One piece of financial advice I wish I had received earlier is to start saving for retirement as soon as possible, even if it's just a small amount. The power of compound interest means that the money you invest in your 20s has significantly more time to grow compared to what you contribute later in life. Knowing what I know now, I would tell my younger self to prioritize building a retirement fund over unnecessary expenses and to take full advantage of employer-matching contributions if available. Starting early allows you to contribute less overall while still achieving substantial growth, thanks to the time-value of money. It's a simple principle, but the earlier you start, the easier it becomes to build a secure financial future.
One piece of financial advice I wish I had received earlier is to start saving and investing as soon as possible, even in small amounts, and to understand the power of compound interest. When I was younger, finances weren't taught at school, and my family didn't discuss money, so I didn't realise the importance of starting early. I vividly remember a university friend whose mother made her save a percentage of her pay every week. She always seemed to have money, and I was curious about how she managed it. It wasn't until I started working in financial services that I truly understood the impact of consistent saving and the exponential growth of investments over time. Knowing what I know now, I would tell my younger self to prioritise financial literacy, no matter how daunting it seems, and to start small but stay consistent. Today, I'm passionate about advocating for financial literacy, especially for women, and I enjoy teaching my kids the importance of saving, investing, and managing their money so they can build a strong financial future.
I'd tell myself to put as much money as I could afford each month into an S&P 500 index fund and/or Small Cap Fund and promise myself not to touch it for 40 years.
Within my career, I've seen the payoffs of what investing in physical precious metals has done for my clients within retirement planning. This is a piece of financial advice I would have liked to receive earlier in life when it comes to planning for retirement. I wish I knew how diversifying with inflation-resistant assets was one of the most important factors when deciding how much to save for retirement. Knowing what I know now, I would also tell my younger self to prepare for many economic shifts. This is why investing in precious metals is an effective hedge against such factors.
Taking full advantage of employer-matching contributions in retirement plans and starting retirement savings as soon as feasible, even with modest sums, are two financial tips I wish I had gotten sooner. With what I now know, I would advise my younger self that early intervention can have a big impact and that compound interest has the ability to change lives over time. To keep on course for a safe retirement, I would also stress investment diversification and routinely assessing financial objectives.
CFEI (Certified Financial Education Instructor) at Mothers Teaching Money
Answered a year ago
I would tell my younger self to invest half of everything she earns and to start as soon as she possibly can because invested money needs time for compounding returns to multiply and grow that money for her.
I wish I would have learned that investing a little toward retirement was better than doing nothing. I should have figured it out earlier because it's obvious, but the advice I always got was that you should max out retirement accounts. There was no way that was happening when I was barely making it paycheck to paycheck. So, I didn't even open a retirement account in my early adult years. If I would have realized that a $50 investment a month could make such a big difference over the course of my working years, I could have done that. But instead, I waited until I could max out the accounts. That meant I started saving way later than I should have. Knowing what I know now, I would have told my younger self to save every penny I could, even if it only amounted to a few dollars a month. Something is better than nothing.
I wish I had known the power of starting early and leveraging compound interest. Even small, consistent contributions to a retirement account in my 20s would have grown significantly over time. Knowing what I know now, I'd tell my younger self to prioritize contributing to a 401(k) or IRA as soon as possible, even if it meant scaling back on non-essential expenses. I'd also emphasize the importance of increasing contributions gradually with raises and investing in diversified, growth-focused assets early on. Retirement planning isn't about big, one-time actions-it's about consistency and time, which are your greatest allies in building a secure future.
The one piece of financial advice I wish I had received earlier is to start saving for retirement as soon as possible, even if the contributions seem small. The power of compound interest works best over time, and every year you delay can significantly reduce your long-term savings. Max out any employer-matching retirement plans and increase contributions incrementally with each raise. I'd also emphasize diversifying investments early to balance risk and growth potential. Starting early and staying consistent builds a financial foundation that pays off exponentially over time.