Good Morning Green Panda Friends. They say that our four years of college are supposed to be the best years of our lives. As someone who has already graduated from college I can assure you that this is absolutely true. College is definitely a learning experience as we learn how to live on our own, chose our career path, manage our own money, and basically grow into the person that we are going to become. We should definitely take advantage of all the things that our 20’s have to offer, and in case you aren’t sure how to seize the day don’t stress because Green Panda is here to help.
No Regrets in Our 20’s
I don’t have any regrets about what I did or did not get the chance to do in my twenties. However I wish that I could travelled a bit more and worked a little bit less during my four years of college, but unfortunately this was not an option. If I could turn back the clock and be 21 years old again there are definitely some things that I would do differently such as accumulate savings, use my credit cards responsibly, and live on a budget. I can say this now because I am a young professional, but in my twenties I didn’t know any better.
The Best Parts of Our 20’s
We Learn Faster. If we decide that we want to pursue our higher education after finishing our undergraduate degree we should definitely continue on with our studies as soon as possible. I studied all throughout my 20’s as I completed my Bachelor’s Degree, my designation as a Certified Financial Planner, as well as a Legal Practices Certificate in Business Administration. I can tell you from experience that as I got older my attention span in the classroom got shorter.
We Can Gain Life Experience. Our 20’s may be the best years of our lives, but they are also the years when we learn the most. We experience many things for the first time during our 20’s such as living on our own, learning financial responsibility, travelling, and personal independence.
We Have More Opportunities. As a young twenty something we are starting our lives and we have the luxury to follow our dreams. We have the flexibility and freedom to take job opportunities overseas, we can choose to travel, or go back to school. In our 20’s we also have the opportunity to take risks and make changes that we may not be able to make when we are older and have more responsibilities.
We Can Learn from Our Mistakes. I definitely made my share of financial mistakes in my 20’s, but I have no regrets. I wish that I would have learned about personal finance in school or from my parents, but instead I learned about financial responsibility the hard way. I lived pay check to pay check and I used my credit cards unnecessarily. I personally learned to become financially independent when the bills started coming in and I had to work two jobs just in order to make ends meet while I was studying in college. I learned to become financial responsible the hard way by learning from my mistakes, but at least I grew up and learned my lesson. If I didn’t make those mistakes maybe I wouldn’t be the financial services professional that I am today.
Photo by gojeffery
Tahnya is 30 years old and lives in Montreal Quebec. She graduated in 2005 from Concordia University, and she currently works for a major International Financial Institution. She recently launched http://www.mediamadam.ca/. You can follow her on Twitter @TahnyaP.