Dear me....

Trent over at The Simple Dollar wrote a really interesting post a while back called Ten Things I Wish I Had Done When I Was Twenty which, of course, makes me wonder what advice would I give my 20 year old self if I could send a letter back in time?

1) Start a skin routine! I didn’t develop a daily skin care routine until about 2 years ago, something I suspect I'll regret in a few years, now that 30 is only 12 months away. This is along the same lines as "wear sunscreen"...
2) Save money. Even if it’s only 5-10% of every pay check. That would’ve been $25 a week when I was 20 but if I had started to think that way when I was 20 I might not be drowning in debt now…
3) DO NOT use your credit card. I got one to establish a line of credit (I wanted a mobile phone) and within months it was maxed out on lame things like food and petrol
4) Use your mobile phone in moderation. I was a mobile phone junkie and this is long before capped plans came into force (where you can get $300 worth of calls for a measly $29 or something ridiculous like that) so I often had mobile phone bills that were 100’s upon 100’s of dollars. Not good.
5) Dump that loser! How did a lovely young lass like myself end up with a drug taking/dealing loser with no aspirations/goals, and little to no respect for me or anyone or anything in my life? Oh that’s right. He was cute. And I was stupid. Staying with him is one of my BIGGEST regrets.
6) Study. Not asking for High Distinctions but even a Credit would’ve been nice. I partied too hard all through university and suffered the consequences by taking an extra three semesters to finish my double degree.
7) Consider changing degrees. Think about what you REALLY want to be doing. If I could do this all over again there’s no way I would chose this career. I’d much rather have studied Health Sciences or Psychology and be working in something much more interesting like adolescent health or nutrition. Things that I honestly love learning about now!
8) Look after your car. Enough said. They would’ve lasted another 50,000kms and saved me a lot of heart ache if I’d just maintained them properly.
9) Exercise. Enough said.Quit smoking. Enough said. I finally quit when I was 25 but that was 7 years too late. I really should’ve known better.