What money mistake do you wish you had avoided in your twenties?

[QuantumKnight]

Asking here because I trust actual experiences over comparison sites.

Looking for what actually worked rather than what should work in theory.

Not looking for a definitive answer, more a sense of what people have actually found worthwhile.

I want to know what the second year of doing this looks like, not just the first week.

Any thoughts welcome

[Andy89]

That is my view too if I am being straight. The best sides find ways to win ugly and that matters more than the style of play.

Time will tell on this one

[Ava_75]

Not worth cutting corners on that part. Turned out alright when I did it

[AntMan]

The biggest mistake was treating my twenties like I had unlimited time to fix everything later. The money side of that was ignoring pensions and investments because retirement felt like something for older people.

Even putting a small amount away earlier would have made a huge difference because time does a lot of the heavy lifting. It is not about becoming rich overnight, it is about giving your future self a head start.

Funny how 25 feels ancient when you are 18, then suddenly 35 arrives very quickly

[DeanAmbrose11]

Mine was lifestyle creep. The first proper salary came in and suddenly every pay rise became a reason to upgrade something.

Better phone, nicer car, more meals out, more subscriptions. None of it felt dramatic at the time, but together it quietly ate a big chunk of money.

Learning to increase savings before increasing spending was probably the most useful habit I picked up later.

[NovaPrime]

Not building an emergency fund sooner was the one that hurt. A few unexpected costs arrived close together and suddenly every little problem became a financial emergency.

Even having a few hundred pounds set aside changes your mindset. You stop making decisions based on panic.

It is not the most exciting advice, but boring money habits usually save the most stress

[Niamh_25]

Getting into debt for things that did not matter is my answer. Nothing extreme, just lots of little purchases that became a monthly burden.

The problem was not one big mistake. It was saying "it is only a small payment" about ten different things.

Those small payments eventually became a very expensive collection of things I barely used.

[Kieron93]

A lot of people mention investing, but mine was avoiding learning about money at all. I thought budgeting was only something people did when they were struggling.

Turns out knowing where your money goes is useful whether you earn £20,000 or £100,000.

A simple spreadsheet would have shown me some very obvious habits much earlier