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What advice would you give to your younger self? Share with Legal & General - NOW CLOSED

(624 Posts)
EllieGransnet (GNHQ) Mon 04-Feb-19 14:42:13

We’ve all been asked this question at some point. Our answers can vary from ‘I wish I’d taken more risks’ or ‘I would have stopped caring about what people think’, to ‘I wish I’d had more fun’ or ‘I wish I’d travelled the world more’. But if you really think about it, what practical advice would you have really benefited from when you were younger? What would you have told your younger self? What would you have done differently? A recent survey carried out across Mumsnet and Gransnet revealed that some Gransnet users consciously put off financial decisions. Is going further with your finances something you might have given more consideration to, with the benefit of hindsight? Whatever advice you’d like to give to your younger self, Legal & General would love to know.

Here’s what Legal & General have to say: “On our savings journey, a nudge in the right direction can make the world of difference when it comes to our financial futures. It’s starting off early, saving little and often over a longer period, that can really pay off*. Although it’s never too late to start saving, what tips and guidance would have motivated you to do more with your money and just get started?”

Would you have taken more risks when you were younger? Is there any information you wish you would have known back then, such as how to save into your pension, how to invest your money or even how to save your money from an earlier age? Would you like to tell your younger self to be more confident in the decisions you make? Or perhaps you wish you’d spent more time with friends and family?

Whatever the advice you would like to give to your younger self, post them on the thread below and everyone who does will be entered into a prize draw where one GNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).*

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw
GNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

*Open 4/02/19 to 25/02/19. To enter please post on the thread below. One entry per person. One prize to be won: £300 voucher of winner’s choice (from a list). Winner chosen by random draw performed by computer process.

*The value of your investments can fall as well as rise and any income from them is not guaranteed. Legal & General Unit Trust Managers Limited.

rememberacharity Wed 06-Feb-19 12:55:15

Some great advice from charity supporters in this video:
humansearchengine.org/life-questions/view/what-is-the-best-piece-of-advice-you-have-ever-been-given

6paces Wed 06-Feb-19 12:56:24

Don't look back...you'll get a stiff neck ?

Catsmother Wed 06-Feb-19 13:02:30

I would have saved more money and put it away so that I would have a pension now instead of having to wait until I am 66 in 2020. I paid extra contributions so that I would get a full pension and they changed it from 30 years to 35 so I have to wait longer and not get a full pension anyway.

Shesanana Wed 06-Feb-19 13:05:43

I would tell my younger self that I was adopted instead of discovering it when I was 65. I could then have asked all the forever to be unanswered questions and saved myself so much heartache.

becky004 Wed 06-Feb-19 13:16:36

I would tell my younger self to save from an early age, also to use some of that savings to stay at home with my babies for a couple of years. I had no savings and had to go back to work when they were 3 months old and so wish I could have stayed home longer.

GeminiJen Wed 06-Feb-19 13:23:19

This above all: to thine own self be true.
And it must follow, as the night the day
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
[Polonius, in Hamlet]
I've tried to follow this advice in everything I do.
In terms of managing my finances, it means ethical banking, investments etc. ...long before this became fashionable grin

glennamy Wed 06-Feb-19 13:26:11

Ignore what others think of you... Travel before settling for you career!

Molly10 Wed 06-Feb-19 13:26:25

I would encourage my younger self to be more confident... you are better than you think you are in many ways.

Practically - get on the housing ladder as soon as possible.

MrRichTea Wed 06-Feb-19 13:38:40

Don't push your luck so far, save more....

fitwell Wed 06-Feb-19 13:49:13

Not to let what you think people might say to cloud your decisions, or let people walk all over you

kelcig69 Wed 06-Feb-19 13:54:48

I would say, don't worry about yesterday, move on and save for that rainy day, look into the future, what may happen, may need planning for. Put a little by every month.

zoeypma Wed 06-Feb-19 14:02:59

I'd tell myself to try for family in late 20s rather than having to try for family via IVF in my late 30s/40s. Career will fall into place

hellywellyt Wed 06-Feb-19 14:07:34

If you can look in the mirror and say you are are happy with who you are then it doesn't matter what others think about you

sezz35sezz35 Wed 06-Feb-19 14:08:03

Go for it, you only regret the things you don't do!

tunde Wed 06-Feb-19 14:19:22

I would tell my old self that first impressions do matter. I wouldn`t leave my big travelling plans so late, my joints and vitality is not as good as in my thirties - forties when work was the most important.

Olive1820 Wed 06-Feb-19 14:21:17

Not to stay in the same job for 25 years !

gd Wed 06-Feb-19 14:28:02

Don't wear those trousers. They are not fashionable and they never will be.

dianegf1 Wed 06-Feb-19 14:29:10

Don't worry about mistakes you make, they help you learn.

cwasin Wed 06-Feb-19 14:29:16

You don’t need a bloke. Be brave, go it alone and DO NOT cash in your pension for short term gain. Buy yourself a house at the first opportunity and be discerning about who you let into your life.

Itsmyfirstrodeo Wed 06-Feb-19 14:37:04

I'd tell myself to travel more and to care what people think less.
Oh, and you are much prettier than you think you are. Stand tall!!

jcyclops Wed 06-Feb-19 14:37:51

Don't rush to leave your council house and buy a property. Buy your council house first, then move later. Mortgages don't have to be for 25 years - 20yr or 15yr do not cost that much more.

otherwiseknownasGrandma Wed 06-Feb-19 14:52:56

Leave him - you'll be so much happier when you do!

Sararose Wed 06-Feb-19 14:55:25

I was offered a good job when I was 17 but my parents wouldn't let me take it as it meant leaving home, I wish I had defied them as my life would have been so different, So my advice is "Stick to your guns" and do what YOU feel is in your best interest,

sandie48 Wed 06-Feb-19 14:56:16

Love your family, your friends and yourself; mix with people who love you, inspire you, comfort you. Live each day as if it were your last, not with mad things, but with caring, courtesy and kindness.

Pittcity Wed 06-Feb-19 15:00:57

Not to buy a money pit of a house and to contribute to a pension from my first pay packet.
Not to assume that house prices would continue to increase at the same rate and that I would be able to live on savings interest.