All The Things I Would Do If I Were An 18-year-old Today
Making the right choices today will make your life much easier in the future.
If you are 18 years old today, this article is for you. These are all the things I would do if I were an 18-year-old today:
Live with my parents until I am 25 years old (assuming I could live with my parents)
I wouldn’t rush moving out from my parents. I would live with them until I was at least 25 years old. That would make me save so much money, which I could use to buy a house on my own. I wish I weren’t in such a hurry to leave my parents’ house.
Open a Lifetime ISA (If you live in the UK)
As soon as I turned 18 years old, I would open a Lifetime ISA. For every £4,000 saved in a year, the UK government gives you £1,000. That means I would need to save £334 per month to get the annual bonus. If I kept it like that, at the age of 25 years old, I would have £35,000, which is a good amount for a mortgage deposit in the UK. Not so much in London, but in other parts of the UK for sure.
Get two jobs (one apprenticeship and a part-time in retail)
I wouldn’t go to College or University (which now I believe is a waste of money, time, and energy). Instead, I would get an apprenticeship in an area of interest, but I would make sure to check the average salary in all the areas available. I would choose the one that paid the highest (and that I didn’t hate).
On the side, I would get a part-time job in retail (and even other gigs), which would be the money I would use for my living expenses — the money from the apprenticeship I would save on my lifetime ISA.
Start writing online for Medium and other paid platforms
The most important thing about writing is to be consistent, and the more years you are doing it, the better. Starting Medium earlier would probably mean a steadier writing career.
Learn how to drive and ask to use my parents’ car (hopefully, they would allow me)
I think it’s important to learn how to drive at a young age, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to spend money buying a car and paying for insurance on your own. It will be cheaper if you can use someone else’s car and help them with the expenses.
Exercise and get proper fit
There is no better age to get proper fit than as a young adult. Your body is already fully developed, and you won’t interfere in any development cycle so that you can exercise without worries. Also, you are young and have lots of energy. I would try to run a marathon.
Do therapy
Everybody needs therapy, and starting it young means more self-knowledge and, therefore, more confidence to live life on your terms. Also, at the age of 18, we are often anxious and depressed, and instead of focusing on the things we can control to make our lives better, we use drugs, cigarettes, alcohol and dating as coping mechanisms.
Focus more on friendships instead of lovers
What a waste of money, time, and energy it’s to be invested in romantic relationships at such a young age. You will have time to meet someone, and your youth is precious. At 18 years old, I would use all my time to focus on friendships and meeting new people. Networking is everything because we need people to be successful.
Budget trips to visit other countries every month
If you are 18 years old, and you live in Europe, you must travel. I would budget £250 per month for 2 to 3 days trips to different countries. I would try to cover all of Europe first. It’s doable if you get cheap travel tickets and cheap hotels. (I am not considering the pandemic here.)
Learn more languages (via friendships)
Because I would be focusing on my friendships and I would also be travelling to other countries, I am confident I would be able to learn more languages in non-traditional ways.
Be more playful with my style (hair colours, piercings, and tattoos)
I got tattoos, but I regret not doing two things: getting my hair dead in different colours and piercings. I would do it now.
What are the things you would do if you were an 18-year-old today?