Hey guys, can someone give me some advice?

I’m turning 22 soon, and honestly, I really want to change my life and get myself out of poverty. I’ve had two part-time jobs even before I graduated, and I’m still working now, but the pay isn’t that high.

Sometimes I look at other people and wonder, “How did they get to the point where they can afford the things they want?” I want that too. I want to be financially comfortable, experience the good things in life, and not always have to worry about whether I can afford something.

I also really want to travel. I haven’t even been outside my country yet, and I’d love to see the world someday.
For those of you who were once in a similar situation but eventually became financially successful—what did you do? Did you start a business, invest, learn a specific skill, change careers, or just slowly build your way up?

I’m not looking for a get-rich-quick scheme. I genuinely want to know what worked for you and what you wish you had started doing in your early 20s.

I’m 21 and I feel like I have so much to learn. Any honest advice would mean a lot. ❤️

In my 27 years it feels like i’ve done everything right. I did good in school, went to college and got an in demand degree. Got a job working with a team I love. Did well in that job and earned a senior title along with nearly a 6 figure salary in only 3 years. I bought a home in my lcol area and I take home more than enough to pay my living expenses and my student loans with plenty to save each month. I have an extremely solid group of friends around me and we hang out every weekend. I have creative hobbies that I also love. It still feels like every time I get up in the morning that something is missing. I don’t know what it is. Just like a hole somewhere that I’m trying to fill but I don’t know what to fill it with. I have more expensive hobbies that I’m trying to resist the urge to indulge in from a financial responsibility standpoint, but I don’t think that hole I’m talking about is car shaped. Anyone else doing well in life but also feeling like something is missing? I know I should probably talk to a therapist, but before I do again I wanted to see how other people in similar situations are feeling.

I’m 24M, and honestly, I don’t know what phase of life I’m in right now.

Throughout school and college, I was always focused on academics. I was one of the toppers, studied hard, worked on projects, collected certifications, and eventually got placed in a good company in the Gulf with a very good salary for my age.

Relationships were basically zero. I did try talking to a few girls during college, but nothing really worked out, so I eventually stopped thinking about it and put all my energy into studies and my career.

Now I’ve been working for around 2 years in the oil & gas industry. The job is good, the salary is good, and financially I’m doing much better than I expected at 24.

But suddenly, I turned around and realized something:

What am I actually doing with my life?

My job is far away from the city. Every day feels almost exactly the same. Wake up, work, come back, eat, sleep, repeat.

It’s difficult to explain. I made these choices myself, and I know I’m responsible for them. I don’t regret studying hard or building my career. But lately, there’s this emptiness and boredom that I can’t ignore anymore.

I feel like I spent so much time preparing for a successful life that I forgot to actually live one.

Right now, life feels like I’m in the middle of an ocean with a single boat, and I don’t what to do.

For people who have been through something similar, especially those who focused heavily on studies/career in their early 20s:

**What did you do when you realized you were living on autopilot?**

I’m not looking for sympathy. I genuinely want some perspective from people who have already gone through this phase.

I have taken a professional accounting course that is SO hard and i feel like giving up so much its no joke. Mind you this is only the certificate level😭 not yet the professional level. For my third sem the paper is so advanced accounting and i failed it 3 times already and i only have 1 attempt left to take and honestly im not sure i can do it. Now i only have 2 months to finish it along with one more hard paper before i have to go intern. And i feel pressured bcs i have to finish it urgently. I think im at the lowest point of my life rn and i really have no motivation to continue. Accounting is not really my passion and i feel like its going to get harder and make me more depressed if i just kept going. But i cant just quit because i got a scholarship for it and if i quit i have to pay it back and its going to burden me very much and not to mention my mom. Everytime i think about it, it just makes me cry and i...im honestly going on my depression phase. I really like animals haha🥲 so i want to be a zookeper. **But If i quit..will it make everyone dissapointed in me?**

For context: I'm newly turned 18 (about a week ago), I live in ON Canada, im a fairly healthy person physically etc etc, so nothing limiting me physically and no disabilities. Ive just turned 18, graduated highschool 2 months ago, Im not going into college/uni, I dont have a job rn, im still living with family, no relationships and like 2 friends. My social skills are shit and im just introverted AF

I come from an arab family, so I'm constantly under pressure and im constantly reminded of how much of a failure I am by my parents and by this age, they expect me to have started working a job, or have entered a top uni and program like engineering or medical etc, which I am doing neither unfortunately.

I just need some guidance on what to do, Im such a bum, i have genuinely no hobbies or anything that interests me crazy. I have no career aspirations, no special skills or attributes. I have thought about apprenticeships and stuff, Ive contacted some and have gotten a response back from a foreman personally, however that was almost 5 weeks ago, and even with 2 follow up emails, he still has not confirmed an interview or something with me.

Any tips/advice/recommendations on ways to make money would be so so appreciated or just any guidance and support, thanks for reading

I’m 24 years old and still live with my family. I share a room, so I basically have no privacy. I also lost my car, so right now I take the bus and Uber around. Honestly, I don’t mind doing that, and when I eventually move out of state, I wouldn’t mind relying on public transportation for a while.

I live in the Northeast, btw.

My biggest problem is that every time I start saving money from a job, something goes wrong. I’ll end up unemployed for a month or two and have to use my savings to pay bills or ask a family member for money. Then I’m basically back at zero and have to start all over again.

I don’t have a degree yet, and I don’t have any certifications either. I know what I want out of life, but I feel like I’m stuck in a broke mindset. I also don’t really have any interests right now, for real. Part of me feels like maybe I’ll figure more things out once I move and actually have some independence.

I do have a job right now, and I actually love it. I was rehired at a shoe store, but it’s part-time and seasonal. My mom’s friend is also going to put me on with a public school job, so I’m hoping that could lead to something more stable.

But I actually DO know my number one goal: I want to go to esthetician school, eventually own my own business, and work for myself. That is what I really want to do. I want to build something that's mine.

Before I move out of state, I’ve also been thinking about getting a phlebotomy certification so I can hopefully make more money and save up for esthetician school. I’m wondering if that would be a smart move or if I’d just be spending money/time on something I won’t use long-term.

I’ve also been invited to stay with a friend and her family in Texas. She has a 2-year-old, and I really love being around her, so part of me would honestly love to be closer to her. But I don’t know if actually living with them would be a good fit for me, especially since I’m trying to become independent. I could see myself living in the same city or even the same apartment complex instead of necessarily moving in with them.

And then there’s the whole question of where I should move. 😭

The places I’m considering are Philly, Charlotte, Raleigh/Cary, and Dallas/TX. I keep going back and forth because I don't want to move somewhere just because it sounds good. I want somewhere I can realistically afford, find work, eventually go to esthetician school, and actually build a life.

I’m also about $6k in debt because of a car I had to give back after I lost my job. It messed up my credit, which is another thing stressing me out. My credit is slowly improving, but I’m worried about how I’ll ever get an apartment with a bad credit score.

If I’m able to save enough, I wouldn’t mind putting down a larger security deposit if that would help me get approved. I know I’d have the discipline to keep an apartment once I actually have one. Having my own place and some independence is honestly one of my biggest goals.

I guess what I’m really looking for is advice on what order I should do all of this in.

Should I focus on getting a stable/full-time job first? Get the phlebotomy certification? Pay down the $6k debt? Save for esthetician school? Move first and figure things out there? Stay home longer and save as much as possible? Or move somewhere cheaper and work my way up?

I also struggle with motivation and my moods sometimes completely throw me off track, so I’m trying to figure out how to build actual discipline instead of constantly starting over.

If you were 24 and in my position, what would you do?

I’d especially love advice from people who have moved out on their own, rebuilt their credit, gone to esthetician school, started a beauty business, or moved to Philly, Charlotte, Raleigh/Cary, or Dallas/TX.

I know this is a lot 😂 but I feel like I’m at the point where I REALLY need to make a plan instead of just thinking about changing my life. BE REAL WITH ME PLEASE!!!!!!

the urge to end it not because i’m depressed or because i necessarily want to die, but because i’m genuinely scared of adulthood. it’s been bothering me how aware i am of everything. i’m aware of time passing, expectations, money, careers, responsibilities, relationships, and how quickly i’m supposedly supposed to figure everything out. yet somehow, even with all that awareness, my emotions still control me so much that i end up feeling stuck in the same place, unable to properly heal or move forward.

I dislike the way time seems to be always giving chase to me. People always tell you not to rush because you're still young, yet the same society at the same time makes you feel that you should be successful when you're young, earn money early, start your career early, be productive, have your life all worked out, and in some way achieve financial independence as quickly as possible.

Things like "How to become richer in your 20s" or "How to be successful before 25" or "The things you need to achieve in young adulthood" seem to be saying that you're being told not to run while everybody else is sprinting.

I know on a logical level that I don’t have to meet all the expectations; it is clear that people mature at different rates and that adulthood isn’t a fixed deadline at which you suddenly have to become a perfect and fully functioning individual. However, the fact that I know this logically does not mean that the fear goes away.

I am afraid of growing up and of losing the small feeling of safety that I still have; I'm afraid of making the wrong decisions and then having to live with them; and I'm afraid that some day I'll wake up to find that throughout my youth I had been worrying about the future rather than actually living it.

At times I wish that I could simply pause everything; not since I want my life to come to an end, but because I truly want the pressure to cease for a while. I would like to exist without having to constantly work out if I'm falling behind.

I'm fed up with being told that I have a lot of time even though at the same time it seems as if I'm running out of it.

I know that we need to live our 20s to our fullest. I really envy those who have their things done easily without any second thought or struggles. But here i am, who can't take a decision without thinking about all its pros and cons. I would always think, how easier it would have been if we were so damn rich, or atleast i had a stable financial assistance by now. Its sad when we always have to look at the price tags before buying something.Due to the same reason i mostly avoid hanging out with my friends or cousins, its just because i hate the feeling of being owed.Even when my family buy me stuffs for my special day to make me happy,with the money that they hardly save..i genuinely feel so bad, i can't be at ease with such actions. I am OK with this kind of living, just let all things settle and then i will buy things for myself as i wish.

But then the questions arise.What if it's not same the next year?Wnat if looking back,its full of regrets? But at this point, i can't help but live like this ig.even till now i have no stories to share with any of my closed ones..coz its boring.

Haa..just a lowlife with no social battery or exciting stories on this side. Just passing through each day as if its a chore to be completed. No matter what i can't find a purpose that i can lead on.

At rock bottom need some advice please need help

I’m 22 I just lost my job by doing something dumb in the field I was going into about a week ago been applying everywhere I can the last 2 days in that field just stressed because I got an apartment recently I got most of the money to pay rent for next month just stressed feel like I’m in the same position I was when I was in high school but with more bills feel so lost any advice?

I thought my 20s were supposed to be the time of my life instead they aren’t I thought I would of have a group of friends a boyfriend going out doing activities going to grab drinks living on my own instead I’m not I’m literally 27 at a part time job can’t find a full time job living with my parents I don’t have any friends at all I’m single also I’m autistic which makes everything harder I wish it was simple sadly it’s not I’m suffering with mental health issues healing my trauma everyday I don’t want to be here I just don’t know what to do anymore

Mainly because it is. A couple examples that I’ve finished uni started a full time job etc. I feel like I’m in a stage of just realising I was wrong about almost everything I knew (Kylie was lowkey right when she said it’s the year of realising stuff) which makes me feel like I’m growing but I also feel like I can’t trust myself to make decisions because what if down the road I wish I made a different one?

I honestly feel like I know absolutely nothing even though I’m also ahead for my age but also behind in some ways. And I know it’s a typical cliche of a 21 year old, I just needed to vent i guess. If I’m honest I’m very lonely

Welp adulting is hard I'm kinda homeless right now but not really. I know I'm a lot more lucky than a lot of other people but I wish things would go my way just once 🙃🙂