In your 20s you are like a Ferrari car, fully charged and ready to take off. While there are plenty of temptations and distractions, the decisions you make at this crucial age bracket will truly dictate your future – as the weak fall and the strong survive.
Whatever choices you make; whatever risks your take; whatever decisions you make – DO NOT make the following 10 MISTAKES.
1.Spending your money like there is no tomorrow
Spend every cent you receive carefully. Don’t rush into commitments and contracts that won’t benefit you in the long-run. Avoid visiting malls, expensive pubs and restaurants more than 4 times a month. Do what it takes to save at least 40% of your monthly income.
Don’t spend more than you earn.
2.Struggling to keep up with the latest trends
Don’t spend all your money on the latest fashion trends and the newest mobile phones. Fashion trends come and go. Mobile phones only last for a short time. Instead of trying too hard to catch up with the latest styles and tech gadgets, spend more of your time focusing on saving and investing in worthwhile projects.
3.Upgrading your lifestyle beyond what you can afford
Do your best to limit your monthly expenditure to around 50% of what you earn. You can do this by renting a cheaper house, using public means of transport (rather than buying a car) and by limiting the amount of bills that you get at the end of every month. Don’t put yourself in a level you don’t belong it just to please your friends, spouse or family.
4.Relying on one source of income
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Keep working hard to create several alternative sources of income so that you’ll still be stable even if one income stream runs dry. Don’t be complacent with your salary to an extent that you forget how to “hustle”. Blend the two (hustling and some salary) and you’ll go places.
5.Not starting your dream business when you have the chance
How many assets or how much cash do you have right now? Probably, your assets + cash + savings + inheritance aren’t even worth Ksh500,000…in other words you don’t have much to lose right now. And even if you lose them you still have many years ahead to recover! Starting today, get into the game of taking risks (rational and well-calculated risks), and have lots of fun!
6.Going into debt for a wedding
Don’t make the mistake of taking a loan all in the name of putting up the biggest wedding in town. If at all you’re going to plan for a wedding before you reach 30, make sure you keep it small (something that you can comfortably pay for with your savings).
Don’t go into debt just because of a wedding.
A stable marriage requires priceless things like honesty, understanding, humility and most importantly sober planning – not expensive wedding ceremonies.
7.Blaming, blaming, blaming
Don’t spend most of your life blaming every Kamau and Otieno for your problems. You have better things to do than blaming other people for your problems – like you can start a business. Or better still you can lock yourself up alone in your bedroom and yell until things soften up (just kidding, let’s proceed to the next tip).
8.Thinking that you’ve finished your education
Education never comes to an absolute end. So, don’t make the mistake of throwing all your books away and cursing your former teachers simply because you have “finished schooling”. Keep applying for short-courses here and there just to keep your skill-base up to speed with changes occurring in the world.
9.Forgetting that “what goes around comes back around”
Don’t burn bridges with important people. You might need them to help you in one way or another in years to come. Respect your parents; you will need their blessings going forward. Respect your brothers; you might need their support when you fall sick. Respect your neighbors; they might be of great help should your house catch fire. In short, don’t forget that Karma comes after everyone eventually.
10.Holding to friends who add no value to your life
This is the time to choose the right team to work with. You won’t go far if you surround yourself with slow people. Likewise, you won’t think big if you walk around with small-minded people. If you choose a team full of marijuana smokers, then you’ll definitely end up behaving like a marijuana smoker some 10 years down the line. So, pick the right friends today, and dump the irrelevant ones.
Get rid of friends who don’t build you.
Any other mistakes that you would like to caution our young brothers and sisters to avoid making in their 20’s? We would really like to hear your “elderly” advice via the comment box provided below.
The video below talks about “10 Mistakes You’re Likely To Make as an Entrepreneur”, you might find it useful in your research:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4kLlcm-1ts
