What would you do if you were 20 again?

If I were 20 (or even 18) again, I would:

1. Read up about personal finance to gain some knowledge and insight to how I can better manage my monies.

2. Change my bank account to a high yield one and save half of my pay from part time jobs and internship, into this account, and make this a habit.

3. Read about investing and start small on a regular basis.

4. Socialise more and make new friends, perhaps I could even find a like-minded girlfriend and both of us could work towards our goals together. 😄

5. Exercise as often as possible 😀

To be honest, if I were to do it all over again, I would probably continue do the same things all over again despite me not being financially awakened at 20. I think we are a product of the experiences we have.

I got a study award to go to Australia when I was 21, and it exposed me to a series of experience that would change my worldview.

There I learnt that the Singaporean way wasn't the only way of doing things, and that people will always be judged by their skin colour.
I saw brilliant people from our South East Asian neighbours that had to leave their countries because it could not provide the opportunities they wanted.

I learnt about the class divide, about how the world isn't fair.
I saw both privilege and inequality, and learnt to see objectively the both sides of every coin.

But perhaps most importantly, it gave me context to the last 20 years of life I led – and what it meant to a citizen of a developed Asian country.

All these factors when put together, primed me with enough motivation to start my journey towards Financial Independence when my mom had a stroke at 25.

It's possible that if I didn't have these experiences, I would not have the convictiion I have – I might even have given up after a month or so.

To be really honest, the information on how to get rich has always been out there. What is oftenlacking is the drive and motivation to follow through.

If you're twenty, the best thing you really can do is the change your mindset on how the world works – it's something I wish I did earlier. Adopting a growth mindset will make you humble and hungry.

There is nothing more powerful than that.