# If you were doing it again....



## TomB19 (Sep 24, 2015)

If you were starting out in life for a second time, what would you do differently?

I'll start.

I'd buy a bungalow as soon as I could possibly afford the down payment, build a basement suite, move into the suite, and rent the upstairs. That would get my cost of living down to near zero. From there, I'd start pushing the payment plus anything additional I could put together into savings: both RRSP and TFSA. I'd start with the RRSP and put the refund plus whatever I could muster into the TFSA.

Assuming I buy the house between 25~28 years of age. I'd move upstairs at 35~40. The house would still be free, because inflation would easily have the basement rent covering the payment by then.

I'd spend the time to learn equities and value investing as soon as the house was sufficiently together as to allow me a little free time. Renovating takes 100% time so I would disregard all else, during that phase. Learning to value companies requires some knowledge of accounting plus time to read a lot of financial statements for reference.

I would buy equities with the following guidelines:

- 80% stock of mature corporations that are distributing and present as high value using general Graham guidelines
- 20% young growth stock
- 0% FI
- all set to DRIP (the growth stocks won't distribute... doesn't matter)


Focus exclusively on: honest, hardworking, smart businesses.

- Ignore FOMO
- Look for businesses which produce; do not try to get rich quickly
- Look for at least 25% value differential before selling top performers and buying better values
- Don't sell any company I really like unless the value is, at least, 10% negative
- Set a finite limit for saving. We didn't do this and it was a mistake. We saved tremendous amounts of money when we were younger, instead of enjoying life. I'd still save the vast majority of my money but it's OK to spend a little.


Next....


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## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

I'd dive straight into university out of high school and get into scientific research or anthropology. My one regret in life is not going to university. Money means nothing to me really- if I can live reasonably, that's all I need. But having a challenging vocation that suits my interests is worth everything. I would also never have started drinking or getting into the party scene. What a shameful waste of time.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

...probably most everything....


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

I would delay getting married so soon after getting my Masters degree. Spend more time playing the field. I would defer the purchase of my first house as well. I would buy a good used car instead of buying new.


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## pwm (Jan 19, 2012)

kcowan said:


> I would delay getting married so soon after getting my Masters degree. Spend more time playing the field. I would defer the purchase of my first house as well. I would buy a good used car instead of buying new.


You better hope your wife never reads this thread.


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## DollaWine (Aug 4, 2015)

pwm said:


> You better hope your wife never reads this thread.


LOL!


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## TomB19 (Sep 24, 2015)

Speaking of irony, I respect the value of a good used car but a new car will get you laid more.


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## pwm (Jan 19, 2012)

I think it's a pointless waste of time wondering what might have been. We all are driven by our genes and the experiences from our formative years. Our personalities, and worldview are already formed by the end of childhood. If you had it to do over again, you would make the same decisions, good or bad. 

Free will is mostly an illusion.


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## Dilbert (Nov 20, 2016)

I wouldn’t marry my first wife :subdued:


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## nobleea (Oct 11, 2013)

For the things that I had control over (essentially from 18 onwards), I don't think I'd really change a thing. Maybe not try to invest in microcap mining stocks circa 2007. Everything had to happen in a certain sequence of events.

Now, there are things that happened before 18 that certainly would have changed things. If my mom hadn't gotten sick, we would have lived in Europe for longer, and possibly my dad would have had some more international postings. If she hadn't gotten really sick, we wouldn't have moved to Edmonton, which had the best cancer care at the time. If my dad hadn't gotten out of the military in Edmonton, we might not have stayed here. I wouldn't have the same friends (who shape who you are), I might not have the same career (though it would probably be related). I might be a bit better off, but likely worse. Maybe I'd have joined the military and be a rising star, getting close to that first star. Or maybe I'd be dead or seriously injured from a tour in Afghanistan.

If my wife and I hadn't traveled so much in our first decade together, it would have been easier to start a family without fertility issues. But we got the best of both worlds and I don't regret it.

Honestly, I'd have to say I'm living the 'most optimal solution' for my life. In mathematics speak, it's a local maximum. Might not be an absolute maximum, but it doesn't really matter.


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## olivaw (Nov 21, 2010)

I would not have upgraded my starter home so soon. It would have been better to pay off the mortgage early and upgrade after we had saved up the cash difference. 

I would not have started smoking. 

I would have bought a Japanese import instead of a new Ford in the 80s. 

I would have recognized sooner that you use things and love people - not the other way round. 

Beyond that. Not much. I would still have married my first wife because she gave me two beautiful children. I would still have dropped out of school for a few years because those cr-p jobs taught me to value my education when I eventually returned to school.


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## TomB19 (Sep 24, 2015)

Dilbert said:


> I wouldn’t marry my first wife :subdued:


Quick story.

A girl I dated in university couldn't afford to dorm in her third year so I left home and split an ultra-cheap apartment with her. She turned out to have some serious emotional problems which eventually tore us apart.

Everything was going fantastic until I came home one day at the end of the first week and she started screaming at me before I finished closing the door. It was the most extreme vitriol I had ever heard. Little did I know, within the next 5 minutes, I would be experiencing the best sex of my life.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

I would have not gotten married so early. Better to wait until about 30 after one has become a bit wiser AND on a better financial footing (in theory).

I would not have started smoking (what an idiot!)

I would have only bought Japanese imports and none of that American crap (the last one was a Dodge Caravan in 1991). I keep imagining how good life would have been starting with a Datsun 510. Whatever was I thinking! 

I would have started learning more about taking charge of my investments earlier (though not nearly as easy to come by in the '70s as it is today). You young'uns never had it so good with a multitude of good resources to choose from.

That all said, I made good education and career choices. No real complaints.


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## 1980z28 (Mar 4, 2010)

only get married one time
getting married 3 times is not good
would retire earlier 
not own fast cars


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## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

1980z28 said:


> only get married one time
> getting married 3 times is not good
> would retire earlier
> *not own fast cars*


In another web forum I'm on, we have a thing called a "handle/post". It means that the poster's username has some (usually unintended or ironic) relation to the content of their post. So, handle/post!


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## nathan79 (Feb 21, 2011)

Spent more time with my best friend. We kind of let our friendship lapse, though we weren't on bad terms or anything. But I could have made more of an effort to see him (I made exactly zero effort). Maybe I would have been there to call an ambulance and he wouldn't have died. Living alone was really bad for him due to his health condition, plus he was not the most responsible person (an understatement).

Bought a shitload of bitcoins in 2011-2012. I was already involved in Bitcoin, but the main reason I didn't buy a whole bunch was the difficulty of using exchanges at that time.

I don't particularly regret any career or education choices, as I'm not an especially career-oriented person. College does sound like fun, though. It would also be nice to say I have a degree in something, so I might still do that if I find the time.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

pwm said:


> You better hope your wife never reads this thread.


My ex-wife would never touch anything with money or finance in its title! But I think she may have preferred me to wait rather than bite and switch.


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## milhouse (Nov 16, 2016)

Not to get too technical but is the question about starting out in life for a second time in the same time period or from nowadays onward? If during the same time period...

Spending
I wish I didn't buy all this no value "stuff" like albums/cd's, car modification parts, etc and saved/invested the money instead. I still have those albums/cd's stored away gathering dust. The car was kind of fun but a headache and is long gone. 

Investing
This is tough because I think it was way harder for a DIY'er when I was starting to make some decent money. The Internet was still relatively early days. Online brokerage accounts were relatively new. ETF's weren't on the radar. 
Instead of these high fee mutual funds my friend's sister sold me as one of my early investments, I suppose I wish I had bought some individual equities like Canadian bank stocks for a buy and hold. Overall, I wished I learned about Personal Finance and investing earlier and provided better oversight on my investments early on and took control of my finances earlier. 
Glad we bought the house when we did but I wish I had taken the risk with the pre-sales condo flipping frenzy in the early 2000's in Vancouver. 

Education
Not too much I would change here other than wishing I participated in even more stuff that I did and socialized a little bit more to meet more people. 

Work
I'm not sure if I'd change too much here. In the end, my job has provided me with a path to early FI and key perks along the way but a lot more in the early days. 
Funny that just out of uni, I messed up on some job opportunities that might have landed me with employment with a municipality or the federal government which might have been pretty stable long terms gigs but I'm not sure if I would have come out ahead than where I am now.


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## 1980z28 (Mar 4, 2010)

indexxx said:


> In another web forum I'm on, we have a thing called a "handle/post". It means that the poster's username has some (usually unintended or ironic) relation to the content of their post. So, handle/post!


I worked my whole life as a mechanic (310T and 310S)
First car was a 1969 firebird with a modified 400,,,,,,
next was a 1974 duster with a 340 modified
next 1978 camaro modified 350
next 2 1980 Z28`s one auto one manual ,,,sold manual 
Did own more than one car at times
The auto had t bar roof,,,i paid 13000 in 81 for it,,stored it because i could not afford it,,,,a number of years later i only drove it in the summer,,in the 90`s i started to modified it,,i did not stop until late 2015,,,,loved the car last change was a 15k full roller aluminum engine making 400 + HP at rear wheels,,,sold car after 36 years for 28k,,lots of trophy's from car shows,,car was a lot of fun and expense and memories,,,,,also got into a lot of trouble with it,,,,,

Had to sell before retirement to NL because of roads and salt

Now drive Jeep GC limit with V8,,,,Have only owned V8 rear wheel drive or 4 wheel drive vehicles,,,,drive less than 7k each year for last 15 years or more
funny i do not like driving

Just a rant


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

I'd probably not have started the "climate change people won't like this thread".


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## TomB19 (Sep 24, 2015)

Why don't you just deny starting it?


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## Pluto (Sep 12, 2013)

TomB19 said:


> Why don't you just deny starting it?


Cause then he'd be like the alarmists. 

I don't regret my life choices. In my 20's I was immune to the desire for a big bank account, and that left me with a mountain of student loans, but my life was immeasurable enriched by what I learned. The main thing I learned is the limits to my knowledge, which implies my pet peeve: people thinking their knowledge has no limits. 

After the education phase, came informal education as I started paying attention to finance and I realized that the inflation of the 70's had actually devalued my loans to an amount that I could pay off in a few years. Here is where, to a degree, I goofed. I thought I could do better with stocks than with a house. I didn't have the skill to pull it off. I think I do now, but its too late. Generally I wasn't conservative enough and had too many growth stocks blow up. Even so, I managed to pull together 75% downpayment on a house. Buying a house with rental space and holding for years, and reaping a tax free capital gain was what saved me financially. The house game is over for the time being, and I'm quite happy having those tidy gains pay modestly taxed dividends. 

Getting back to an enriched life concept: money isn't everything. Chasing money, and having money while being otherwise mentally impoverished is a sad life.


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