To the older people on this board

People say "work hard play hard" which is not my style, but there is something in not second guessing yourself, worrying about whether you're doing the right thing. I think most people have to go through their 20s before they are confident enough in their own skin. If you can accelerate that process then that would be a big advantage.

Same situation bro. I'm currently studying an economics degree in a top Spanish university and I spend all day studying and at the gym. Also having a distance relationship and working 2 hours everyday. Organization is the key; I manage to fit in accurately all my activities and keep partying with friends as much as I can.

i did neither and am still well off

If I could start over from being 18 I would have done the exact same as I have now. I mean, besides the obvious like investing in Amazon or Wal-mart or Northrop Grumman or whatever I know now succeeded wildly since then. I'd have shorted the fuck out of Sears or whatever.

i can't enjoy life so i guess i will work my ass off.

aint that the truth
>work up the job ladder
>fucking hate parties
>only interest is fish
>no one likes fish anymore
>stuck alone with a tank of piranhas that literally dont do anything ever
guess the moral is dont buy piranhas, get something interesting like a cuttlefish

You need money to have fun.

Work hard play hard imo. Life needs balance. Too much of either is boring.

The only people not enjoying their life in their 20's are coping with the fact they are not good looking.

no you dont. you can be broke and have a good bunch of friends and have cheap house parties and it cost no more than a crate of beer

I amam 34 now, when I was in my 20s I did both, but times where way different .
I did telemarketing then sales and advertising and then worked for invention technologies. Lots of money, drugs, sex. But honestly it gets old.
Things now, i guess it depends on your job really. In (like pre 2006s) being in sales everyone was on drugs or drunk and chain smoking . But like I said, stuff was different

Me desu senpai

Balance is key, but in an academic bubble you're missing half the shit of the real world that doesn't fit in 24 hour cycles.mbest of luck to you though

That's some serious coping you've got there.

Lmao. All of the good looks in the world won't give those guys btc. They're coping pretty hard with muscles and shit, tho...

I don't get why people seem to just blindly accept that you can only have one or the other. There is plenty of time for both, you just have to be real with yourself and set your priorities for your free time

...

I think these are wrong options to start with. Working your ass off implies jumping on a shit job while you could use your time living with your parents to hunt for a good, lucrative gig. That's what I did, I was frugal and responsible with money, learned a lot. Now, at 29 I'm nearly completely financially independent (completely if I was to live a frugal rest of my life).

depends on how disadvantaged you are to begin with.

i was actaully pretty advantaged, and hence was able to do both

after having both, here are my thoughts on it:

1. you 100% need to balance it.
2. if you want to be rich, you have to be extremely selfless with your time. it could feel like you only have time to get your shit done, but never any time for yourself
3. Everyone has a certain "natural" ability. With your time, you disperse this ability.

You don't have to make an ultimate decision and stick to it all the way through your twenties. You just need to be aware of the consequences of your actions and decisions before you make them. How will it affect work if I spend the night in a bar instead of working on my project? How will it affect my personal life if I spend the whole night working instead of doing y with friends/family? To me this is really just a matter of proper time management and setting priorities - you just have to remember that just because work is more important to you than your personal life this doesn't mean you should not allocate any time to cultivating friendships and enjoying yourself. Time is a limited resource, manage it wisely.

Im 40 yes 40, ill give you my advice
work, be responsible, save money
hope you have a good background in being a good person, dont be a fuck up, dont feel sorry for yourself
time is ticking for everyone so be ruthless, but that doesnt mean be cruel, just be firm

You can do both son. More work than play but both is the healthy way.

...

If you can make great money work
If you can fuck supermodels or travel to cool places do that

DON'T turn down money to sit around and watch tv
T.old person

Why not moderation?

I spent ages 15 to 25 drunk and raving and I can definitely say that end of the spectrum was a waste - I certaintly wont be fondly remembering some kegger on my deathbed

But the other end is stupid too because even if you "make it" and become financially independant in your mid 30's using that strategy youd be an emotionally stunted person the rest of your life

getting rich is at least a decent goal that autists like us can reach, we can't enjoy life, so if we've made it and can't take it anymore we can still always end it

I'd say both. I'm 31 and in my 20's I

>worked hard
>played hard
>made a lifetimes worth of memories
>was crippled for life
>made and lost more money then I will for the next 30 years

Have very few regrets.

Don't take your friends for granted OP.

I lost several friends in my 20s, drifted apart from others with the wife and kids shit.

And my best friend killed himself almost a year ago.

Plan smart and work hard and have fun. Just ride the line and don't stress about future shit that may never happen.

And then you become me
>Mfw 31
>Mfw crippling depression
>Mfw sleep 2 hours a night and chug coffee because fuck anxiety I do wtf I want
>Mfw this is life until my heart attache and sweet release of death...

Mfw got to gold course surround and get bucket of golf balls.

Literally walk the ditches and find glass bottles to break while screaming "bottle kids" as a grown asso man.

Spend 20 bucks on beer.

31.

This is pretty solid. I used to let people push me around some so I wasn't a dick.

Fuck that. Never selling shit on payments again.

It's not my fault you were a junkie and you will live walking 3 blocks to the gas station for your smokes. Fuckoff

This is the saddest truth this of us with mental illnesses face.

Happily married.

Cut my sacrifice so no whiney shitheads.

Fighting the booze is a tough but necessary battle.

If I get rich I can hire a hit man on myself and leave my family at peace instead of hanging in the back yard because I live in a shitty trailer and hate myself for no real good reason...

1 and 2 work together.

Networking is vastly more important than your grades in school. You should still try to do above average, but when you graduate you're going to be given another degree that means all of dick or shit. It's just a slip of paper that lets an HR department know you're a good goy that can handle a few years of bullshit.

Real success comes from knowing people. You get to know people in college by partying, getting into the best frats, etc. It's a very small and exclusive club being successful, and to get in you need to know someone.

Snorting coke off the dick of a thai tranny with the future CEO of a Fortune 100 is worth more than any degree.

Just keep telling yourself that you'll cope, somehow.

>tfw this is true
>tfw have enough money to not care anymore

youll forget about most of the fun you had unless it was symbolic. its best to work. it doesnt feel fun now to just work, but in the future it wont matter that the fun happened.

I'm 32. I'd say do both while saving aggressively and making smart investments. After college, I got a decent job and lived well below my means. I saved as much as possible while still enjoying life. Now I have a kid and a lot less free time. I'm really glad I bought a house in my mid-20s (not saying you need to buy a house - it doesn't make sense for everyone) and started saving for retirement early.

Both but work for yourself, not others. If you have a job, and you aren't learning anything, quit. It won't get you rich.

Also,

40-60 hrs working
10 hrs reading/lifting
5 hrs shitposting
5 hrs partying (1-2 social events a week)

Ah, the classic "degrees mean nothing it's all about who you know" bullshit. This always, without fail, comes from the mouth of someone who got an increasingly worthless degree. Let me guess, you were in some business or finance related field? Or worse yet, a really low tier shit like psych or sociology? Even for business, finance, accounting, etc you don't even remotely need to network if you actually put effort in and your grades and resume experiences were good. STEM stuff you most definitely don't have to know people at all.

True successful people don't leech off the networks of others. They go out, work hard, and then others build a network around them after being drawn to their leadership and success.

work your ass off, invest 20% of your income . dividend paying stocks and real estate.

It depends.

Thing is, money can be earned at any time, and at any possible rate, but time and youth can never be recovered.

So I'd say only waste your teens/twenties working if you happen to be in something that is ungodly lucrative and you will be a multi-millionaire by 30.

Otherwise, enjoy 18 - 25, it's one of the funnest freeist times of your life and you will never get it back.

This is where I ended up. A pretty good plan. Paid off the mortgage at 33

do BOTH, but you have to have a friend or friends to do it with and you guys will do good.

there is no more competition in todays youth, there needs to be more healthy competition.

>women working
This is the dumbest meme. If you want cash then marry a millionaire, use your youth to charm some millionaire and get children. Women have the best low cost high return opportunity than any other group and they waste it on lower tier pursuits.

Most 18 year old girls can be a millionaire in a year by just fawning over some rich guy who wasted his youth working.

Agree with the first part. Going out is much more fun in your late 20s than early 20s. But having kids is stupid unless your spouse makes as much as you. Its a pity beta accountants making $70k a year knock up easy whores that make minimum wage at a movie theater then pay child support.

Both are important just don't waste your youth having too much fun and no enough work and the other way around as well.

I fucked up in my 20s

Focus on connections and having good friends and it will change you. Also don't hang out with losers even if you feel like one''

Worst thing about my 20s is I focused to much on work, and for the first 20-25 i focused on a shit career that didn't get me anywhere. tfw. didn't have smart/rich parents

Now 28, rich, have a career, but no family nearby, no friends, and live alone counting my money

Asian here. I don't think I've had a childhood. My parents are fucking cocksuckers.

I'm 18, HS Senior, I'm going to Brandeis and majoring in management.

Should I just focus only on academics and not worry about parties? I have no social life in HS, and I'm constantly mocked for it. The same won't happen in college?

you're in for a rough ride pal

go make your money while you can

I would switch to accounting, finance, supply chain, or information technology over management...

a-fucking-greed

Do not major in management, there is literally no point and you won't be fluent with the kinds of skills that employers are looking for in new business hires.

What are you going to do after your degree in management? -- apply to be a manager even though you have no practical knowledge?

>well hurr durr I studied it in college

This

People who rely on their network for jobs and other career opportunities are little more than beggars.

Management is typically business school speak for HR jobs. They're not going to call it a Human Resources degree because then only chicks would sign up. I'm guessing they're trying to trick unaware dudes into signing up and then hoping they like it.

Actual managers get their MBA, where they study Business Strategy

I work full time as a wage cuck and still make time to party. you have to balance it or you'll become a dirt bag or robot. even if you got out once a week it helps to break it up.

rescue a turtle from a pet store, way more satisfying and you can put certain fish in with it

Life is more enjoyable when you're working your ass off.. You can have your cake and eat it too.. Can't do nuffin when you're broke, remember that.

This sounds like something someone with no useful network would say

I'm currently completing my third degree, but it is on the path that I wanted.

Here's my path till now:

Bachelor of Science: Physics - 4 years.
Bachelor of Science (honours): Mathematics - 1 year

Gap year to find what I wanted to do and get a job in that area - I found what I wanted to do and failed at getting a job which lead to:

Travelling overseas to teach english for a year.

However realised that I would be happy teaching,

So I am now currently doing:

Masters of Teaching: Science and mathematics. - 1.5 years.

This has been from 2010 till now. It is a little sad to know how long it took, however teaching is something that I can see myself doing until I am ready to retire.

>tfw 24
>tfw already feel like i missed out on everything

Currently 25 btw.

>27
>still at uni

kill me

Majoring in management is retarded. Get a degree that lets you work in a field that requires a degree. A manager doesn't need a management degree.

I'm 23, graduated, studying for the MCAT. All my friends are getting smashed over winter break, having fun, enjoying life. I'm just studying... hold me

>1. Enjoying youth
>2. Working your ass off
Who else here didn't do either of these? I just sort of did nothing. I'm about to graduate in May and still don't know what I want or am qualified to do as a career. I am currently working on changing the garbage mindset that I've had for the past several years. But I am still baffled that people know that they want to work in ibanking, consulting, tech, or whatever. How the fuck do you know you will like it if you haven't done it?

Those who can't do, teach

Life sucks bro, it is hard to get somewhere even if you do work your ass off. So if you can find a girl or good times please for the love of God do that.

>How the fuck do you know you will like it if you haven't done it?
You don't. You can test it a bit with internship.
But mostly people just chose something they think they could be interested in. Like "woo planes are cool, I want to build planes!" Or seems not hard to do, like controlling the work of someone else instead of actually doing something. Or something that just earn good money.
Then they hate their lifes for 40 years, because they don't have the gut to change.

Neither

The guys who lived it up through their 20s will tell you to work hard because they regret not having a better job and finances now.

The guys who worked hard will tell you to live it up since they regret having wasted their youth focusing on their career and money.

Like most people here, I'd say there's a happy medium.

i love fish and actually came on this board to find a flexible but well paying job so i could dive deeper into the hobby

details!

I say do 2.
You're going to have a shit life after your 20's if you don't have anything to show for yourself by 30.

However, just because you're working hard doesn't mean you can't enjoy life. Just make sure it's meaningful, fulfilling work.

what work is actually fulfilling in the long run though unless you're a researcher or something

31 year old here. Spent the last ten years in a cubicle. Now worth $200k while the people that yolo'd are drowning in debt with a side of DUI.

how does it make you feel knowing you put money over other endeavors?

I'm this guy but worth half that and the people around me are worth much, much more.

Everyday I pray I get laid off. I have no other goals or ambitions other to come home and drink. I just want a respectable way off this ride.

get a hobby and start spending your money on that hobby until it flourishes and you make money off that instead

I'm aggressively paying off my mortgage, so I only have about $200/wk for necessities (gas, beer, etc) and 'fun' money.

I do have hobbies, but I'm too mentally exhaused at the end of a work day to do anything but sit in front of the jewtube. Then I drink b/c physically I've done nothing and can't fall asleep.

I was working out in the mornings and making some improvement, but got the flu. Trying to get back on that routine.

That pic embodies me way too much. Fuckin sucks, man.

my biggest thing since im young is not to get stuck in a 9-5 and then get stuck with credit cards and things which would make me have to keep that 9-5 until i retire. Maybe get a job that you like more or try to get into things that are cheap af

>dude just do both lmao

don't listen to these normies, if you don't have a cushy job in private equity you have nothing to party about

Time to force yourself to hit the gym fatty

You can enjoy yourself and still save some for the future.

I didn't save at all (aside from 401k at work) until I hit 30, really regret it now. I'd probably be a quarter of a million dollars richer at this point.

>1. Enjoying youth
>2. Working your ass off

How about both? You don't have to be 100% degenerate to enjoy yourself.

People that pay their mortgages asap are the biggest goys of all. With interest rates so low your money could be making you money. Instead you're throwing it at the bank like an idiot

The fact that you are asking means you want support for your laziness. Understand that however you spend your 20s is exactly how your 30s and 40s will probably be spent. You can't compartmentalize by age. You are who you are.

> "Your money could be making you money"

Whimpers the man who didn't understand that Stocks have inherit risk involved as he slides his head into the noose, glancing at a picture of his family one last time before he kicks the chair out from under.

> Party through Highschool
> Graduate with 2.2 gpa but get 33 ACT effortlessly
> College pays for itself because of ACT
> Choose easy major: Psychology
> Party through college
> Graduate with 3.8 GPA and extra curriculars (Anthropology Club, which I was the president of and got pussy through)
> Apply to grad school for I/O Psych
> Very sociable and 7/10 so I'm leagues ahead of these boring losers
> Get in first try with a TA position
> Fuck undergrad QTs
> Graduate 5 years later with a PhD and 0 debt
> Last 9 years were poverty, but I had fun
> Just got a job as a Statistician (I/O is heavy stats)
> All of my competition was literally Math Majors + Autists
> I'll begin making 98k + immediate 7% match February 6th

I would change nothing. Not for $200 mill. I love my life, if I died now I'd have no regrets.

So you're the man who doesn't realize the risk of putting a huge chunk of your net worth into a home just so that you own it free and clear?

I mostly agree with this.
Their is still room for balance of course.

I did mostly live my balls off in my early 20s, shit got dark around 25, then I got my shit together and now (about to turn 32) things are looking fine.

A bunch of my friends who refused to grow up and kept acting like a child through their late 20s are now hitting the wall and it's really depressing.

I know many here will disagree, but I do think it's ok to sew your wild oats early in life, so long as you use it as a learning experiance. Sure it could impede your development, but it's also pretty much your only chance to have those experiences and those experiences can be valuable later.

My wild early lifestyle left me with a disciplined attitude towards finance, depth, earing, and workplace politics that I find many of my contemporaries lack.