How many things would you change if you had the chance to go back to your twenties? The list would be too long, am I right? I would only change a few things. The first one would be to stay in school until I finished, at least the BS. The second thing I would do is to save more to prepare better for the future. To reflect, I am the same person I was in my twenties. However, today at 42, I am more focused in accomplishing my goals, finishing college and saving more.
Reflections: What I Wish I Could Tell My 20-Year Old Self
Having worked for over 15 years for the same company, made it very difficult to climb the corporate ladder, without a four-year degree. Having realized that it all comes down to this, it’s who you know and how much college you have accomplished. The colleagues that got the higher paying positions and more salary were the ones that had college degrees. The employees that rarely moved up, which was me, never moved up in positions and stayed in an undesirable plateau. The only options were to move out of that department, however, there was a catch. Those other department had similar positions and guess what? The pay was the same or less. Even though, I qualified for other positions, due to lack of college, I was always turned away. I really got tired of the feedback. If I could give a piece of advice to my 20-year old self is to finish school.
The last this I wanted to do in my twenties was save money. I had a savings account and I did put money in it. However, because of one thing or another, it was always empty. When you are a young twenty-something, you don’t foresee all the things you are going to need later in life. Now in my forties, I wished I listened to my parents advice and saved my money. Back then, it was normal to live pay-check-to-paycheck and above my means. I spent more than I earned. Not to mention, how much does an uneducated Hispanic earn in his early nineties? Not much, right, see my point?
Maturity plays an important part of growing up. The younger you mature, the more benefits you will achieve in the long run. If I could go back and advice myself, I would tell myself to listen to my parents when they advised me to finish college and save money. Life always finds the way to teach you lessons and the earlier you accomplish your goals, the better off you will be. Life has taught me that, we must learn from the past and look to the future! It’s never too late to go back to college and to save money.
If you have any plans to go back to college, or open a savings account, please let me know. I would love to hear your input.