People Break Down The Worst Mistakes Someone Can Make In Their 20s

Woman celebrating her birthday with silver balloons that say, "24"
Photo by Ana Tavares on Unsplash

Once people graduate from high school, a lot of them know what they want to do career-wise, but they may not totally know where they want to go or who they want to be.

And while the twenties are the time to figure that out, there are some ways that people can really mess up their future if they aren't careful about how they spend their time.


Redditor KadduUltimate asked:

"What is the worst mistake one can make in their 20s?"

Know Your Worth

"28-year-old here. Best advice. Learn to actually enjoy your surroundings."

"But the absolute best advice I can give. You're an adult now. You are allowed to make boundaries and stick to them. Unhappy with something? Leave or fix it. I gave up way too much time feeding into useless issues."

"Oh, and smile more. People seem to like people that smile."

- Frosted_underscore

Think Through Parenthood First

"Having a kid."

"As someone who didn't have kids, and watching my peers growing up and the lives they lead and how hard they have it... wait forever. It's bliss. Plenty of money left over for savings, retirement, and vacations."

- KimmyPops

Learn How to Invest

"Not the worst mistake, but if you haven’t yet, open a ROTH IRA and start contributing… compound interest is a thing."

- FloobieToobins

Value Family

"Spend time with your parents while they and you are young! Don’t get so caught up in doing absolutely everything all the time that you forget the people who got you to that point. They, too, are racing time."

- flowerchild_3

Watch Out for College Debt

"Do not incur a mortgage-size debt in college tuition."

"You might be forced to continue taking classes to keep from starting the payment clock., while you also incur more debt. Also, you can't use bankruptcy to remove it."

"Instead, learn a trade: bring trade schools back. learn more about who you are and what you are interested in before taking on another lifetime commitment thing the boomers screwed up for us because 'screw you, they got theirs.'"

- cyrixlord

Watch Out for ANY Debt

"Credit card debt. Took us forever to get everything square after many dumb decisions and opening of multiple cards in our twenties."

- Ube_Ape

Expensive Items Don't Bring Happiness

"Signing a commitment for a high-priced place to live or car."

"Too many young kids believe they deserved fancy and nice, especially to impress others, and they end up scraping for dollars because of it."

- clem82

Giving In to Societal Pressure

"Thinking they have to start their whole life and career and be a homeowning family by 30... or be viewed as lazy, or my personal favorite, as 'wasting their potential.'"

- Suitable-Ad6145

Love Doesn't Have to Be Rushed

"Marriage."

"You and your partner are going to change so much between age 20 and age 40, neither of you will be the same people, and divorce is almost guaranteed."

"Wait until you're done with school and/or established in your careers."

- ConansMonorail

Dental Care

"Brush your teeth guys! And floss! The money needed to fix teeth is staggering in most places. Not even just the US!"

"Brush and floss twice a day! You'll be so thankful you did!"

- appleparkfive

Doing Time

"Going to jail. Don't break the law, kids."

- Thecooleo

Life Continues After Your 20s

"Thinking you’re supposed to peak in your 20s creatively, emotionally, sexually, and professionally."

"My 30s were when I learned that my 20s didn’t define me. My 40s have been f**king incredible. Hang in there."

- VampireCircus

Poor Healthcare

"Actively neglected my health in my 20s to maintain employment. Now my knees and elbows crack very loudly and it hurts when they do."

"Also, not all wounds are visible. I thought I was perfectly fine when I was 22. I thought everything was temporary. Holy f**k was I wrong."

- bumboclawt

Don't Forget 'Back to the Future' and 'The Terminator'

"Time travel."

"If you're a kid, the time cops will let you off with a warning, but as soon as you're older, any fluctuation in the continuum gets you 8 cycles in the penumbra."

"In your 20s, you're just not going to have the intuition to avoid causing ripples. Just wait until you're 30 and your chrono-mentor approves you for your first jaunt."

- Khaosus

It's Not an All-Or-Nothing Situation

" I think it’s important to remember that even if you screw up and make some bad choices in your 20s, you can still recover."

- OhNoSweetJeebusNo

Just like how some people think that high school is the ultimate time of their lives, others feel this pressure for every important detail of their life to take place in their twenties.

But the twenties are just the years where people figure out who they are and set the stage for the rest of their lives. They should be lived responsibly and safely, but they don't have to be taken seriously all the time, either.

Until we're in a situation, we'll never really know how we'll react.

I have been in this scenario, though.

Sex matters. And people rarely want to admit how much.

But sex isn't a lifetime guarantee.

It fades, as does love.

It's important to speak about it.

It can be a fixable situation.

A relationship without sex may not be the end of the world, but it's definitely a sign that something is off.

Keep reading...Show less
Two women holding up daisies
Photo by Sam McNamara on Unsplash

An important contributor to our overall health and happiness is the quality of our friendships.

We may not have a lot of friends, but the more important factor is the depth of those relationships.

But we've all had one of those friends who turned out not to be a very good friend at all.

Keep reading...Show less
Couple in love
Jonathan Borba/Unsplash

No one wants to be alone.

But that doesn't mean we should settle when it comes to choosing a romantic partner.

When people rush into things without letting love flourish, it could lead to problems down the line that can inevitably lead to difficult breakups.

Keep reading...Show less

Among the many reasons people watch, and rewatch, sitcoms is to imagine your life was more like the one you were watching.

Being able to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village on a line cook's salary, somehow always having the comfortable sofa available at your favorite coffee shop whenever you pop in, or having your best friends always available at your beck and call whenever you need them.

For the romantics, however, it's wishing you could have a romance like you've seen on television.

True not all sitcom romances are exactly the sort that makes you go all aflutter (Were Ross and Rachel actually on a break? And don't even get me started about Ted and Robin.)

Other sitcom couples are so captivating, though, that we would have given anything to be at their wedding... or at the very least go to their home for dinner every Friday.

And this includes plutonic couples, as there is nothing more heartwarming than a lasting friendship.

Keep reading...Show less