>Youth is a really great thing. Don’t waste it. In fact, in your 20s, I think it’s ok to take a “Give me financial discipline, but not just yet” attitude. All the money in the world will never get back time that passed you by.
This is kind of conflicting with the 'keep your personal burn rate low', and I don't really agree with it. Here's why: most young people who burn a ton of money do it on something stupid, like buying a new car they can't afford, or going on a series of expensive holidays they will barely remember, or wasting money on expensive clothing labels.
When you're in your twenties, keeping your personal burn rate low is imperative, and the excess needs to go into investment. The wonders of compounding really start to kick in right when you need it the most down the track.
I was pushed towards making investments early on and hands down they were the best decisions I ever made. It meant forgoing party holidays with friends I don't talk to anymore, and having old cars and having to stay in sometimes.
So developing financial discipline early is paramount, because the investment habit gets harder and harder as you go on, as life's luxuries and personal expectations go up and up.
For the record, eating ramen while working on startups falls into the investment category, as long as you're serious about making it work.
I don't know how rich sama is, and maybe wasting a bit of cash was fine because the cash rolled in, but for the majority of people in their early twenties, starting saving and investing 10-20% of your income now. And definitely stay away from expensive iTems bought on credit. The worst thing you can do is develop a credit habit - you'll spend the majority of life setting up someone else's retirement.
This is kind of conflicting with the 'keep your personal burn rate low', and I don't really agree with it. Here's why: most young people who burn a ton of money do it on something stupid, like buying a new car they can't afford, or going on a series of expensive holidays they will barely remember, or wasting money on expensive clothing labels.
When you're in your twenties, keeping your personal burn rate low is imperative, and the excess needs to go into investment. The wonders of compounding really start to kick in right when you need it the most down the track.
I was pushed towards making investments early on and hands down they were the best decisions I ever made. It meant forgoing party holidays with friends I don't talk to anymore, and having old cars and having to stay in sometimes.
So developing financial discipline early is paramount, because the investment habit gets harder and harder as you go on, as life's luxuries and personal expectations go up and up.
For the record, eating ramen while working on startups falls into the investment category, as long as you're serious about making it work.
I don't know how rich sama is, and maybe wasting a bit of cash was fine because the cash rolled in, but for the majority of people in their early twenties, starting saving and investing 10-20% of your income now. And definitely stay away from expensive iTems bought on credit. The worst thing you can do is develop a credit habit - you'll spend the majority of life setting up someone else's retirement.