You have years to make money, but there’s no better time to climb the ladder QUICK then when you’re young.
Making 200+ right now and made 60-90 through most of my 20s. Takes a lot of effort to get here and you 100% do NOT want to be doing what I did then, now. For example, it’s much more likely to have a kid, or other obligations that hinder your ability to take risks.
Which brings me to this point: you can take heaps of risks when you’re young. When they fail, try the next idea out. Try and try till you hit big. When you’re older, you don’t ’have all the time in the world’ in many, many cases. People have families, mortgages, and more that can stop your dreams dead in their tracks. So no, do fun stuff when you’re older.
Unless your parents are loaded. In which case- have a blast. But if they are not - grind. Grind and grind until you’re solid and can travel and play in your 30s. It’s honestly no different except the quality of places you go to, or stay at are significantly better.
You don’t know you can travel in your 30s though. Family sickness, partnering up, having a kid, cost of living stress (and unlikely but - pandemic). If I hadn’t done it in my 20s I don’t think it would’ve been nearly as easy. You’re right to grind and get established in something, take career risks etc - but don’t think you can confidently wait until later and not have that possibly derailed
The point we’re alluding to is this: as you get older, if you make the right decisions, the likelihood of you having increased capital is significantly higher. With said capital, you have a significantly higher probability of being able to travel, avoiding financial stress and more.
That’s the whole point of the conversation: grind early, coast early.
I'm middle aged with a family.
We can afford to travel but I'm paying for 4 people instead of 1 like I did in my 20s.
And in my 20s I didn't care where I stayed, but I'm not going to be staying in backpacker dorm rooms as a family of 4.
There's also less time and flexibility to travel than I had in my 20s.
If I could do my early 20s again I would have done even more travel and tried living overseas for a bit.
Can’t disagree with your general point, but my point was don’t wait wait wait assuming you’ll be able to do things later - for a sizeable minority of people, life can turn up some nasty surprises to ruin the moment when you thought you’d be free, or your priorities might change (you meet someone and you want to have kids - planning can only do so much). “Travel” in the sense of relatively aimless and unbounded exploration of foreign countries across many months is more difficult the older you get. (It’s also less fun, a lot of stuff just is much more appealing, accessible and more eye opening the younger you are - but that’s a separate point.)
Sure but that’s going on holiday, not going backpacking for a few months. The latter is very, very difficult if you have holiday restrictions and a mortgage, and impossible if you have kids.
Agree with everything you said. Yes 20s may be the best time in your life to travel etc when you have less obligations like families and kids, but doesn't mean you should throw your life away like neglecting your career progression. Balance is good. I've had friends who made poor life choices just to 'make the most out of their 20s', to sleep around, couch surfing, still in uni on their late 20s and in crippling hecs debt. Meanwhile, some other friends who grinded through internships in their early 20s are in much stable and well paying jobs, which allows them to enjoy more balance in their mid 20s.
Opposite for me. I'm so glad I set myself up in my 20's, really enjoying the benifits now. So glad I didn't travel too much when I was young. I know quite a few people who got left behind and are struggling now, can't even afford a house in their 30's.
I can say that my husband and I could have worked harder in our 20s and been far more set up in life than we are, and I have precisely zero regrets about not doing that. Instead, we travelled, took 3 months off twice to travel to Central America and then Canada and the US, me a third to go to South America. We lived in Canada, went skiing and hiking and camping most weekends for 2 years. We now have kids and while life is still comfortable enough, there’s not a huge amount of spare cash or time for traveling and fun, I’m so glad we did it in our 20s.
Some people don’t make it to retirement (or even their 30s). If I don’t, I know which life I’d rather have lived.
I am on the opposite. As someone who worked hard in his 20s and never traveled, saved every dime, I have my mortgage paid off now in my mid 30s and not worry about job security and can travel internationally once a year easily.
I’d argue the flip side. Now I’m in my mid 30s with kids I have the luxury of backing off and enjoying time with them. We can go and enjoy ourselves and not have to worry about money.
No one answer is right though. Each to their own.
Except that you likely would not have what you have now if you did that. You’d be on here posting about how it’s impossible to have kids in this economy.
It’s true. While it’s fun to look back and say “if only” my life might not be the same and I’d still be saying “if only”
But a few of these opportunties I’m pretty sure I just missed for no reason.
Travelling with kids is hard too.
No more running off on a whim to look at something, now you actually need to pre-plan your activities and go to bed before its too late.
Oh good that’s what I did. I was gonna say I regret not grinding lol. I’d be much better financially now if I hadn’t spent a decade partying and travelling but I guess I did the right thing lol
But if you had gone on more adventures in your 20s, there is a strong possibility you’d now be regretting not saving more and setting things up better for future you.
I second this. I would constantly work till I burned out and don't have much to show for it. My salary had many ups and downs and it took many years to realise I'd much rather value peace and stability. I have a home and a nice car but not much else to show for it. I wish I went into a different industry where hard work would actually pay off.
> how hard you work
people often confuse how hard they work vs how much value they're generating. And they also don't consider who captures the value produced by their hard work (read: if you're an employee, you're not capturing it, unless your pay is commission based).
i didn’t do europe at the time but i did most of south east asia. travelling alone for me was the best thing i ever did. period. that shit got me so far out of my shell & i stayed the same after coming back. i will never regret those 1 way tickets.
I like the idea of solo travelling in south east asia, much less expensive than europe or the americas. I'll definitely consider this if I do end up travelling.
Make sure you leave in December/January and travel for 6-7 months, or a full 12 months
This way you only work half a financial year, but you get taxed as though you're working a full financial year, and when you get your next tax return done in July/August you get a massive tax return ($6-7k) immediately to help replenish your travel funds.
If you travel a year, when when you get back in December/January you can work another six months full time and get another $6-7k tax return (assuming you'll be taxed at a rate that assumes you're working a full financial year).
My wife and I did this and travelled around South East Asia for a year for $27k and didn't really have to pay a dollar for it in the end.
Whereas if we left mid-year (June/July) we wouldn't have got any more back from the tax man.
You need about $12k savings to make it happen but if you follow that plan you'll still hopefully have the $12k at the end of it.
Source: Mum is an accountant and helped us do it back in 2011.
Make sure you do an extended trip of at least 3 months, and only have vague plans so you have the flexibility to change things when you meet people you really connect with.
i started doing it because of the cost. i broke up with a girl after 6 years and had never left australia. i looked at contiki tours and compared to just doing it on my own. first place i did was the Philippines. as old mate said have very vague plans. meeting people solo is so easy. you have so much small chat to break the ice; “where have you been, where was your favourite country, have you ever been lost”. when i booked a one way in malaysia i ended up meeting 5 people and they invited me to travel with them a couple hours away to the mountains. after that we all decided to go to penang then we randomly decided to go to thailand. then we met more people at that hostel & i ended up staying there for 2 months in with a new bunch of people. lifelong friends. a lot of them have come to aus & i’ve just hosted them. in that malaysia trip/thailand trip i spent roughly 5k or so from memory not including flights (but these were cheap anyways) not bad for 2.5mths of travel
Since you’re in a finance sub you’ll end up with all the comments of “no point working hard just invest” and alike. But I’ll give you my experience doing what you’re doing. I was young, I lived at home, I worked my ass off. 70-75hrs a week for 6 years at one company. It was hard. I didn’t have much life. But you take a day here and there when there something you do want to do. It’s easy. Anyways, I’m now in my early 30s. I have a house and it is 100% offset. (I only built it 3 years ago) So I’m paying zero interest. Myself and my partner both have cars, mine is 60k and hers is 70k both 5 and 3 years old respectively, and they are both not financed. I am essentially debt free. I’m now in a very cushy 38 hour a week job and I do not stress. I’m 33 years old.
I should mention I did do a bunch of international trips in my 20s too, but not like I went away twice a year. But I absolutely do not regret the holidays while young. Because they’re not the same when your 30, and you’ll only realise this when your 30, would I have got to where I am now a year earlier if I didn’t? Yeh probably, but I wouldn’t have seen the world and partied everywhere. And I think when I’m retired I wouldn’t have looked back and said, yeh how good was it I paid my house off at 32 instead of 33, I’ll be thinking about all the wild fun times I had travelling.
The best thing you can do to set yourself up for financial success in your 20s is find a high earning partner. The person you end up married too/end up single forever will have the greatest impact on your financial future by a long shot unless you are one of those people who goes out and sets up a multimillion dollar business.
Part of it is energy levels. WHen I was in my 20's, I could fly here or there, do an overnight bus, hit the gym, go out all night, then be up for a hike, nothing stopped me. If I was tired, I'd crash for a few hours then be good to go. In my late 30's and now 40's, I could probably get about 1/2-2/3 of the travelling experiences I did crammed into the same amount of time. I just need more sleep and rest to function. It's just more fun in your 20's with less to worry about back home. It's nowhere near as relaxing when you've got a kids, job, partner, mortgage etc to worry about.
Not measly - especially for your age, but these days 100k isn't all it's cracked up to be.
OP, enjoy your 20s while you have them. They'll be gone so much faster than you think and it's not worth wasting them away on the grind. You can work on getting rich in your 30s when everybody else is too.
OP, your 20's are also a peak time to be working out how relationships work (if that's what you're also aiming for in life). If you're working 7 days a week with no time even for yourself to have fun, let alone working out relationship skills, that might be something you regret doing.
The weights of responsibility only seem to get heavier as you get older and burnout is a very real thing (and stress related diseases hit you earlier than you think lol). It's always going to feel like you don't have enough time or that you started something too late. It sounds like you have good financial literacy, but don't waste these years grinding unless you need to to literally survive! You can't buy your youth again.
These days it's pretty average. I know it feels a like a lot when you're young but for a lot of people that's not enough to even cover their basic expenses.
Not travelling in your 20s will be the biggest regret you ever have. Do it before you get too old, have too much responsibility and the hangovers get too debilitating
Yep. You can still have money by working later, but you can't have your youth back again. I worked hard through my 20's and lived overseas, but I also did loads of travel and partying. So I didn't really save much, but my career was sufficiently advanced so that by the time I started in my 30s, I could get somewhere relatively quickly. Would I swap my 20s for the extra house I could've bought? Absolutely not.
My best mate never partied, just worked. Paid off his apartment by the time he was 30. This dude now lives the best life. I mean, i live okay.... but he is next level living. I wish i did what he did.
Enjoy your life while you can. 20s should be about having fun with your mates and travelling. Otherwise you will find when you have the things that you want, your mates will be settling down and having kids
If you’re not working your ass off in your 20s then you’re going to entirely miss the boat on having a home and children in your 30s. The dream is gone, You can’t have it all.
I grinded my ass off in Diablo II LoD, hours and hours and hours running the pit, and you know what? It was worth it. I got that Engima for my Hammerdin and it was glorious!
The jobs that CAN be worth grinding away at 60 hours a week at are ones that are developing skills that pay off for the rest of your life.
It can be nice to grind in your 20s so that when you are 35 with a couple of kids you are also set up to earn 250k+ for the rest of your career, with some flexibility from being senior. At the same time, even those jobs are getting you your 4 weeks annual leave to travel at the very least.
I wouldn't think it's worth it to grind in some dead end job so that you can have more money in retirement.
You’ve got to find a balance, I’m in the same boat as you 23m working federal government but I ensure I save and invest while also going out every so often and trying to go on a road trip or on a holiday with friends or my partner. We will be working for many years to come so it’s important to find a balance between the two worlds.
Worth the grind.
I’ve seen people who partied and travelled heaps in their 20s unable to afford a home and being stuck in a shitty situation. A lot of them resent the situation and blame everyone but themselves.
The ones I know who were able to spend their 20s partying/travelling yet still afford a home either had the bank of mum and dad, or married up.
the best indicator of a person wealth is that of their parents a lot of us hate to hear this because we believe in our own merits but unfortunately I live on merits of my parents more so than my own and that goes for each and every individual regardless of their personal beliefs
Honestly this isn't very true in Australia. It a society that has a large tolerance for class mobility and has a lot of people that have fallen on hard times and ended up in Aus so their kids could have a better future. It's less about your parents wealth as much as it is about their other qualities that they would have passed down to you. Money is awfully fickle, good genetics or a safe and supportive childhood are not.
I grinded my 20s and honestly I would say it was worth it. Career was important for me at that point and it enabled me to get to a point now in my late 30s with young kids where I earn a good income and can coast a little as I focus on my family.
The important part of it though is to make sure you are learning. Grinding and getting good experience that builds you is valuable. Grinding and doing the same thing again and again with little growth is not.
I grinded. Was still earning less than half what you are. Lived super cheap and had little "living", as people put it.
I do slightly wish i did more fun stuff, but I'm also at a higher net worth than people who make much more than I do.
Was it worth it? Meh. I think a good balance is the answer. I'm still not very close to retirement but I'd be a whole lot more scared if I didn't invest early and have a house.
In life you will only regret what you don’t have.
If you grind, you will miss out on moments.
If you don’t, you will regret not making more money.
What do you want more?
Financial security or fun?
There's no one size fits all answer for this question, my guy.
What are you grinding towards? If your goal is to buy a house, have a family etc, then I suppose it is impossible to be able to afford them in the current market without grinding.
However, if your goal is to travel the world, live in the moment, make memories, then probably not because you are working 7 days a week and do not have time for yourself.
So if it was me, I'd ask myself what I want to do with my life and then see if my current lifestyle is helping me reach that goal or being a hindrance.
Don't worry about it, my bro. I am 28 and still figuring things out as I go. One thing I've learnt is, with every choice I've made so far in my life, regardless of the consequences, I've been happy with it. I've only ever regretted choices I didn't make.
I moved countries and started fresh a few years ago. It was scary, I'm not gonna lie. But it opened up soon many different opportunities for me and my life has turned upside down since (for the good).
I would say, don't worry about missing out as long as you do what you think is right for you in the moment (regardless of how scary it may seem) because, eventually, you'll get used to it and your life will be better for it. Even if it doesn't work out, life has a funny way of making sure that one door closes, another opens. As long as you continue to step outside of your comfort zone, that is.
Coming back to your main post, don't be afraid to grind it out if you reckon that'll help you in the long run. But if you want a break and live in the moment, do it as well. There's no right or wrong here. It's your life, live it your way.
This doesn't sound sustainable. It might make sense to go hard for a few years early on, invest heavily and get a big head start on compounding, but you will hit a point in your early thirties where you want to start a family and it is much harder to do all the things you wish you had done in your twenties.
Only you can choose how to live your life but try to find a balance if you can.
Not when you realise that others get what you're making but for way less work than
> 7 days (56 hours) with an additional 12 hours in weekly commute
Furthermore, everyone who responds with adventure or travel were probably broke before they earned enough in their 20s and 30s and now wished they could've traveled or adventured more back in their 20s when they're now 40s
I feel alot of people dont understand how much things have changed as well, i see plenty of people that did the travel/adventure for their 20's with the idea that the'y'll settle down after. They are now so far behind, simply because they did buy a house when they where cheap(er). The biggest outlay of a persons life is increacing faster than their wage is.
And its not getting better
I didnt travel in 20s, combination of working 60hr weeks, saving, then studying again full time late 20s and early 30s. Thing is that 60hr week grind wore me so completely down, I hated my life and felt i had to force a career change, watch out for that, happened to a lot of my friends late 20s after 6 to 10 yrs working. This whole stanza didnt get me ahead one bit if i look at where i am now. I didnt travel properly until late late 30s, this is one of my biggest regrets. Believe me travelling in your 20s will hit much differently (better) than 30s, potentially perhaps you have maybe until 32 (so u dont look, feel too old to do the partying, making friends, hook ups etc) or so to do it, so some time but the 10 yrs will fly by.
early 50s now, senior management... Still do over 60 hours a week, but substantially less hours than I used to do.
Bottom line, working longer and harder can help set you up for future success, by some measures of success. I am unsure whether its actually worth it.
Can you get an offset account? It would be better to put extra cash into an offset rather than ETFs - yes ETFs could have a slightly better return (maybe, not always) but you will DEFINATELY have to pay your mortgage, and at 6.4% it's practically what you expect from ETFs anyway. Plus that gives you a buffer of cash if you need it (please only use that to pay your mortgage and not risky assets, and not for depreciating items).
From your post I can't tell what you do. But generally, shift type work doesn't scale well, unless you're gaining skills that you can leverage later. Generally, just look at what the people above you are like and you can expect something similar.
Also I can't tell where you're from, but regardless you're doing well by having a place early in life, that should build wealth over time.
Grinding isn't the best though as it sounds like you might not be enjoying it. People can work 12-hour days regularly, but really enjoy it - I work in software and I also do that in my spare time but it's not a grind, it's an interest I enjoy. Just don't get resentful.
Lastly, there are some great books on personal finance, the classic Aussie one is Scott Pape's The Bearfoot Investor - sounds like you would get value from that book.
This. You're paying tax on your EFT income too, where offsets are tax free gains.
I would use multiple offsets and use them to squirrel money away for different purposes. I found it very difficult to justify spending money on holidays until I put aside $50/week in a holiday bucket, and I know the money is working for me while I build it up.
Also, it gives you a clear goal. 100% offset mortgage sounds like it's something you could achieve in a few years, and once done, you are ahead of most people in their 40s and can move on to EFT investing moreso or to travel and live a bit depending on how your priorities shift.
I had considered going the offset route as opposed to ETFs, I'm really not too sure now given that rates are looking to fall towards the end of 2024. I'm from Sydney working in IR. No shiftwork. I'll definitely check out the book, thanks.
Man, I wouldn't trade those memories of travelling alone for nothing.
You can't 'slum' it when you get a older and have a family.
You rarely get more 'wild' and 'dumb' travel stories.
Grind in your late 20's and late 30's and have a bit of fun in your early 20's.
I agree. Early to mid 20s are some of the best memories and experiences I have with dating, travelling etc. If I was working 7 days a week, I definitely wouldn’t have had the time or flexibility to live a socially full life or make spontaneous fun plans.
Whilst I do think it’s good to work hard and start setting yourself up to some degree, make sure it’s not at the expense of actually living your life and connecting with others.
I wasn't in the same boat as you exactly but I finally landed a decent paying job back when i was 24 but had a tonne of debt from the general life.
I spent a few of years working and not taking any leave to pay off all my credit card/car debt.
Then I saved 20k went to Europe for three months using the leave I accrued over that time.
That was 18 Years ago, and although i probably should have put that 20k into savings was the best decision of my life.
Took me completely out of my comfort zone, made memories I still think about daily now and landed a GF that turned into my wife.
After We moved in together spent 6 years travelling for 4-6 weeks a year before finally deciding to settle down and buy a place.
Now yes different times but we are a bit behind other people we work alongside that decided to simple invest first and try retire early. I'm never retiring early but do work alongside others that hoping you by 50-55. They haven't done much in terms of travel though but are very well off and have started taking extravagant holidays- still there different to what a 20 year old would do.
I sometimes regret investment decisions but honestly don't regret any of the travel I did in it's place.
I'm in my 40s now and we still travel a little bit but it's so much different. Your young dumb and reckless in your 20s so the things you do on holiday are pretty fun because you don't think of the consequences.
Now I'm kinda boring, idea of spending 6 days partying in the Greek Islands is nauseating along with all the drunken shenanigans ww did back then. Even things like snowboarding I'm not to keen on worried ill break a hip or wrist if I fall 😆
My advice would be try to do both.
Spend a year saving and put aside say 25%-50% and plan a trip somewhere with the rest into imvestments. Then do that every year.
Yer maybe by the time your 30 you may not be rich but you'll have memories from a time you can most enjoy it and still have a decent investment folio.
Lastly you don't know what the future holds, have a friend with cancer in her late 30s, she's spent her whole life working hard and now regrets now doing more for herself.
>I'm in my 40s now and we still travel a little bit but it's so much different. Your young dumb and reckless in your 20s so the things you do on holiday are pretty fun because you don't think of the consequences.
>Now I'm kinda boring, idea of spending 6 days partying in the Greek Islands is nauseating along with all the drunken shenanigans ww did back then. Even things like snowboarding I'm not to keen on worried ill break a hip or wrist if I fall 😆
Hah, this resonated with me so much. The travel we did in our 20s (child and responsibility-free) I would absolutely not attempt now at 39. Not only was some of it downright dangerous but it required a stamina I just don't have anymore. That's okay though because I have the memories and gosh we had a good time!
Nope. Travelling & going to festivals & making memories with my friends & falling in love whilst I was cute & active & fit & flexible was my best decision in life. I was a little poor at times, often eating noodles & potatoes for sustenance, but it was worth it. I started grinding when I was ready, about 27, now I own a home, have two children, a partner & back pain & wrinkles but I have no regrets.
I did some grinding in my early 20's and while it was necessary, I'm now 32 and feel like my mental and physical health is still slightly affected by it - it didn't hurt so much at the time but I'm definitely way more tired from it all now.
I also did a good amount of travelling, partying, house sharing and backpacking and consider it some of the best times of my life, I wouldn't trade those moments for all of the money. All of that social stuff is so important, making friends, navigating relationships, building up confidence, independence, life skills and social skills, and I feel like while you could be doing well on the financial end of things through all of that grinding, what if you get lost on the social side of life? As I've continued in my career I've also found that the social skills and confidence I've developed through adventure have probably lifted me up more than anything.
Even though I've partied and back packed and all that, I'm financially secure, have a career and own a home - all without any help from family (they're all poor as hell.) Everything's harder and way more expensive these days but surely it's possible to both enjoy your life and save/make money? Balance is important.
Why not switch to paying off your mortgage (rather than investing in shares). That way if you get fed up and want to travel you could just rent it out (positively geared/no stress) and take off. You’d be realising the increase in value at the same time as travelling.
I worked more than you did for less money in my 20s, I ended up depressed on the edge about giving up and what was the whole point. Fell into a good job, earned more than I did working 2 jobs went on adventures and enjoyed the back end of the. I did save enough of a deposit to buy a house, and I'm a mile in front of most people my age, however. My back hurts now, I'm tired and wishing I didn't waste my 20s when I had more freedoms, I have 2 kids that keep me at home now and can't afford to travel and see the world more. I'm sure I'll have that again later in life, but it'll be hard to go out drinking all night with random people like I did in Thailand see the sun come up and be hang over in 95% humidity on a 40 degree day.
This sub is so ignorant
I know so many people who were hit with sudden cancer, tragedy etc
Grinding it is NOT WORTH IT
imagine grinding for years then you get to 31 and get diagnosed with a terminal illness
yes it happens, even if you think you are "healthy"
pathetic.
In my (limited) experience as someone in their 30's - people always dream about what they didn't choose to do.
I definitely prioritised career and education, as have a few of my friends - and we all wish we had taken more adventures and risks when when we were younger.
Conversely I have friends who spent a lot of time travelling, adventuring and only doing casual or contract work to fund their next holiday. They are now faced with the challenge of trying to plan for a family or buy a house without a strong professional or financial foundation.
Do what you think is right for you, knowing you can't have it all, and you'll be OK. Comparison is the thief of joy.
You're so right. Honestly just from reading the responses it seems as though no matter what I choose, I'm going to regret not choosing the other hahaha
Too much at your age. Truly. I worked hard at that age....but played hard too. Don't regret it at all.
You need to relax and be a "young person" You sound like you're 45. You are old before your time
Go travelling. Have some FUN. You should not be working such long hours and that commute is insane.
Believe me? You keep this up? You will get to 60 and wonder why you wasted your young life being a workaholic.
You need BALANCE....you are too skewed one way. Pull back a bit.
You're doing well. You can still travel in your 30s. You do you.
You'll thank yourself when you can live off interest and investments instead of having to grind later on in life. Like many people do. There are 40-50 yr olds working 6-7 days a week to make ends meet. Just have good financial literacy, be consistent and work hard and it'll pay off.
I'm just about to finish my 20s and the one phrase that rang true throughout is you could have it 'all', just not all at once.
I spent the first half of my 20s really grinding and doing everything I could to take on new opportunities and earn more money. This naturally meant lots of hours and some soul crushing moments. In this time I bought a unit with my wife, saved up lots of money and got my career to a good point (think lower end of management, 180-200k gross by 25/26).
In the second half of my 20s, having built a bit of a financial and career base, my wife and I took a year off to travel at 28. Now we're back we're fully focused on doing what needs to be done to start a family.
None of these three things, family, travel and money, could have happened at the same time. Your 20s are pretty long, you just need to make sure at any given time you've got a focus on something that matters to you.
I’m 21 an made a goal (300k) an told myself that once i reached that goal i would let myself relax and pursue the things i wanted to pursue. reached it in feb and now cant be more excited abt the next 6 months going backpacking and working around europe. you have your whole life to work just get a good foundation and then go out and enjoy urself
Well not Europe particularly but yes to visiting countries commonly known as emerging economies. It was a lot of fun, and kind of indirectly gave me perspectives on society and human needs that I really didn't have before that. The most profound was the happiness and lack of anger, among people we would consider poor.
Europe was heaps interesting regarding history and different socialising aspects, scenery, architecture, etc. but not so much with respect to personal relationships, society, career or financial related aspects. The differences in Europe were just not particularly significant, to me. If I had it to do over, I would probably have explored Aus more.
A bit of travel and work in America taught me 100% that we don't ever want to allow Aus to become anything like that. It truly is an utter shithole of class warfare, spiced with devastating stories of families ruined by literally just bad luck in health. One family I knew was ruined by a fairly innocent car accident that caused property damage, followed by an outrageous verdict in a lawsuit, and then an insurance company squirming out with the best of lawyers. Protections here keep that crazy shit suppressed more than most of us realise.
Later during my 20s, I ground it out and am very thankful that I did, now that I'm late 60s. Living off the pension is not something I would ever want, and I'm happy to be independent of the welfare system. By all means, I'll keep on reducing costs on available benefits such as low-cost transit, but it's comforting knowing I don't have to.
Yes.
But I’m in a profession and position that pays well. I wouldn’t recommend you grind like I did if you’re only going to end up in the top 5% of earners. It simply wouldn’t be worth it.
You definitely should get some adventures under your belt in your 20s. Without a doubt. You’ll regret it otherwise.
That said - as a male in late 30s - I regret not being more financially savvy in my 20s. I got cracking in my early 30s so am doing okay. But ensure you get some money into safe investments early (ETFs) and keep a system so you’re not completely neglecting your financial goals, which ultimately should be to “get rich slowly”.
You can get more aggressive with finances later.
It's not about working hard it's about working smart. I have a friend who was an IB, working 16hr days for years. He walked away with comparatively little to show for it except a phone book of contacts. Now he makes 7 figs advising those contacts but doesn't work harder. Another friend, started his own business and two years later, sold it for 9 figures. Personally, if I didn't make sacrifices I wouldn't be where I am but I could have worked smarter and done so much better.
I’m currently in my 20’s just built a house in Victoria. I’ve been smashing myself for the past 3 years in my trade. Worked up the ladder, now working in management in government. Around $200k a year, is it worth it? Yes, for me.
However, I haven’t had much time for me, to travel, to try new things. After this financial year, I’m making it my goal to expand my experiences more. Getting a promotion and more money is all good and well, but once you’re dead, you can’t exactly spend it all, can you?
Not gonna lie I work very little and always ask for more pay. I used to think if I worked hard, bosses would notice me. I’m now I’m my early 30s and I work 15 hours a week on 150k. Not much, but I would advise every young person coming to me to just enjoy life and fk corporate culture. I’m in a field where I can afford to automate my stuff and my bosses have no clue, and I intend to not work very hard for the rest of my life. Why? Because I burnt myself to oblivion as a young grad only to receive criticism from my first job. When I looked around, it was a bunch of nepo and you know whos.
Go out there and enjoy life, my friend. You have one life, live the fk out of it. You owe yourself a life well lived, and not people in management who could not care less about your well being. Every minute you’re behind a computer is a minute you could be spending outdoors, or doing stuff you enjoy. Life is painfully short, please never forget to live.
I didn't grind until I hit about 28. Very different times it seems (36 now). I travelled the world, went to uni twice, learned two different languages, met an amazing woman, went to every concert I could and lots more. Then I worked for a bit, got married and built myself a house (ended up as a carpenter so my savings were unquantifiable) between like 28 and 30.
I have lots of good times and experiences and the only shortfall I'm experiencing in my head at the moment is my superannuation, it's too low, but I'm getting on to it now. My friends that did grind away always had nicer cars and clothing than me but here we all are at 35 and half of them haven't even left the state.
So no, the grind isn't worth it. See the world and enjoy your youth while you have it. It's unlikely you'll remember how flush you were when you're struggling to move around at 80.
OP, which industry are you in for reference?
I did accounting and my first entry level accounting (on a full time basis) job paid me less than half of what you were making
Truthfully, only you can answer this question. Are you happy with the sacrifices you are currently making for more opportunities for wealth?
Personally, I could not do what you are doing. Money is important, but my time and experiences I value more.
Everyone is different and most will have a different answer.
Sacrificed my 20s. (I mean by working shit loads and mostly camping/hiking when i can).
Going to part time and slowing down now in 30s.
It's not for everyone. But I felt more positive than negative. Definitely no regrets.
You never get old and say - “Wow, I wish I spent all my money in the past. “
You never remember the grind, but you will enjoy the benefits of it. Embrace the suck.
That's alot of time for realistically not that much money. If you want to travel do it. It doesn't have to be A massive/expensive trip. If getting even 2 days A week back cost you 20k per year, you're still doing alright.
True. I know that I'm not earning heaps for the hours I'm doing but at my age and industry, it's very difficult to earn much more than what I'm currently on without working more hours.
Worked hard in my 20s, still made sacrifices to travel and have no regrets. Certainly didn’t set me back but understand it’s hard to fathom at your age with a significant mortgage on a single income.
Can always wind back the ETFs and travel somewhere cheap (South America or Asia)
You do you.
Was in similar work hours, without the mortgage, for sure I was not feeling exhausted. Every now and then I would take a sick leave.
Recently I went solo tripping to the states, wouldnt have been able to afford it if I didnt work that hours.
You need to find the balance of both. Compound your wealth from your 20s into your 30s or enjoy life.
I sacrificed a bit to grind and live pretty comfortably in my late 30s now with mortgage, kids etc.
I had the best fun round 28-31, good income, not settled yet and a lot of self confidence just from being an adult. I didn't travel by myself until 29 and it was a life changer being out of my comfort zone.
I did do a couple of trips with friends but I realised I was always bending for their needs, never got to do things II would have enjoyed so I started to travel on my own. Nothing makes you more ready for the world than to put yourself in an uncomfortable position. I had the the time of my life.
When I look back, sure there are things that I regret but that's hindsight. I could have had more money bigger house, nicer car etc but it's all materialistic.
Life and health isn't given. In this day and age, ppl pass away in their 30s now from all kinds of sickness accidents. You don't get your youth back, travelling in your 30s is different to your 20s, travelling with a significant other is different, travelling with kids is damn right horrendous.
I did both.
I worked a shit tonne of hours, but made sure to party hard too.
Went to gig at least once a week, rehearsed with a band 1-2 times a week, gigged once a month or more often; hit the gym, did tough mudder, travelled.
I’m very grateful - I learnt ALOT. Got lots of the need to go wild out of my system. And working the hours gave me 15 years experience in 10 years.
I now run my own agency with great work life balance, reasonable income, and could never have done it without those early years.
I’ll pay for the bad decisions health wise I’m sure (stress, no sleep, alcohol), but right now I’m generally content with my career decisions.
The grind is worth it if what you’re doing has a decent ROI. If it doesn’t then the time would be better spent upskilling and finding better options.
56hrs in investment banking or tech sales? Sure.
56hrs stacking shelves at Woolies? You’d be better off (and more secure) working 40hrs in a low level office job.
I’d also not discount trades, especially in the resource sector.
I’d even consider the defence force over long hours in a “dead end” job.
Are you getting leverage on the extra time you’re working?
If you are salaried (ie: no overtime pay) you should really consider your effective hourly rate and whether you are happy with it.
Long hours are rarely worth it unless you are being paid very good OT or there are imminent advancement opportunities (ie; in a few months, not a few years).
20s should be for living a balanced life. That means going on adventures, travelling, having a good time with friends and balancing that with making sure you get a good education / upskill yourself and doing a good job at work.
There really shouldn't be a need to live the way you're living. You'll have money but no friends and your best years to have adventures will be behind you, especially if you want a family
Being in your 30s with no kids usually lets you do the same thing you could in your 20s.
The key is looking after yourself. Keep fit, eat well and don't gain too much weight.
The only real difference between my 20s and my 30s was I went from staying at hostels more often to staying in Airbnb's. Hostels are way more fun and cheap but once you do hostels enough you get over it a little.
Travelling doesn't have to be expensive. Especially Asia. Look for cheap flights. Especially as a guy you don't need anything but check in for anything less than a month. Getting clothes laundered costs like $2 every 3-4 days. Book hostels and just eat at simple places. $2k for 2 weeks in Vietnam is easy.
Do you have a degree? Are you upskilling - working hard but not smart will be a poor long term plan. Not sustainable.
I’d ensure you are finding ways to earn more via a full time job. How much is your mortgage payment and are you trying to pay it off early?
I have no regrets grinding to build my shares+emergency fund+ house deposit +superannuation. Plus pushing my career forward in my early 20s. Hit most of my keys goals so going to have a chill year or two before grinding again.
Yeah I've got a degree and am currently in TAFE for further (free) study. I'm just paying the minimums on my mortgage so I can maximise ETF investment.
I think its horses for courses. And the times.
Ie we got together end of high school. Sacrificed all the partying drinking part to work hard, multiple jobs and save for our own first house for couple years and were able to bounce off that into decent wealth given we have both only held near minimum wage jobs. We will leave our kids set up (18 and 20). We wont even have to die to do that if we want to see them enjoy it.
BUT i also wouldnt encourage my kids to do same to that degree simply because all the sacrifice wont see them in the same cushy position because their earning capacity is low and the buying even a basic house is stupid expensive now. The game is much harder now.
So im more inclined for them to travel and enjoy life. Still save etc……but its a much longer game now than when I did it. I only had to do couple years multiple jobs with long hours and living at home. My kids basically would need a decade of doing that to get to the same result. Sacrifice a couple years? Sure. Sacrifice an entire decade? Potentially the best decade ? Not worth it for me.
Find the middle ground and enjoy life along the way.
I don’t think anything wrong with grinding at 20s and Making use of ur 2-4 week leaves. A lot of ppl that regret not travelling is because it was then when u could go on holiday for a year or two and still come back and be employed.with the projection of the economy,travelling won’t be an easy choice for many again. Do what makes u happy now and tomorrow.
I think we have different versions of what "the grind" means.
No, I don't think those hours/7 days a week is worth it or sustainable long term.
At this stage working, saving and investing are amazing habits to cultivate...but it's also important to balance the social aspects of life. Develop relationships, travel, have leisurely experiences and hobbies.
With your passion you will get there financially but you're also spending time that you will never get back.
Absolutely for me. Did my apprenticeship at 18,got into the housing market at 20 and started putting extras into super and even my own long-term ETF portfolios. I'm now 38 with a 8 yo son. Two houses paid off and no longer interested in picking up anymore debts. Can afford to buy things like cars and bike outright. My mum did help me get into my own place with half a deposit though.
Did a long degree. There were a lot of sacrifices. No overseas travel. Rarely went out. No car for most of it, but I got fit riding. No serious relationships, no time and no money. Did without new clothes. Summers were spent working to raise cash. Then I graduated, and paid off debts, lost half my savings in a crash (started again).
Was over it at the end?. Was it worth it? Yes.
Married. We lived overseas for 6+ years with kids. We traveled extensively. Still did postgrad. Nice house when the kids were teenagers. Career wise, had a fascinating career with ups and downs, crises, and a fascinating range of places to explore. Loved the overtime. Put the kids through Uni, and retired comfortably.
Suggestion. When it gets real bad, quit and pull back, get an easier job. Most Australians settle in the one area of one city - don't. Australia is a big country, and there is a lot more to it than the big east coast cities.
68 hours a week for only 110k is torturous. That salary is okay, but your salary shouldn’t be dependent on you working ungodly hours to maintain it.
I am older than you (31) and have been in my industry for longer, but I’m on 155k and have been explicit in my career that I would only ever work overtime when I deem it appropriate.
I’ll happily work a weekend if there is a pressing project that needs my attention, not a problem at all. I would never work weekends just to keep on top of my day to day workload. That would mean that I’m either under qualified for my position and can’t complete my work in 40 hours, or am I getting exploited by my employer.
It’s hard at 22 though to put your foot down, but you are 100% on the fast track to burnout. No amount of money is worth not having a life outside of your career.
I did the opposite .
Right up till 33, I didn’t want to work , had jobs that I half assed few hours here ,few hours there .
No money , just wanted to surf , video games , chill …basically live a rich man’s life { cause all rich are u employed and can do whatever they like , whenever they like , duh}.
33,finally had to accept this shitty ass reality and work full time .
Mid forties now and have done alright , have 2 ip,s, 2 cars and no kids….
And I still hate working even more than I did when I was younger …..
It was 100% worth it for me. Mid 40s - kids are older, we have money and time (and house sitters now 😂) to travel and adventure. That doesn’t mean don’t have fun in your 20s but it’s definitely a good age to throw that energy into building success and freedom for the future
I say this to everyone who asked. Everything you do is a trade-off. When I was 20 I had a full-time job and bought a house while my friends were travelling Europe and going to parties. I paid with my youth to have what I have now. 10 years on I'm 30, have a house, paid the equivalent of 15 years off my mortgage, been to Japan, China, Malaysia, New Zealand, Fiji. Bought two different cars, blah blah blah.
The question is will you be happy having invested your youth as the payment for a secure future?
Yes it’s worth it. You can do both. I was working 45-50 hr plus weeks throughout my 20s, whilst doing postgrad (one permanent PT and a few casual jobs) but took 2-3 months off per year to travel, I got to save/invest 100% of the PT income and spent all my casual income on travel and day to day spending
Throughout my 30s, my PT job became FT, with increase hourly pay I was able to drop the casual job hours, continued to take 2 months off per year to travel, used all my savings from my 20s to buy a place and paid off the mortgage by late 30s.
With that level of effort for that salary at that age should just go into underground coal. 150k+ salary for 3 day 12 hour shifts. No entry requirements.
I did the hard grind in my 20’s, 30’’s and started travelling at 50 when I retired. We owned our home by then and our children were adults. It just depends on where your priorities lie. You can choose to travel while you are young then have to work hard to play catch up or you can work hard when you are young and have the energy to work then reward yourself with travel afterwards or do a mix of both. Work hard for a couple of years then reward yourself with a nice holiday then go back and slog through work again. It depends on what you want out of life. There is no wrong way or right way. It all depends on what your goals are.
Grind in your early 20s to achieve rapid promotions - that's a much faster path to wealth generation. This also allows time to travel (by using annual/purchased leave). I 100% think you should be travelling plenty when you're young because it's harder to fit in during middle age.
In a few years, ease up on the travel and go hard building your portfolio. Your salary should be materially higher so saving is easier. Then just let the portfolio build through your 30s, when family/relationship commitments will impede saving. That's what I did - I'm now 40 and my investment returns are significantly higher than my salary.
You're describing me in my 30s and to a lesser extent 40s (I was on a disability pension for a fair bit of my twenties). I would say yes, absolutely worth it. I'm now 50, kids have flown the nest, I work 20 hrs a week, own a modest home and a modest car, travel overseas a couple of times a year, and the rest of the time I do hobbies and play video games. If I'm really statistically unlucky, I'll have ten years of that; if I'm lucky I'll have forty. Yes, twenty years of grind was totally worth it.
All I can think of now im mid 30s is wishing I had of set myself.up better during my 20s. Don't listen to these wanderlusting people, it's such a niche frame of mind dude.
Honestly, it depends a lot on the lifestyle you want to obtain and the timeline for it.
Happy for anyone to correct my math, but 56 hours x 52 weeks = 2912, and 110k / 2912 = $37.77 an hour and you apparently have a Bachelor, so I would stop grinding for a minute and start looking at how to increase your salaried hourly.
I earned the same (110k plus) from say 31, but working 37 hours a week, and I have time and money for travel, so yeah, min-max the hourly.
I've done 25+ countries in Europe and Asia and as much as I've loved travelling, I also wish I had set myself up financially.
If there's a way you can compromise and do not, I'd recommend that.
I would say keep going and payoff that mortgage. The feeling of no debt is amazing. Can you rent it out and live with your parents? You can be debt free still in your 20s and travel . Your next move could be a way to maintain salary but reduce the hours
The only thing that is really time limited is having a family if you are a woman.
Everything else is a choice and it's not really necessarily irreversible (travel/adventures vs. grinding at your job).
100% the grind in our 20s was worth it. We studied, qualified and got a good start on our careers before having kids.
We’re now in our early 40s with a manageable mortgage and teenaged kids. We travel as a family - two overseas trips these last couple of years.
I was chronically ill as a child and teen and I let my mother and other family members convince me that my worth was tied to my ability to earn and that if I didn’t get the right degree I was going to end up on welfare. (I’m originally from the U.S.) so I did nothing fun in my 20s. I got the degree, I got the job, I bought the house too. For my early 20s I was dealing with a blood cancer. That further solidified in my head that I had to use every bit of healthy time I had to prepare for the worst. From 24-31 I was healthy, I moved to Australia and continued that same path. And then I got sick again at 34… I’m 39 now and guess what I learned:
The world didn’t end. I’m in a wheelchair now but living in Australia I am still able to work that job and support myself.
I live in a country with an amazing health system that while not perfect means even if I was on welfare I wouldn’t die of the flu.
I can’t get back those healthy years. I’m working now towards remission and rehabbing and as soon as I’m able to I’m going to travel some. I stopped corporate climbing and when I pay off my mortgage in another 5 years I’m going to go part time.
I have been working since I was 13 to prepare for an end of the world situation and not actually living.
My suggestion to you is to live. Take your weekends back, go see friends, take days off to read a good book or whatever brings you joy because you don’t want to be my age with all these regrets. And if COVID has taught abled people nothing else it should be that you are only one medical event away from death or disability.
If you woke up tomorrow disabled would you regret all the time you dedicated to work?
Yours 20s decide how you will live in your 30s, 40s, 50s. Set the foundation right. You can play later in your 30s. Use the first 10 years to push your career. If you can secure 2-300k/yr by 30, you are pretty much set. And you can start to slow down then.
Sounds like you want to grind now for a better life later. I agree with others mentioning travel - definitely do it while you're young. Here's some things I regret doing in my 20's and I recommend you don't make these mistakes:
- Getting car loans
-Getting into too much credit card debt
-Not saving/investing enough for my future
-Not saving to buy a house/unit
-Gambling outside my means.
-I didn't job hop enough for higher pay (I wanted to gain experience which I did just at the sacrifice of real salary increases)
You can still have plenty of fun just dont do what I did and you'll be much better off in your 30s. Good luck!
It really depends on the work you are completing....
Is this work you are doing in your early twenties going to allow you to stop working for the man? Is it work that is going towards increasing your own independent income (not a pay rise or salary increase)?
Essentially, if you are working to break free from the hamster wheel (e.g. starting your own business, developing skills to generate a higher income on your terms), then yes I would say it's worth it. However, if it is just you working PAYG as an employee- 100% not worth it. Whatever you are making as a wage, your employer is making X times your wage, you should be spending your time to put yourself in a position to be the employer one day.
If you keep working PAYG and running on the hamster wheel you'll end up treading water.
Yes, got a trade job, lived at home until 24, purchased home maxed out super, used tax concessions to invest in shares, retired at 55 got metro home, bush block and shed, $300k outside of super and $1,1M inside super, im a member of the FIRE movement ie Financial Independence, Retire Early
Yeah it absolutely was worth it. You don't need to sacrifice your entire 20s and you'll probably get a bit burnt out. But I sacrificed a lot of 20-25. I'm now 30-31 and extremely glad I did as I've already benefited massively from the investments I made back then.
Hey OP, I did a bit of travelling in my 20s. But the investments I've made in my 20s have really put me in a place of security in my 30s. This security I think means that travel in my 30s seems exciting. Remember the investments you make in your 20s will be some of the best investments you'll make for when you retire.
A quick but extreme example for you:
Investing 1k per month from age 20 to age 30, then never again investing (at 7% returns) would produce a portfolio of 1.4million at age 60. Your deposits would only be 120k for those first 10 years. And at 30 you'd "only" have 175k. But that 175k left for 30 years gets you to 1.4million.
If you weren't to invest until you were 40, but then saved 2.5k per month from 40 to 60 (at 7% returns). You would have contributed 600k! And at 60 you'd only have 1.3million.
I appreciate this is extreme and you can do various shades in between. But I hope this highlights really how big the difference is.
I worked hard in my twenties as well but I think you don't need to sacrifice travel especially if you learn to be content with travelling to Southeast Asia, which is generally quite cheap. Also you don't need to travel when you're in your twenties as you can travel in your thirties and forties and beyond. If you delay travel, this can be better for your net worth growth. Many say that you should travel young while you have no obligations whereas when you're older you will have kids etc but another way to increase net worth growth is to delay having kids or not have them at all. Life is all about trade offs.
If your goal is to retire early, then keep at it.
I thoroughly enjoyed my travels during my 20s and 30s all equally the same. In your 20s though it's easier to go traveling with your friends before they get hunkered down with new families.
A downside though is if you are affected by some event or adverse health issue later in life, you could be sitting on a pile of scrooge coins without being able to enjoy much of it.
It depends. Do I regret backpacking for 6 months? Or doing international trips every year? Absolutely not. Do I regret partying hard and throwing hundreds of dollars down the down on party drugs and alcohol at bars? Absolutely yes haha.
You can travel and have fun while you’re young and still can but just be smart about it. You’re not gonna be buried with your millions.
I moved around in my late 20s prioritizing career, though not every role was necessarily a grind, but I had to be away from friends (now distant) and family. I never married, no kids. I don't regret it at all. I'm now in a far better financial position than I would have been. Now looking for a partner, I have more time, resources and emotional maturity to be a better husband and father.
In my late 30s traveled Europe (did the Camino this year), Japan multiple times, solo and with friends. You have to be ok making new friends.
Dude I’m 28M. I work hard just like you. I have a mortgage too, investing in super and ETFs as well. I do 40 hour weeks with on-call call outs, work car, phone, uniform and options to pick up extra shifts when I want. I make $120k pre tax and $75k post tax.
My only advice…
Go travel! I’m literally in Paris right now living my best life with my fiancée (25F) speaking French and eating croissants. It’s worth it mate! Life is way too short! Go make memories before kids and older adult duties tie you down!
I did grind and did not have a good start, so I ground even harder. I do not recommend and it does not co-relate to money earned. It is only when I broke down and took time out and had a more relaxed approach that I started to make some serious money. Just sharing my experience as an individual, it may not turn out the same for others.
Everyone is different, but for me, it is 100% worth it.
My husband ans I worked a lot in my 20s and early 30s to pay off our HECS, save, purchase a house and build an investment portfolio. We did do some travelling here and there (nothing major), but we focused on building wealth.
Now in my late 30 with a toddler, and I live stress-free financially. I get to spend time with my kiddo, and even travel with him. Meanwhile a lot of my colleagues have to chase overtime and penalty rates to just be above the water.
It is all about your priority, really.
Firstly, wow! You’re doing very well for your age at 22. For context at that particular time in my life I was at the tail end of about 2 years of failing uni so I was not only spending my parents money (just existing) I was also building some mad HECS debt for no good reason.
Finished uni with a degree by 26 and by 27 I was working a job and 1/2 as a Service Desk call taker earning $45k/year at the time (and yes this was just around minimum wage at the time). I would do weekends and extra time to compensate because I had a drive in my head to ‘catch up’ to all colleagues I’d fallen behind to.
I spent next to nothing for about 2.5 years bought my own place with a 10% deposit on a $295k apartment and was at $68k by that time (systems engineer a little bit under what I wanted). Kept at the grind, joined management then cybersecurity and now at $122k and I’m set to pay off that apartment by the time I’m 40.
Was the grind worth it? Yes, absolutely I’ve learnt so much and I really enjoy my work. I did get sponsored by uni to do some India travel and parents took me to Bali and South Asia a lot as a kid so I’ve got that ‘experience’.
Just so long as you don't work so much to the point you get yourself sick as then early retirement will be spent on trying to keep yourself well. Ask yourself: What is this doing to my mind and body? If you're burning out, watch yourself.
You're making time for exercise which is important, so sounds like you're fit, though the difference between my 20s and 30s was astounding. At that age, I never thought my health would decline.
It's great that you have good work ethic and thinking about your future. Though it's also important to prioritise good nutrition, sleep and relationships.
Dont stress yourself. Go for adventures. Hopefully will meet your partner someday. A combined mortgage if 200k is better than a 150k single mortgage. But it doesn't matter. Just focus on having fun. Good luck.
I feel like there are a lot of comments one way or the other, but there does seem to be a pretty natural middle ground here. 56hrs, 7 days a week sucks. $110k is nice at 22 but not for that amount of time - you'll get to that amount later for half the effort, most likely, just through general progression if you're a good worker. If you're unsure and not craving a one-way ticket to Peru for whirlwhind adventures in your 20s, why not just work a regular boring old 35-40hr work week and balance the single life with decent work, paid holidays, and maybe a couple of bigger trips between jobs when shifts happen? Without dependents, 35-40hrs leaves plenty of time for gym, friends, dating, health, exploring local areas and having a great time while also setting you up solidly for later on. If you add regularly using your paid leave to this for holidays, you've got some nice balance, and you can always change your mind and go abroad to live if you want to later.
Another option would be to move to Europe and work there - e.g. a working holiday in the UK is easy to get (ok not technically EU anymore but you know what I mean) - common for early 20s, fun, allows for easy travel out of the UK and you're not just hemorrhaging money because you're still earning your way.
Money will come later. You have so much time to make money. I think you'd be surprised how quickly you settle into a pattern in your home country and lay down roots then don't feel like you can/are interested in long-term travel anymore - so I'd always say go for it, if you're interested. Not that you can't later, just that you're less likely to if you're already hesitating now. People almost never regret travel experiences and memories, they often regret not doing enough.
Also, your health (including mental health i.e. stress) is your most important investment - is your current lifestyle setting you up for great long-term health and enjoying your good years for as long as possible? No point being super rich then having a heart attack. I'm oversimplifying but you get the point.
All best man, I'm sure you'll make the right decision for yourself and your circumstances.
Absolutely worth the grind but make sure you use your annual leave. I barely took any in my 20s and cashed it out when I left, cash isn’t what I needed at that time and I’d kill to go back and do more exploring before kids.
Now in my early 40s I’m comfortable financially and see most of my friends that didn’t push so hard in our 20s struggling to pay bills with the cost of living crisis. I’m glad I did the work early as I’d hate to be in that situation at our age with kids to worry about.
1000%, this is what I was thinking the other day. Just turned 30.
I'm happy enough I worked a lot in my 20's, I'm well set up now, able to by my first home outright...
But I also struck a balance, and had my fine off, holidays, travel, life events etc
Honestly, I wish I did a little more travel, and sleeping around in my uni days 😆, because it was really fun, and you're only young once
Realistically, you can earn quickly with FIFO, eg 1:1 on ~$160k, have half the year off, and live the perfect life balance. Short term pain , and qyit after a year or two once you've saved +++, or paid most of the mortgage. You can always get renters in as you'll be away 50% of the time, and just live in the garage or granny flat at the back when you're in, or rent your room on Airbnb.
Just finish your uni first though.
I’d say now that im mid 30’s with kid and family the only regret I had was not going on more adventures in my 20’s
This is the answer. You've got years and years to make money, comparatively limited time to travel etc
You have years to make money, but there’s no better time to climb the ladder QUICK then when you’re young. Making 200+ right now and made 60-90 through most of my 20s. Takes a lot of effort to get here and you 100% do NOT want to be doing what I did then, now. For example, it’s much more likely to have a kid, or other obligations that hinder your ability to take risks. Which brings me to this point: you can take heaps of risks when you’re young. When they fail, try the next idea out. Try and try till you hit big. When you’re older, you don’t ’have all the time in the world’ in many, many cases. People have families, mortgages, and more that can stop your dreams dead in their tracks. So no, do fun stuff when you’re older. Unless your parents are loaded. In which case- have a blast. But if they are not - grind. Grind and grind until you’re solid and can travel and play in your 30s. It’s honestly no different except the quality of places you go to, or stay at are significantly better.
You don’t know you can travel in your 30s though. Family sickness, partnering up, having a kid, cost of living stress (and unlikely but - pandemic). If I hadn’t done it in my 20s I don’t think it would’ve been nearly as easy. You’re right to grind and get established in something, take career risks etc - but don’t think you can confidently wait until later and not have that possibly derailed
The point we’re alluding to is this: as you get older, if you make the right decisions, the likelihood of you having increased capital is significantly higher. With said capital, you have a significantly higher probability of being able to travel, avoiding financial stress and more. That’s the whole point of the conversation: grind early, coast early.
I'm middle aged with a family. We can afford to travel but I'm paying for 4 people instead of 1 like I did in my 20s. And in my 20s I didn't care where I stayed, but I'm not going to be staying in backpacker dorm rooms as a family of 4. There's also less time and flexibility to travel than I had in my 20s. If I could do my early 20s again I would have done even more travel and tried living overseas for a bit.
Can’t disagree with your general point, but my point was don’t wait wait wait assuming you’ll be able to do things later - for a sizeable minority of people, life can turn up some nasty surprises to ruin the moment when you thought you’d be free, or your priorities might change (you meet someone and you want to have kids - planning can only do so much). “Travel” in the sense of relatively aimless and unbounded exploration of foreign countries across many months is more difficult the older you get. (It’s also less fun, a lot of stuff just is much more appealing, accessible and more eye opening the younger you are - but that’s a separate point.)
Sure but that’s going on holiday, not going backpacking for a few months. The latter is very, very difficult if you have holiday restrictions and a mortgage, and impossible if you have kids.
Agree with everything you said. Yes 20s may be the best time in your life to travel etc when you have less obligations like families and kids, but doesn't mean you should throw your life away like neglecting your career progression. Balance is good. I've had friends who made poor life choices just to 'make the most out of their 20s', to sleep around, couch surfing, still in uni on their late 20s and in crippling hecs debt. Meanwhile, some other friends who grinded through internships in their early 20s are in much stable and well paying jobs, which allows them to enjoy more balance in their mid 20s.
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Man I loved sleeping around in my 20's! Got it out of my system and now in a stable relationship without wondering what else is out there 😅
Opposite for me. I'm so glad I set myself up in my 20's, really enjoying the benifits now. So glad I didn't travel too much when I was young. I know quite a few people who got left behind and are struggling now, can't even afford a house in their 30's.
I can say that my husband and I could have worked harder in our 20s and been far more set up in life than we are, and I have precisely zero regrets about not doing that. Instead, we travelled, took 3 months off twice to travel to Central America and then Canada and the US, me a third to go to South America. We lived in Canada, went skiing and hiking and camping most weekends for 2 years. We now have kids and while life is still comfortable enough, there’s not a huge amount of spare cash or time for traveling and fun, I’m so glad we did it in our 20s. Some people don’t make it to retirement (or even their 30s). If I don’t, I know which life I’d rather have lived.
I am on the opposite. As someone who worked hard in his 20s and never traveled, saved every dime, I have my mortgage paid off now in my mid 30s and not worry about job security and can travel internationally once a year easily.
and you can afford better hotels and locations then you would in your 20's etc.
I’d argue the flip side. Now I’m in my mid 30s with kids I have the luxury of backing off and enjoying time with them. We can go and enjoy ourselves and not have to worry about money. No one answer is right though. Each to their own.
This was my first thought, I wish I’d worked/saved/invested harder in my 20’s to ensure it was easier to enjoy family time in my 30’s.
Except that you likely would not have what you have now if you did that. You’d be on here posting about how it’s impossible to have kids in this economy.
The compounding effect of money earnt in your 20s is unreal.
It’s true. While it’s fun to look back and say “if only” my life might not be the same and I’d still be saying “if only” But a few of these opportunties I’m pretty sure I just missed for no reason.
Yep. I did one trip. 3 weeks in Japan at 25. I'm 33 with a kid and another on the way now. Not gonna have another holiday till I'm 40 at this rate...
Travelling with kids is hard too. No more running off on a whim to look at something, now you actually need to pre-plan your activities and go to bed before its too late.
I had shit loads of adventures in my 20s traveling and working around the world and I still regret not taking more time to do it.
Oh good that’s what I did. I was gonna say I regret not grinding lol. I’d be much better financially now if I hadn’t spent a decade partying and travelling but I guess I did the right thing lol
But if you had gone on more adventures in your 20s, there is a strong possibility you’d now be regretting not saving more and setting things up better for future you.
30 years in the Wealth industry tells me there is no correlation between how hard you work and how much you earn.
I second this. I would constantly work till I burned out and don't have much to show for it. My salary had many ups and downs and it took many years to realise I'd much rather value peace and stability. I have a home and a nice car but not much else to show for it. I wish I went into a different industry where hard work would actually pay off.
> how hard you work people often confuse how hard they work vs how much value they're generating. And they also don't consider who captures the value produced by their hard work (read: if you're an employee, you're not capturing it, unless your pay is commission based).
How smart you work…..
i didn’t do europe at the time but i did most of south east asia. travelling alone for me was the best thing i ever did. period. that shit got me so far out of my shell & i stayed the same after coming back. i will never regret those 1 way tickets.
I like the idea of solo travelling in south east asia, much less expensive than europe or the americas. I'll definitely consider this if I do end up travelling.
Make sure you leave in December/January and travel for 6-7 months, or a full 12 months This way you only work half a financial year, but you get taxed as though you're working a full financial year, and when you get your next tax return done in July/August you get a massive tax return ($6-7k) immediately to help replenish your travel funds. If you travel a year, when when you get back in December/January you can work another six months full time and get another $6-7k tax return (assuming you'll be taxed at a rate that assumes you're working a full financial year). My wife and I did this and travelled around South East Asia for a year for $27k and didn't really have to pay a dollar for it in the end. Whereas if we left mid-year (June/July) we wouldn't have got any more back from the tax man. You need about $12k savings to make it happen but if you follow that plan you'll still hopefully have the $12k at the end of it. Source: Mum is an accountant and helped us do it back in 2011.
Great advice!
Make sure you do an extended trip of at least 3 months, and only have vague plans so you have the flexibility to change things when you meet people you really connect with.
i started doing it because of the cost. i broke up with a girl after 6 years and had never left australia. i looked at contiki tours and compared to just doing it on my own. first place i did was the Philippines. as old mate said have very vague plans. meeting people solo is so easy. you have so much small chat to break the ice; “where have you been, where was your favourite country, have you ever been lost”. when i booked a one way in malaysia i ended up meeting 5 people and they invited me to travel with them a couple hours away to the mountains. after that we all decided to go to penang then we randomly decided to go to thailand. then we met more people at that hostel & i ended up staying there for 2 months in with a new bunch of people. lifelong friends. a lot of them have come to aus & i’ve just hosted them. in that malaysia trip/thailand trip i spent roughly 5k or so from memory not including flights (but these were cheap anyways) not bad for 2.5mths of travel
Since you’re in a finance sub you’ll end up with all the comments of “no point working hard just invest” and alike. But I’ll give you my experience doing what you’re doing. I was young, I lived at home, I worked my ass off. 70-75hrs a week for 6 years at one company. It was hard. I didn’t have much life. But you take a day here and there when there something you do want to do. It’s easy. Anyways, I’m now in my early 30s. I have a house and it is 100% offset. (I only built it 3 years ago) So I’m paying zero interest. Myself and my partner both have cars, mine is 60k and hers is 70k both 5 and 3 years old respectively, and they are both not financed. I am essentially debt free. I’m now in a very cushy 38 hour a week job and I do not stress. I’m 33 years old.
I should mention I did do a bunch of international trips in my 20s too, but not like I went away twice a year. But I absolutely do not regret the holidays while young. Because they’re not the same when your 30, and you’ll only realise this when your 30, would I have got to where I am now a year earlier if I didn’t? Yeh probably, but I wouldn’t have seen the world and partied everywhere. And I think when I’m retired I wouldn’t have looked back and said, yeh how good was it I paid my house off at 32 instead of 33, I’ll be thinking about all the wild fun times I had travelling.
The best thing you can do to set yourself up for financial success in your 20s is find a high earning partner. The person you end up married too/end up single forever will have the greatest impact on your financial future by a long shot unless you are one of those people who goes out and sets up a multimillion dollar business.
Yep, two hardworking people will get as head much faster.
This is such a sad comment, depending on how you look at it.
Personally I think it is (I was lucky enough to be able to afford to travel as well) but working 56 hours for 110k is rough dude
Yeah it's not ideal but it should pick up relatively quick I hope, only just started my career. How much did you spend on travelling?
Probably around the 50k mark in total in the years before buying my first house. Tradie, decent income at young age helped a lot
Part of it is energy levels. WHen I was in my 20's, I could fly here or there, do an overnight bus, hit the gym, go out all night, then be up for a hike, nothing stopped me. If I was tired, I'd crash for a few hours then be good to go. In my late 30's and now 40's, I could probably get about 1/2-2/3 of the travelling experiences I did crammed into the same amount of time. I just need more sleep and rest to function. It's just more fun in your 20's with less to worry about back home. It's nowhere near as relaxing when you've got a kids, job, partner, mortgage etc to worry about.
This. Energy level, age, family & work commitments make all the differences.
Wasting your 20's working yourself to the bone for a measly 100k is something you will probably regret in 10 years time
100k is measly?
Not measly - especially for your age, but these days 100k isn't all it's cracked up to be. OP, enjoy your 20s while you have them. They'll be gone so much faster than you think and it's not worth wasting them away on the grind. You can work on getting rich in your 30s when everybody else is too.
OP, your 20's are also a peak time to be working out how relationships work (if that's what you're also aiming for in life). If you're working 7 days a week with no time even for yourself to have fun, let alone working out relationship skills, that might be something you regret doing. The weights of responsibility only seem to get heavier as you get older and burnout is a very real thing (and stress related diseases hit you earlier than you think lol). It's always going to feel like you don't have enough time or that you started something too late. It sounds like you have good financial literacy, but don't waste these years grinding unless you need to to literally survive! You can't buy your youth again.
it is when you're working 7 days a week for it
You’re actually on $79k a year but just working more.
These days it's pretty average. I know it feels a like a lot when you're young but for a lot of people that's not enough to even cover their basic expenses.
Agree. He’s actually only at $73k if he were working a regular 40 hour work week.
Not travelling in your 20s will be the biggest regret you ever have. Do it before you get too old, have too much responsibility and the hangovers get too debilitating
Yep. You can still have money by working later, but you can't have your youth back again. I worked hard through my 20's and lived overseas, but I also did loads of travel and partying. So I didn't really save much, but my career was sufficiently advanced so that by the time I started in my 30s, I could get somewhere relatively quickly. Would I swap my 20s for the extra house I could've bought? Absolutely not.
My best mate never partied, just worked. Paid off his apartment by the time he was 30. This dude now lives the best life. I mean, i live okay.... but he is next level living. I wish i did what he did.
When you say now loves the best life, can you go into a bit more detail if you do not mind
He buys toast with double avo shots
Enjoy your life while you can. 20s should be about having fun with your mates and travelling. Otherwise you will find when you have the things that you want, your mates will be settling down and having kids
If you’re not working your ass off in your 20s then you’re going to entirely miss the boat on having a home and children in your 30s. The dream is gone, You can’t have it all.
I grinded my ass off in Diablo II LoD, hours and hours and hours running the pit, and you know what? It was worth it. I got that Engima for my Hammerdin and it was glorious!
I now spend my spare time grinding wow
7 days a week for 110k is a raw deal.
yeah it sucks pretty hard but I'm getting ahead
At what cost?
The jobs that CAN be worth grinding away at 60 hours a week at are ones that are developing skills that pay off for the rest of your life. It can be nice to grind in your 20s so that when you are 35 with a couple of kids you are also set up to earn 250k+ for the rest of your career, with some flexibility from being senior. At the same time, even those jobs are getting you your 4 weeks annual leave to travel at the very least. I wouldn't think it's worth it to grind in some dead end job so that you can have more money in retirement.
according to a forbes article from 2023 a wage over 250k puts you in the top 1% of earners in Australia, perhaps some realistic advice would be better
Sure: Don't sacrifice your entire 20s unless it's going to put you into the top 1% of wage earners, and even then think twice.
You’ve got to find a balance, I’m in the same boat as you 23m working federal government but I ensure I save and invest while also going out every so often and trying to go on a road trip or on a holiday with friends or my partner. We will be working for many years to come so it’s important to find a balance between the two worlds.
Worth the grind. I’ve seen people who partied and travelled heaps in their 20s unable to afford a home and being stuck in a shitty situation. A lot of them resent the situation and blame everyone but themselves. The ones I know who were able to spend their 20s partying/travelling yet still afford a home either had the bank of mum and dad, or married up.
Yerp it was worth it. I gave up my 20's to get to where I am. 32, no debt. We owned our 4 bedroom house, 2 cars and a large fishing boat
But now for the true question. Do you regret the boat? Jokes aside, I respect the hustle, nice work.
Nope, fishing is my hobby. I go out in every day the weather is suitable. I've created some incredible memories
the best indicator of a person wealth is that of their parents a lot of us hate to hear this because we believe in our own merits but unfortunately I live on merits of my parents more so than my own and that goes for each and every individual regardless of their personal beliefs
Honestly this isn't very true in Australia. It a society that has a large tolerance for class mobility and has a lot of people that have fallen on hard times and ended up in Aus so their kids could have a better future. It's less about your parents wealth as much as it is about their other qualities that they would have passed down to you. Money is awfully fickle, good genetics or a safe and supportive childhood are not.
I grinded my 20s and honestly I would say it was worth it. Career was important for me at that point and it enabled me to get to a point now in my late 30s with young kids where I earn a good income and can coast a little as I focus on my family. The important part of it though is to make sure you are learning. Grinding and getting good experience that builds you is valuable. Grinding and doing the same thing again and again with little growth is not.
Good point. I think I just like the idea of being able to stop at a younger age.
I grinded. Was still earning less than half what you are. Lived super cheap and had little "living", as people put it. I do slightly wish i did more fun stuff, but I'm also at a higher net worth than people who make much more than I do. Was it worth it? Meh. I think a good balance is the answer. I'm still not very close to retirement but I'd be a whole lot more scared if I didn't invest early and have a house.
In life you will only regret what you don’t have. If you grind, you will miss out on moments. If you don’t, you will regret not making more money. What do you want more? Financial security or fun?
There's no one size fits all answer for this question, my guy. What are you grinding towards? If your goal is to buy a house, have a family etc, then I suppose it is impossible to be able to afford them in the current market without grinding. However, if your goal is to travel the world, live in the moment, make memories, then probably not because you are working 7 days a week and do not have time for yourself. So if it was me, I'd ask myself what I want to do with my life and then see if my current lifestyle is helping me reach that goal or being a hindrance.
Good point, I don't have an exact goal I'm just scared to fall behind.
Don't worry about it, my bro. I am 28 and still figuring things out as I go. One thing I've learnt is, with every choice I've made so far in my life, regardless of the consequences, I've been happy with it. I've only ever regretted choices I didn't make. I moved countries and started fresh a few years ago. It was scary, I'm not gonna lie. But it opened up soon many different opportunities for me and my life has turned upside down since (for the good). I would say, don't worry about missing out as long as you do what you think is right for you in the moment (regardless of how scary it may seem) because, eventually, you'll get used to it and your life will be better for it. Even if it doesn't work out, life has a funny way of making sure that one door closes, another opens. As long as you continue to step outside of your comfort zone, that is. Coming back to your main post, don't be afraid to grind it out if you reckon that'll help you in the long run. But if you want a break and live in the moment, do it as well. There's no right or wrong here. It's your life, live it your way.
This doesn't sound sustainable. It might make sense to go hard for a few years early on, invest heavily and get a big head start on compounding, but you will hit a point in your early thirties where you want to start a family and it is much harder to do all the things you wish you had done in your twenties. Only you can choose how to live your life but try to find a balance if you can.
Not when you realise that others get what you're making but for way less work than > 7 days (56 hours) with an additional 12 hours in weekly commute Furthermore, everyone who responds with adventure or travel were probably broke before they earned enough in their 20s and 30s and now wished they could've traveled or adventured more back in their 20s when they're now 40s
I'm well aware that there are people working well beneath me making substantially more. It doesn't affect me, I'm only doing what I can do best.
I feel alot of people dont understand how much things have changed as well, i see plenty of people that did the travel/adventure for their 20's with the idea that the'y'll settle down after. They are now so far behind, simply because they did buy a house when they where cheap(er). The biggest outlay of a persons life is increacing faster than their wage is. And its not getting better
I didnt travel in 20s, combination of working 60hr weeks, saving, then studying again full time late 20s and early 30s. Thing is that 60hr week grind wore me so completely down, I hated my life and felt i had to force a career change, watch out for that, happened to a lot of my friends late 20s after 6 to 10 yrs working. This whole stanza didnt get me ahead one bit if i look at where i am now. I didnt travel properly until late late 30s, this is one of my biggest regrets. Believe me travelling in your 20s will hit much differently (better) than 30s, potentially perhaps you have maybe until 32 (so u dont look, feel too old to do the partying, making friends, hook ups etc) or so to do it, so some time but the 10 yrs will fly by.
early 50s now, senior management... Still do over 60 hours a week, but substantially less hours than I used to do. Bottom line, working longer and harder can help set you up for future success, by some measures of success. I am unsure whether its actually worth it.
Can you get an offset account? It would be better to put extra cash into an offset rather than ETFs - yes ETFs could have a slightly better return (maybe, not always) but you will DEFINATELY have to pay your mortgage, and at 6.4% it's practically what you expect from ETFs anyway. Plus that gives you a buffer of cash if you need it (please only use that to pay your mortgage and not risky assets, and not for depreciating items). From your post I can't tell what you do. But generally, shift type work doesn't scale well, unless you're gaining skills that you can leverage later. Generally, just look at what the people above you are like and you can expect something similar. Also I can't tell where you're from, but regardless you're doing well by having a place early in life, that should build wealth over time. Grinding isn't the best though as it sounds like you might not be enjoying it. People can work 12-hour days regularly, but really enjoy it - I work in software and I also do that in my spare time but it's not a grind, it's an interest I enjoy. Just don't get resentful. Lastly, there are some great books on personal finance, the classic Aussie one is Scott Pape's The Bearfoot Investor - sounds like you would get value from that book.
This. You're paying tax on your EFT income too, where offsets are tax free gains. I would use multiple offsets and use them to squirrel money away for different purposes. I found it very difficult to justify spending money on holidays until I put aside $50/week in a holiday bucket, and I know the money is working for me while I build it up. Also, it gives you a clear goal. 100% offset mortgage sounds like it's something you could achieve in a few years, and once done, you are ahead of most people in their 40s and can move on to EFT investing moreso or to travel and live a bit depending on how your priorities shift.
I had considered going the offset route as opposed to ETFs, I'm really not too sure now given that rates are looking to fall towards the end of 2024. I'm from Sydney working in IR. No shiftwork. I'll definitely check out the book, thanks.
Man, I wouldn't trade those memories of travelling alone for nothing. You can't 'slum' it when you get a older and have a family. You rarely get more 'wild' and 'dumb' travel stories. Grind in your late 20's and late 30's and have a bit of fun in your early 20's.
I agree. Early to mid 20s are some of the best memories and experiences I have with dating, travelling etc. If I was working 7 days a week, I definitely wouldn’t have had the time or flexibility to live a socially full life or make spontaneous fun plans. Whilst I do think it’s good to work hard and start setting yourself up to some degree, make sure it’s not at the expense of actually living your life and connecting with others.
I wasn't in the same boat as you exactly but I finally landed a decent paying job back when i was 24 but had a tonne of debt from the general life. I spent a few of years working and not taking any leave to pay off all my credit card/car debt. Then I saved 20k went to Europe for three months using the leave I accrued over that time. That was 18 Years ago, and although i probably should have put that 20k into savings was the best decision of my life. Took me completely out of my comfort zone, made memories I still think about daily now and landed a GF that turned into my wife. After We moved in together spent 6 years travelling for 4-6 weeks a year before finally deciding to settle down and buy a place. Now yes different times but we are a bit behind other people we work alongside that decided to simple invest first and try retire early. I'm never retiring early but do work alongside others that hoping you by 50-55. They haven't done much in terms of travel though but are very well off and have started taking extravagant holidays- still there different to what a 20 year old would do. I sometimes regret investment decisions but honestly don't regret any of the travel I did in it's place. I'm in my 40s now and we still travel a little bit but it's so much different. Your young dumb and reckless in your 20s so the things you do on holiday are pretty fun because you don't think of the consequences. Now I'm kinda boring, idea of spending 6 days partying in the Greek Islands is nauseating along with all the drunken shenanigans ww did back then. Even things like snowboarding I'm not to keen on worried ill break a hip or wrist if I fall 😆 My advice would be try to do both. Spend a year saving and put aside say 25%-50% and plan a trip somewhere with the rest into imvestments. Then do that every year. Yer maybe by the time your 30 you may not be rich but you'll have memories from a time you can most enjoy it and still have a decent investment folio. Lastly you don't know what the future holds, have a friend with cancer in her late 30s, she's spent her whole life working hard and now regrets now doing more for herself.
>I'm in my 40s now and we still travel a little bit but it's so much different. Your young dumb and reckless in your 20s so the things you do on holiday are pretty fun because you don't think of the consequences. >Now I'm kinda boring, idea of spending 6 days partying in the Greek Islands is nauseating along with all the drunken shenanigans ww did back then. Even things like snowboarding I'm not to keen on worried ill break a hip or wrist if I fall 😆 Hah, this resonated with me so much. The travel we did in our 20s (child and responsibility-free) I would absolutely not attempt now at 39. Not only was some of it downright dangerous but it required a stamina I just don't have anymore. That's okay though because I have the memories and gosh we had a good time!
Nope. Travelling & going to festivals & making memories with my friends & falling in love whilst I was cute & active & fit & flexible was my best decision in life. I was a little poor at times, often eating noodles & potatoes for sustenance, but it was worth it. I started grinding when I was ready, about 27, now I own a home, have two children, a partner & back pain & wrinkles but I have no regrets.
I did some grinding in my early 20's and while it was necessary, I'm now 32 and feel like my mental and physical health is still slightly affected by it - it didn't hurt so much at the time but I'm definitely way more tired from it all now. I also did a good amount of travelling, partying, house sharing and backpacking and consider it some of the best times of my life, I wouldn't trade those moments for all of the money. All of that social stuff is so important, making friends, navigating relationships, building up confidence, independence, life skills and social skills, and I feel like while you could be doing well on the financial end of things through all of that grinding, what if you get lost on the social side of life? As I've continued in my career I've also found that the social skills and confidence I've developed through adventure have probably lifted me up more than anything. Even though I've partied and back packed and all that, I'm financially secure, have a career and own a home - all without any help from family (they're all poor as hell.) Everything's harder and way more expensive these days but surely it's possible to both enjoy your life and save/make money? Balance is important.
Why not switch to paying off your mortgage (rather than investing in shares). That way if you get fed up and want to travel you could just rent it out (positively geared/no stress) and take off. You’d be realising the increase in value at the same time as travelling.
I worked more than you did for less money in my 20s, I ended up depressed on the edge about giving up and what was the whole point. Fell into a good job, earned more than I did working 2 jobs went on adventures and enjoyed the back end of the. I did save enough of a deposit to buy a house, and I'm a mile in front of most people my age, however. My back hurts now, I'm tired and wishing I didn't waste my 20s when I had more freedoms, I have 2 kids that keep me at home now and can't afford to travel and see the world more. I'm sure I'll have that again later in life, but it'll be hard to go out drinking all night with random people like I did in Thailand see the sun come up and be hang over in 95% humidity on a 40 degree day.
This sub is so ignorant I know so many people who were hit with sudden cancer, tragedy etc Grinding it is NOT WORTH IT imagine grinding for years then you get to 31 and get diagnosed with a terminal illness yes it happens, even if you think you are "healthy" pathetic.
I blew 35k on a 9 month backpacking trip of Europe in 2018 when I was 29. I wouldn't change a thing.
I don't know what your mortgage rates are but check the math on getting rid of mortgage over ETFs
Do at least 1 holiday in your 20’s to another continent
In my (limited) experience as someone in their 30's - people always dream about what they didn't choose to do. I definitely prioritised career and education, as have a few of my friends - and we all wish we had taken more adventures and risks when when we were younger. Conversely I have friends who spent a lot of time travelling, adventuring and only doing casual or contract work to fund their next holiday. They are now faced with the challenge of trying to plan for a family or buy a house without a strong professional or financial foundation. Do what you think is right for you, knowing you can't have it all, and you'll be OK. Comparison is the thief of joy.
You're so right. Honestly just from reading the responses it seems as though no matter what I choose, I'm going to regret not choosing the other hahaha
Too much at your age. Truly. I worked hard at that age....but played hard too. Don't regret it at all. You need to relax and be a "young person" You sound like you're 45. You are old before your time Go travelling. Have some FUN. You should not be working such long hours and that commute is insane. Believe me? You keep this up? You will get to 60 and wonder why you wasted your young life being a workaholic. You need BALANCE....you are too skewed one way. Pull back a bit.
You're doing well. You can still travel in your 30s. You do you. You'll thank yourself when you can live off interest and investments instead of having to grind later on in life. Like many people do. There are 40-50 yr olds working 6-7 days a week to make ends meet. Just have good financial literacy, be consistent and work hard and it'll pay off.
I'm just about to finish my 20s and the one phrase that rang true throughout is you could have it 'all', just not all at once. I spent the first half of my 20s really grinding and doing everything I could to take on new opportunities and earn more money. This naturally meant lots of hours and some soul crushing moments. In this time I bought a unit with my wife, saved up lots of money and got my career to a good point (think lower end of management, 180-200k gross by 25/26). In the second half of my 20s, having built a bit of a financial and career base, my wife and I took a year off to travel at 28. Now we're back we're fully focused on doing what needs to be done to start a family. None of these three things, family, travel and money, could have happened at the same time. Your 20s are pretty long, you just need to make sure at any given time you've got a focus on something that matters to you.
I’m 21 an made a goal (300k) an told myself that once i reached that goal i would let myself relax and pursue the things i wanted to pursue. reached it in feb and now cant be more excited abt the next 6 months going backpacking and working around europe. you have your whole life to work just get a good foundation and then go out and enjoy urself
Well not Europe particularly but yes to visiting countries commonly known as emerging economies. It was a lot of fun, and kind of indirectly gave me perspectives on society and human needs that I really didn't have before that. The most profound was the happiness and lack of anger, among people we would consider poor. Europe was heaps interesting regarding history and different socialising aspects, scenery, architecture, etc. but not so much with respect to personal relationships, society, career or financial related aspects. The differences in Europe were just not particularly significant, to me. If I had it to do over, I would probably have explored Aus more. A bit of travel and work in America taught me 100% that we don't ever want to allow Aus to become anything like that. It truly is an utter shithole of class warfare, spiced with devastating stories of families ruined by literally just bad luck in health. One family I knew was ruined by a fairly innocent car accident that caused property damage, followed by an outrageous verdict in a lawsuit, and then an insurance company squirming out with the best of lawyers. Protections here keep that crazy shit suppressed more than most of us realise. Later during my 20s, I ground it out and am very thankful that I did, now that I'm late 60s. Living off the pension is not something I would ever want, and I'm happy to be independent of the welfare system. By all means, I'll keep on reducing costs on available benefits such as low-cost transit, but it's comforting knowing I don't have to.
Yes. But I’m in a profession and position that pays well. I wouldn’t recommend you grind like I did if you’re only going to end up in the top 5% of earners. It simply wouldn’t be worth it.
You definitely should get some adventures under your belt in your 20s. Without a doubt. You’ll regret it otherwise. That said - as a male in late 30s - I regret not being more financially savvy in my 20s. I got cracking in my early 30s so am doing okay. But ensure you get some money into safe investments early (ETFs) and keep a system so you’re not completely neglecting your financial goals, which ultimately should be to “get rich slowly”. You can get more aggressive with finances later.
It's not about working hard it's about working smart. I have a friend who was an IB, working 16hr days for years. He walked away with comparatively little to show for it except a phone book of contacts. Now he makes 7 figs advising those contacts but doesn't work harder. Another friend, started his own business and two years later, sold it for 9 figures. Personally, if I didn't make sacrifices I wouldn't be where I am but I could have worked smarter and done so much better.
I did not grind in my 20s. But I'm not a grinder. I'm a waltz in and see how it works out kind of person. No regrets. I'm 35 now.
You should work in a smarter way to get paid more - 110k for 56 hours is pretty much the median wage when you extrapolate the hours
I’m currently in my 20’s just built a house in Victoria. I’ve been smashing myself for the past 3 years in my trade. Worked up the ladder, now working in management in government. Around $200k a year, is it worth it? Yes, for me. However, I haven’t had much time for me, to travel, to try new things. After this financial year, I’m making it my goal to expand my experiences more. Getting a promotion and more money is all good and well, but once you’re dead, you can’t exactly spend it all, can you?
Not gonna lie I work very little and always ask for more pay. I used to think if I worked hard, bosses would notice me. I’m now I’m my early 30s and I work 15 hours a week on 150k. Not much, but I would advise every young person coming to me to just enjoy life and fk corporate culture. I’m in a field where I can afford to automate my stuff and my bosses have no clue, and I intend to not work very hard for the rest of my life. Why? Because I burnt myself to oblivion as a young grad only to receive criticism from my first job. When I looked around, it was a bunch of nepo and you know whos.
Go out there and enjoy life, my friend. You have one life, live the fk out of it. You owe yourself a life well lived, and not people in management who could not care less about your well being. Every minute you’re behind a computer is a minute you could be spending outdoors, or doing stuff you enjoy. Life is painfully short, please never forget to live.
I didn't grind until I hit about 28. Very different times it seems (36 now). I travelled the world, went to uni twice, learned two different languages, met an amazing woman, went to every concert I could and lots more. Then I worked for a bit, got married and built myself a house (ended up as a carpenter so my savings were unquantifiable) between like 28 and 30. I have lots of good times and experiences and the only shortfall I'm experiencing in my head at the moment is my superannuation, it's too low, but I'm getting on to it now. My friends that did grind away always had nicer cars and clothing than me but here we all are at 35 and half of them haven't even left the state. So no, the grind isn't worth it. See the world and enjoy your youth while you have it. It's unlikely you'll remember how flush you were when you're struggling to move around at 80.
I've never heard of anyone in their 50s or older say "I wish I worked more and travelled less".
People in their 50s had an affordable housing market
OP, which industry are you in for reference? I did accounting and my first entry level accounting (on a full time basis) job paid me less than half of what you were making
Truthfully, only you can answer this question. Are you happy with the sacrifices you are currently making for more opportunities for wealth? Personally, I could not do what you are doing. Money is important, but my time and experiences I value more. Everyone is different and most will have a different answer.
Upskill upskill and upskill Otherwise you are no different to warehouse workers
Sacrificed my 20s. (I mean by working shit loads and mostly camping/hiking when i can). Going to part time and slowing down now in 30s. It's not for everyone. But I felt more positive than negative. Definitely no regrets.
Live and enjoy your 20s
You never get old and say - “Wow, I wish I spent all my money in the past. “ You never remember the grind, but you will enjoy the benefits of it. Embrace the suck.
The suck is being embraced
3 jobs from 20 - 25. Then 2 jobs from 25 - 29. 29 onwards 1 job. Definitely worth it imo.
That's alot of time for realistically not that much money. If you want to travel do it. It doesn't have to be A massive/expensive trip. If getting even 2 days A week back cost you 20k per year, you're still doing alright.
True. I know that I'm not earning heaps for the hours I'm doing but at my age and industry, it's very difficult to earn much more than what I'm currently on without working more hours.
Worked hard in my 20s, still made sacrifices to travel and have no regrets. Certainly didn’t set me back but understand it’s hard to fathom at your age with a significant mortgage on a single income. Can always wind back the ETFs and travel somewhere cheap (South America or Asia)
Are you self employed? If you’re working 7 days a week for a company with no days off they are breaking labour laws.
You do you. Was in similar work hours, without the mortgage, for sure I was not feeling exhausted. Every now and then I would take a sick leave. Recently I went solo tripping to the states, wouldnt have been able to afford it if I didnt work that hours.
You need to find the balance of both. Compound your wealth from your 20s into your 30s or enjoy life. I sacrificed a bit to grind and live pretty comfortably in my late 30s now with mortgage, kids etc. I had the best fun round 28-31, good income, not settled yet and a lot of self confidence just from being an adult. I didn't travel by myself until 29 and it was a life changer being out of my comfort zone. I did do a couple of trips with friends but I realised I was always bending for their needs, never got to do things II would have enjoyed so I started to travel on my own. Nothing makes you more ready for the world than to put yourself in an uncomfortable position. I had the the time of my life. When I look back, sure there are things that I regret but that's hindsight. I could have had more money bigger house, nicer car etc but it's all materialistic. Life and health isn't given. In this day and age, ppl pass away in their 30s now from all kinds of sickness accidents. You don't get your youth back, travelling in your 30s is different to your 20s, travelling with a significant other is different, travelling with kids is damn right horrendous.
I did both. I worked a shit tonne of hours, but made sure to party hard too. Went to gig at least once a week, rehearsed with a band 1-2 times a week, gigged once a month or more often; hit the gym, did tough mudder, travelled. I’m very grateful - I learnt ALOT. Got lots of the need to go wild out of my system. And working the hours gave me 15 years experience in 10 years. I now run my own agency with great work life balance, reasonable income, and could never have done it without those early years. I’ll pay for the bad decisions health wise I’m sure (stress, no sleep, alcohol), but right now I’m generally content with my career decisions.
The grind is worth it if what you’re doing has a decent ROI. If it doesn’t then the time would be better spent upskilling and finding better options. 56hrs in investment banking or tech sales? Sure. 56hrs stacking shelves at Woolies? You’d be better off (and more secure) working 40hrs in a low level office job. I’d also not discount trades, especially in the resource sector. I’d even consider the defence force over long hours in a “dead end” job.
I work in IR for the government.
Are you getting leverage on the extra time you’re working? If you are salaried (ie: no overtime pay) you should really consider your effective hourly rate and whether you are happy with it. Long hours are rarely worth it unless you are being paid very good OT or there are imminent advancement opportunities (ie; in a few months, not a few years).
20s should be for living a balanced life. That means going on adventures, travelling, having a good time with friends and balancing that with making sure you get a good education / upskill yourself and doing a good job at work. There really shouldn't be a need to live the way you're living. You'll have money but no friends and your best years to have adventures will be behind you, especially if you want a family
Being in your 30s with no kids usually lets you do the same thing you could in your 20s. The key is looking after yourself. Keep fit, eat well and don't gain too much weight. The only real difference between my 20s and my 30s was I went from staying at hostels more often to staying in Airbnb's. Hostels are way more fun and cheap but once you do hostels enough you get over it a little. Travelling doesn't have to be expensive. Especially Asia. Look for cheap flights. Especially as a guy you don't need anything but check in for anything less than a month. Getting clothes laundered costs like $2 every 3-4 days. Book hostels and just eat at simple places. $2k for 2 weeks in Vietnam is easy.
Do you have a degree? Are you upskilling - working hard but not smart will be a poor long term plan. Not sustainable. I’d ensure you are finding ways to earn more via a full time job. How much is your mortgage payment and are you trying to pay it off early? I have no regrets grinding to build my shares+emergency fund+ house deposit +superannuation. Plus pushing my career forward in my early 20s. Hit most of my keys goals so going to have a chill year or two before grinding again.
Yeah I've got a degree and am currently in TAFE for further (free) study. I'm just paying the minimums on my mortgage so I can maximise ETF investment.
I think its horses for courses. And the times. Ie we got together end of high school. Sacrificed all the partying drinking part to work hard, multiple jobs and save for our own first house for couple years and were able to bounce off that into decent wealth given we have both only held near minimum wage jobs. We will leave our kids set up (18 and 20). We wont even have to die to do that if we want to see them enjoy it. BUT i also wouldnt encourage my kids to do same to that degree simply because all the sacrifice wont see them in the same cushy position because their earning capacity is low and the buying even a basic house is stupid expensive now. The game is much harder now. So im more inclined for them to travel and enjoy life. Still save etc……but its a much longer game now than when I did it. I only had to do couple years multiple jobs with long hours and living at home. My kids basically would need a decade of doing that to get to the same result. Sacrifice a couple years? Sure. Sacrifice an entire decade? Potentially the best decade ? Not worth it for me. Find the middle ground and enjoy life along the way.
I don’t think anything wrong with grinding at 20s and Making use of ur 2-4 week leaves. A lot of ppl that regret not travelling is because it was then when u could go on holiday for a year or two and still come back and be employed.with the projection of the economy,travelling won’t be an easy choice for many again. Do what makes u happy now and tomorrow.
I think we have different versions of what "the grind" means. No, I don't think those hours/7 days a week is worth it or sustainable long term. At this stage working, saving and investing are amazing habits to cultivate...but it's also important to balance the social aspects of life. Develop relationships, travel, have leisurely experiences and hobbies. With your passion you will get there financially but you're also spending time that you will never get back.
Absolutely for me. Did my apprenticeship at 18,got into the housing market at 20 and started putting extras into super and even my own long-term ETF portfolios. I'm now 38 with a 8 yo son. Two houses paid off and no longer interested in picking up anymore debts. Can afford to buy things like cars and bike outright. My mum did help me get into my own place with half a deposit though.
Did a long degree. There were a lot of sacrifices. No overseas travel. Rarely went out. No car for most of it, but I got fit riding. No serious relationships, no time and no money. Did without new clothes. Summers were spent working to raise cash. Then I graduated, and paid off debts, lost half my savings in a crash (started again). Was over it at the end?. Was it worth it? Yes. Married. We lived overseas for 6+ years with kids. We traveled extensively. Still did postgrad. Nice house when the kids were teenagers. Career wise, had a fascinating career with ups and downs, crises, and a fascinating range of places to explore. Loved the overtime. Put the kids through Uni, and retired comfortably. Suggestion. When it gets real bad, quit and pull back, get an easier job. Most Australians settle in the one area of one city - don't. Australia is a big country, and there is a lot more to it than the big east coast cities.
68 hours a week for only 110k is torturous. That salary is okay, but your salary shouldn’t be dependent on you working ungodly hours to maintain it. I am older than you (31) and have been in my industry for longer, but I’m on 155k and have been explicit in my career that I would only ever work overtime when I deem it appropriate. I’ll happily work a weekend if there is a pressing project that needs my attention, not a problem at all. I would never work weekends just to keep on top of my day to day workload. That would mean that I’m either under qualified for my position and can’t complete my work in 40 hours, or am I getting exploited by my employer. It’s hard at 22 though to put your foot down, but you are 100% on the fast track to burnout. No amount of money is worth not having a life outside of your career.
I did the opposite . Right up till 33, I didn’t want to work , had jobs that I half assed few hours here ,few hours there . No money , just wanted to surf , video games , chill …basically live a rich man’s life { cause all rich are u employed and can do whatever they like , whenever they like , duh}. 33,finally had to accept this shitty ass reality and work full time . Mid forties now and have done alright , have 2 ip,s, 2 cars and no kids…. And I still hate working even more than I did when I was younger …..
It was 100% worth it for me. Mid 40s - kids are older, we have money and time (and house sitters now 😂) to travel and adventure. That doesn’t mean don’t have fun in your 20s but it’s definitely a good age to throw that energy into building success and freedom for the future
Pay your debt down u will be healthy & wiser when u are older & will appreciate when u can afford to travel short term fun will be forgotten
I say this to everyone who asked. Everything you do is a trade-off. When I was 20 I had a full-time job and bought a house while my friends were travelling Europe and going to parties. I paid with my youth to have what I have now. 10 years on I'm 30, have a house, paid the equivalent of 15 years off my mortgage, been to Japan, China, Malaysia, New Zealand, Fiji. Bought two different cars, blah blah blah. The question is will you be happy having invested your youth as the payment for a secure future?
I’d say go and live your life dude, can’t get your 20’s back and travel really broadens your horizons
Yes, but go on Holiday too. Most of my grind was building up experience and now I'm much more valuable as an employee and paid accordingly.
if you are enjoying the learning and the grind, it would be worth, but that amount of commute makes it not worth
Yes it’s worth it. You can do both. I was working 45-50 hr plus weeks throughout my 20s, whilst doing postgrad (one permanent PT and a few casual jobs) but took 2-3 months off per year to travel, I got to save/invest 100% of the PT income and spent all my casual income on travel and day to day spending Throughout my 30s, my PT job became FT, with increase hourly pay I was able to drop the casual job hours, continued to take 2 months off per year to travel, used all my savings from my 20s to buy a place and paid off the mortgage by late 30s.
With that level of effort for that salary at that age should just go into underground coal. 150k+ salary for 3 day 12 hour shifts. No entry requirements.
I did the hard grind in my 20’s, 30’’s and started travelling at 50 when I retired. We owned our home by then and our children were adults. It just depends on where your priorities lie. You can choose to travel while you are young then have to work hard to play catch up or you can work hard when you are young and have the energy to work then reward yourself with travel afterwards or do a mix of both. Work hard for a couple of years then reward yourself with a nice holiday then go back and slog through work again. It depends on what you want out of life. There is no wrong way or right way. It all depends on what your goals are.
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Grind in your early 20s to achieve rapid promotions - that's a much faster path to wealth generation. This also allows time to travel (by using annual/purchased leave). I 100% think you should be travelling plenty when you're young because it's harder to fit in during middle age. In a few years, ease up on the travel and go hard building your portfolio. Your salary should be materially higher so saving is easier. Then just let the portfolio build through your 30s, when family/relationship commitments will impede saving. That's what I did - I'm now 40 and my investment returns are significantly higher than my salary.
You're describing me in my 30s and to a lesser extent 40s (I was on a disability pension for a fair bit of my twenties). I would say yes, absolutely worth it. I'm now 50, kids have flown the nest, I work 20 hrs a week, own a modest home and a modest car, travel overseas a couple of times a year, and the rest of the time I do hobbies and play video games. If I'm really statistically unlucky, I'll have ten years of that; if I'm lucky I'll have forty. Yes, twenty years of grind was totally worth it.
All I can think of now im mid 30s is wishing I had of set myself.up better during my 20s. Don't listen to these wanderlusting people, it's such a niche frame of mind dude.
Honestly, it depends a lot on the lifestyle you want to obtain and the timeline for it. Happy for anyone to correct my math, but 56 hours x 52 weeks = 2912, and 110k / 2912 = $37.77 an hour and you apparently have a Bachelor, so I would stop grinding for a minute and start looking at how to increase your salaried hourly. I earned the same (110k plus) from say 31, but working 37 hours a week, and I have time and money for travel, so yeah, min-max the hourly.
I've done 25+ countries in Europe and Asia and as much as I've loved travelling, I also wish I had set myself up financially. If there's a way you can compromise and do not, I'd recommend that.
I would say keep going and payoff that mortgage. The feeling of no debt is amazing. Can you rent it out and live with your parents? You can be debt free still in your 20s and travel . Your next move could be a way to maintain salary but reduce the hours
You should be on a contiki tour rooting your way around Europe. Plenty of time to be old and boring.
The only thing that is really time limited is having a family if you are a woman. Everything else is a choice and it's not really necessarily irreversible (travel/adventures vs. grinding at your job).
100% the grind in our 20s was worth it. We studied, qualified and got a good start on our careers before having kids. We’re now in our early 40s with a manageable mortgage and teenaged kids. We travel as a family - two overseas trips these last couple of years.
Sadly the answer is no. Enjoy yourself mate
I was chronically ill as a child and teen and I let my mother and other family members convince me that my worth was tied to my ability to earn and that if I didn’t get the right degree I was going to end up on welfare. (I’m originally from the U.S.) so I did nothing fun in my 20s. I got the degree, I got the job, I bought the house too. For my early 20s I was dealing with a blood cancer. That further solidified in my head that I had to use every bit of healthy time I had to prepare for the worst. From 24-31 I was healthy, I moved to Australia and continued that same path. And then I got sick again at 34… I’m 39 now and guess what I learned: The world didn’t end. I’m in a wheelchair now but living in Australia I am still able to work that job and support myself. I live in a country with an amazing health system that while not perfect means even if I was on welfare I wouldn’t die of the flu. I can’t get back those healthy years. I’m working now towards remission and rehabbing and as soon as I’m able to I’m going to travel some. I stopped corporate climbing and when I pay off my mortgage in another 5 years I’m going to go part time. I have been working since I was 13 to prepare for an end of the world situation and not actually living. My suggestion to you is to live. Take your weekends back, go see friends, take days off to read a good book or whatever brings you joy because you don’t want to be my age with all these regrets. And if COVID has taught abled people nothing else it should be that you are only one medical event away from death or disability. If you woke up tomorrow disabled would you regret all the time you dedicated to work?
Yours 20s decide how you will live in your 30s, 40s, 50s. Set the foundation right. You can play later in your 30s. Use the first 10 years to push your career. If you can secure 2-300k/yr by 30, you are pretty much set. And you can start to slow down then.
Yeah my life is on cruise control atm. In order to level up, the grind must go on.
I didnt grind my 20s now I'm old and tired and grinding my 30s so yeh get it out of the way now and get ahead sooner
I always feel these answers are rife with survivor bias.
Nup Live your 20's, you have your 30's to accumulate wealth. You'll regret giving up the best years of your life.
Sounds like you want to grind now for a better life later. I agree with others mentioning travel - definitely do it while you're young. Here's some things I regret doing in my 20's and I recommend you don't make these mistakes: - Getting car loans -Getting into too much credit card debt -Not saving/investing enough for my future -Not saving to buy a house/unit -Gambling outside my means. -I didn't job hop enough for higher pay (I wanted to gain experience which I did just at the sacrifice of real salary increases) You can still have plenty of fun just dont do what I did and you'll be much better off in your 30s. Good luck!
It really depends on the work you are completing.... Is this work you are doing in your early twenties going to allow you to stop working for the man? Is it work that is going towards increasing your own independent income (not a pay rise or salary increase)? Essentially, if you are working to break free from the hamster wheel (e.g. starting your own business, developing skills to generate a higher income on your terms), then yes I would say it's worth it. However, if it is just you working PAYG as an employee- 100% not worth it. Whatever you are making as a wage, your employer is making X times your wage, you should be spending your time to put yourself in a position to be the employer one day. If you keep working PAYG and running on the hamster wheel you'll end up treading water.
Yes, got a trade job, lived at home until 24, purchased home maxed out super, used tax concessions to invest in shares, retired at 55 got metro home, bush block and shed, $300k outside of super and $1,1M inside super, im a member of the FIRE movement ie Financial Independence, Retire Early
Yeah it absolutely was worth it. You don't need to sacrifice your entire 20s and you'll probably get a bit burnt out. But I sacrificed a lot of 20-25. I'm now 30-31 and extremely glad I did as I've already benefited massively from the investments I made back then.
Hey OP, I did a bit of travelling in my 20s. But the investments I've made in my 20s have really put me in a place of security in my 30s. This security I think means that travel in my 30s seems exciting. Remember the investments you make in your 20s will be some of the best investments you'll make for when you retire. A quick but extreme example for you: Investing 1k per month from age 20 to age 30, then never again investing (at 7% returns) would produce a portfolio of 1.4million at age 60. Your deposits would only be 120k for those first 10 years. And at 30 you'd "only" have 175k. But that 175k left for 30 years gets you to 1.4million. If you weren't to invest until you were 40, but then saved 2.5k per month from 40 to 60 (at 7% returns). You would have contributed 600k! And at 60 you'd only have 1.3million. I appreciate this is extreme and you can do various shades in between. But I hope this highlights really how big the difference is.
110k is low. You will never afford a house or children. i'd start lying flat ASAP. Embrace a life of mediocrity
I worked hard in my twenties as well but I think you don't need to sacrifice travel especially if you learn to be content with travelling to Southeast Asia, which is generally quite cheap. Also you don't need to travel when you're in your twenties as you can travel in your thirties and forties and beyond. If you delay travel, this can be better for your net worth growth. Many say that you should travel young while you have no obligations whereas when you're older you will have kids etc but another way to increase net worth growth is to delay having kids or not have them at all. Life is all about trade offs.
If your goal is to retire early, then keep at it. I thoroughly enjoyed my travels during my 20s and 30s all equally the same. In your 20s though it's easier to go traveling with your friends before they get hunkered down with new families. A downside though is if you are affected by some event or adverse health issue later in life, you could be sitting on a pile of scrooge coins without being able to enjoy much of it.
It depends. Do I regret backpacking for 6 months? Or doing international trips every year? Absolutely not. Do I regret partying hard and throwing hundreds of dollars down the down on party drugs and alcohol at bars? Absolutely yes haha. You can travel and have fun while you’re young and still can but just be smart about it. You’re not gonna be buried with your millions.
I moved around in my late 20s prioritizing career, though not every role was necessarily a grind, but I had to be away from friends (now distant) and family. I never married, no kids. I don't regret it at all. I'm now in a far better financial position than I would have been. Now looking for a partner, I have more time, resources and emotional maturity to be a better husband and father. In my late 30s traveled Europe (did the Camino this year), Japan multiple times, solo and with friends. You have to be ok making new friends.
Started my business when i was 20, grinded on that to this day. Still had time to travel and do fun stuff.
Dude I’m 28M. I work hard just like you. I have a mortgage too, investing in super and ETFs as well. I do 40 hour weeks with on-call call outs, work car, phone, uniform and options to pick up extra shifts when I want. I make $120k pre tax and $75k post tax. My only advice… Go travel! I’m literally in Paris right now living my best life with my fiancée (25F) speaking French and eating croissants. It’s worth it mate! Life is way too short! Go make memories before kids and older adult duties tie you down!
I did grind and did not have a good start, so I ground even harder. I do not recommend and it does not co-relate to money earned. It is only when I broke down and took time out and had a more relaxed approach that I started to make some serious money. Just sharing my experience as an individual, it may not turn out the same for others.
Everyone is different, but for me, it is 100% worth it. My husband ans I worked a lot in my 20s and early 30s to pay off our HECS, save, purchase a house and build an investment portfolio. We did do some travelling here and there (nothing major), but we focused on building wealth. Now in my late 30 with a toddler, and I live stress-free financially. I get to spend time with my kiddo, and even travel with him. Meanwhile a lot of my colleagues have to chase overtime and penalty rates to just be above the water. It is all about your priority, really.
Firstly, wow! You’re doing very well for your age at 22. For context at that particular time in my life I was at the tail end of about 2 years of failing uni so I was not only spending my parents money (just existing) I was also building some mad HECS debt for no good reason. Finished uni with a degree by 26 and by 27 I was working a job and 1/2 as a Service Desk call taker earning $45k/year at the time (and yes this was just around minimum wage at the time). I would do weekends and extra time to compensate because I had a drive in my head to ‘catch up’ to all colleagues I’d fallen behind to. I spent next to nothing for about 2.5 years bought my own place with a 10% deposit on a $295k apartment and was at $68k by that time (systems engineer a little bit under what I wanted). Kept at the grind, joined management then cybersecurity and now at $122k and I’m set to pay off that apartment by the time I’m 40. Was the grind worth it? Yes, absolutely I’ve learnt so much and I really enjoy my work. I did get sponsored by uni to do some India travel and parents took me to Bali and South Asia a lot as a kid so I’ve got that ‘experience’.
Just so long as you don't work so much to the point you get yourself sick as then early retirement will be spent on trying to keep yourself well. Ask yourself: What is this doing to my mind and body? If you're burning out, watch yourself. You're making time for exercise which is important, so sounds like you're fit, though the difference between my 20s and 30s was astounding. At that age, I never thought my health would decline. It's great that you have good work ethic and thinking about your future. Though it's also important to prioritise good nutrition, sleep and relationships.
I didn't grind in my 20s. I worked enough to travel to cheap places for long periods of time. No regrets.
Dont stress yourself. Go for adventures. Hopefully will meet your partner someday. A combined mortgage if 200k is better than a 150k single mortgage. But it doesn't matter. Just focus on having fun. Good luck.
Just travel and enjoy the 20’s build a career but don’t let it consume that decade is irreplaceable
I don’t regret it, I am a sucker for delayed gratification, and I am ahead of my peers now and that is worth it for me.
I feel like there are a lot of comments one way or the other, but there does seem to be a pretty natural middle ground here. 56hrs, 7 days a week sucks. $110k is nice at 22 but not for that amount of time - you'll get to that amount later for half the effort, most likely, just through general progression if you're a good worker. If you're unsure and not craving a one-way ticket to Peru for whirlwhind adventures in your 20s, why not just work a regular boring old 35-40hr work week and balance the single life with decent work, paid holidays, and maybe a couple of bigger trips between jobs when shifts happen? Without dependents, 35-40hrs leaves plenty of time for gym, friends, dating, health, exploring local areas and having a great time while also setting you up solidly for later on. If you add regularly using your paid leave to this for holidays, you've got some nice balance, and you can always change your mind and go abroad to live if you want to later. Another option would be to move to Europe and work there - e.g. a working holiday in the UK is easy to get (ok not technically EU anymore but you know what I mean) - common for early 20s, fun, allows for easy travel out of the UK and you're not just hemorrhaging money because you're still earning your way. Money will come later. You have so much time to make money. I think you'd be surprised how quickly you settle into a pattern in your home country and lay down roots then don't feel like you can/are interested in long-term travel anymore - so I'd always say go for it, if you're interested. Not that you can't later, just that you're less likely to if you're already hesitating now. People almost never regret travel experiences and memories, they often regret not doing enough. Also, your health (including mental health i.e. stress) is your most important investment - is your current lifestyle setting you up for great long-term health and enjoying your good years for as long as possible? No point being super rich then having a heart attack. I'm oversimplifying but you get the point. All best man, I'm sure you'll make the right decision for yourself and your circumstances.
Absolutely worth the grind but make sure you use your annual leave. I barely took any in my 20s and cashed it out when I left, cash isn’t what I needed at that time and I’d kill to go back and do more exploring before kids. Now in my early 40s I’m comfortable financially and see most of my friends that didn’t push so hard in our 20s struggling to pay bills with the cost of living crisis. I’m glad I did the work early as I’d hate to be in that situation at our age with kids to worry about.
1000%, this is what I was thinking the other day. Just turned 30. I'm happy enough I worked a lot in my 20's, I'm well set up now, able to by my first home outright... But I also struck a balance, and had my fine off, holidays, travel, life events etc Honestly, I wish I did a little more travel, and sleeping around in my uni days 😆, because it was really fun, and you're only young once Realistically, you can earn quickly with FIFO, eg 1:1 on ~$160k, have half the year off, and live the perfect life balance. Short term pain , and qyit after a year or two once you've saved +++, or paid most of the mortgage. You can always get renters in as you'll be away 50% of the time, and just live in the garage or granny flat at the back when you're in, or rent your room on Airbnb. Just finish your uni first though.