5 things I'd tell 25-year-old me about money.
I didn't grow up with a financial blueprint. So I did what everyone around me did. I spent. 💰
Here's what I'd change:
1. Invest in VTSAX, as much and as often as possible. I set aside only 3% in my 401K and called it responsible. The market kept compounding without me.
2. Don't buy the BMW. I was $150K in student loan debt when I financed a $30K car. I thought I'd arrived somewhere. I arrived at a monthly payment that made no sense.
3. Skip the luxury apartments. I paid for granite countertops and a pool I used four times. Cheap housing feels like sacrifice in your 20s. In your 40s it looks like freedom.
4. Cook more. Bar tab less. The dinners and the rounds of drinks felt like living. They were also quietly bleeding me dry.
5. Learn what an index fund actually is. The whole game was sitting in plain sight. I just wasn't looking.
The math works at any age. You just can't get the years back.
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