Response to debtkid.com - What would I tell my 18 year old self?

This post is a response to debtkid.com's blog post: "What I'd Tell My 18-Year Old Self"

I have always tried to live my life such that I was ashamed of, and regretted nothing.

It's gone very well thus far.

But because this is a blog about finance, aimed at this particular demographic, I will admit something.

Between the ages of, I think 16 and 18, I made $14.16 an hour working at the best summer camp EVER. For six weeks of camp, that's a little over $3000 a summer.

And I blew it all.

Actually, I gave away a lot of it via christmas presents and charitable donations.

My only regret is that I didn't invest some (or ALL) of it for the long term. It's another couple of years of compounding that I could have used, not to mention I'd be almost $6000 dollars richer.

So my advice to all after their first real job: save some of your money. Live life for today, but plan for tomorrow as well. There are tons of ways to make saving and investing easy, even automatic. There are some really great books on the subject that I've reviewed over at BridgingTheGaap.net

As as the post below states, the more responsible you are with your money, the more irresponsible you can be with what's left.

What would you tell your younger self? Post a comment here or head on over to debtkid.com