best buys were convertibles back when they were just old cars...

Others like the 455 Olds Delta belonged to a friend's aunt who had passed and the car had been sitting 2 years in the garage... $100 and get it out by the weekend... used battery, pump up the tires and a little starting fluid...

California isn't a rust state where I am so not an issue and smog is our inspection back to year model 1976...

Never lived more than 5 miles from work so also not an issue.

In retrospect, a barn full of the cars I sold wouldn't be a bad thing... Mustangs, Camaro, GTO, VW, Triumph, MG, Cougar, etc...

Used tires are cheap, junkyard batteries, etc...

If I ever sell my one new car it would be at a loss so 21 years later still have it in pristine condition.

 

[Rockbadchild]

I would say I'm more of the buy it right than selling side.

Some of my best buys were convertibles back when they were just old cars...

Others like the 455 Olds Delta belonged to a friend's aunt who had passed and the car had been sitting 2 years in the garage... $100 and get it out by the weekend... used battery, pump up the tires and a little starting fluid...

California isn't a rust state where I am so not an issue and smog is our inspection back to year model 1976...

Never lived more than 5 miles from work so also not an issue.

In retrospect, a barn full of the cars I sold wouldn't be a bad thing... Mustangs, Camaro, GTO, VW, Triumph, MG, Cougar, etc...

Used tires are cheap, junkyard batteries, etc...

If I ever sell my one new car it would be at a loss so 21 years later still have it in pristine condition.

I understand now at this makes sense.

 

[ultrarunner]

Maybe it was a case of times were different... Only one guy had a new car in high school... he worked at a gas station and bought a new Trans Am.

A few years ago I was at the old High School and the lot was full of late model to new cars... even among my co workers it's common to buy a new Civic or Prius, etc... for the kids... especially daughters...

Times have changed... I doubt anyone even does their own oil changes anymore.

 

[aczlan]

Get a credit card and keep a medium balance to start building credit (not entirely 100% bad; but I think this thinking often escalates and turns bad)

I disagree with keeping a balance.
Don't charge more than you can pay off every month.
The difference in your credit between carrying a balance and paying it off every month isn't enough to be worth the interest you will pay every month.

Aaron Z

 

[bnold]

Don’t have kids you can’t afford. Be intelligent about your situation before you get pregnant.
- I don’t want to support your kids.



It is your job to raise your kids… Not the school, daycare, state or fed.



Save for the future, but don’t forget to live now. For you, the future may not exist.



Not all debt is bad debt, unless you are irresponsible, in which case no debt is the best debt for you.



Nothing is owed to you, you must earn everything.



Everyone deserves baseline respect. Your personal interactions with people determine whether they move up or down that respect ladder. Don’t determine that level based on other’s input.

 

[bnold]

I disagree with keeping a balance.
Don't charge more than you can pay off every month.
The difference in your credit between carrying a balance and paying it off every month isn't enough to be worth the interest you will pay every month.

Aaron Z

Keeping a balance is not equal to paying interest. 30 day grace. A low percentage of used credit when reported to agencies is better than $0 used for most analytics.

Still pay off all purchases prior to paying interest.

 

[Torvy]

Keeping a balance is not equal to paying interest. 30 day grace. A low percentage of used credit when reported to agencies is better than $0 used for most analytics.

Still pay off all purchases prior to paying interest.

You both just said the same thing in a different way.

Another good way to build credit early is to take 90 days same as cash offers (must have the cash though). Pay them off on time and use someone else's money for free (yes, it is baked in, but you are usually paying the same either way, so you are doing worse by paying cash).

Don't worry about depreciating assets in terms of loans. If you can earn more money investing the cash than you lose in interest, take the loan and invest the cash. If not, pay cash. Depreciating assets often are levers you can use to boost income. The calculus is not always as straightforward as some would claim.

For most people, getting married before 25 means you are doing so without a fully developed brain. Sure, it Might still work out, but for many it means messed up marriages and messed up kids.

This Chart Tells You How Likely You Are to Get Divorced

Women who wait until after the age of 26 to get married have the best shot at staying together longer

time.com

Another important piece of advice for the young. Anecdotal evidence is rarely useful as a guide in life. Data is not perfect, but it is better than advice from people who use one data point as a source.

 

[sea2summit]

Don't bet on THAT. At the inception of computers I knew a man that set up a nationwide auto parts distributor allowing them to dramatically cut their workforce at multiple warehouses. System worked so well they thought they had no further use for him so fired him. Six months later the system crashed,distribution ceased and all the the kings horses nor all the kings men could put the system together again. He programed the system to do it unless he made a few keystrokes and at that time other programmers didn't know how to circumvent what he had programed. Most economical thing they could do was rehire the IT guru at 3x his previous salary and sign his v-e-r-y generous contract with perks and severance clause.

So he deliberately caused harm to his employer just incase he got let go? Sounds like just the type of dude I'd gladly get rid of.

 

[K5lwq]

My advice for my boys was simple. I said don’t worry, you will figure it out just before you die. Good luck!