Advice Care Package

As my brother prepares to go off to college and begins to blaze his own trail in life, I have decided to put together a little care package of advice for him.

First, everyone should watch this video at least once:



The most important message of this video is to wear sunscreen, whether you burn or not, the sun breaks down your skin and makes you age. If you want to keep looking young as long as possible always wear sunscreen on your face, neck and hands. Or if you enjoy the tan look you can always try looking like this.



Second, here are my personal tidbits of advice.

On Money:

Spend less than you make - With credit cards and loans being so freely given these days it's easy to fall into a debt trap. Most people only look at the minimum payments instead of the total cost. They don't realize they may be paying 10%-20% more for the product in the end and ultimately spending more money than they have or make. Also even if you have money, don't keep the mentality that I have money so I can buy this or that because A) The idea is to increase your balance so eventually you won't have to work, not try to reach a zero balance each month and B) You end up buying a bunch of crap you don't really need.

Save at least 10% of all of the money you earn - Many people are living paycheck to paycheck not because they aren't making good money but because they are spending all of their money keeping up with the Joneses, trying to impress people, and living in the now. Instead of trying to live a life of image try to live a life of substance. Thanks to the modern technology of direct deposit it is easy to have a portion of your paycheck go into a savings account so you won't even see or miss it. Also it's easier to save your pay raises since you've already been living at your current level and won't notice any difference.

Create an emergency fund (with 3-6 months of expenses) - Life is full of the unexpected, some good, some not so good. For those not so good times that involve money (car repairs, job loss, speeding tickets) it is always good to have a fund that can cover those issues, at least that's one less thing to worry about during life's little speed bumps.

On Relationships:

Treat others as you would like to be treated - The tried and true "golden rule", basically meaning to respect others. Although there are people out there that may take advantage of your respect the number of good people to bad is a lot higher so getting burned once or twice for the 1000's of people who deserve your respect is an acceptable ratio and will get your further socially.

Keep friends on your level or higher - It's a rather simple fact that the friends you keep influence your behavior and decision making. Having bad friends will eventually have you behaving badly and having good friends will help keep you on the right track. If you find friends that share your same interests and values be sure to listen to them as they will help keep you on the right path and as such you should do the same for them.

On Life:

Keep your life balanced - One of the keys to success in life is keeping everything balanced. Maintaining all things in moderation is an ongoing task. Much like a propeller, each blade has to be even or it can't fly straight. Too much of something can be unhealthy and I'm not just talking about what you eat. You should try to keep things even both mentally and physically in every facet of your life.

Be thankful - Appreciate life and everything you have, don't focus on what you don't have or want. Just in living America means you're better off than 98% of the world. Simple as that. It's a given that there will always be people out there that are richer, smarter, and even luckier than you but you can dictate your own happiness starting with being thankful.

Know that people love/care about you - As cliche as it sounds sometimes the world can be a cold place, the stars align and nothing seems to work out in your favor, but just knowing that there are always family and friends that are there for you will help you make it through the days, weeks or months of hell. It's always temporary because eventually things have to get better.

Well there's plenty more advice to dispense, but I've listed most of my top tips.

Additionally here is a link to advice specifically for the college experience.