Money in my 20s

In honor of Women's Money Week...

I finished college just before I turned 19 and got hired even prior to graduation so when I turned 20 years old, I thought I was living the perfect life.  Good job, living with my parents so no housing costs, a hand me down car from my older sister so no car loan to pay for.  Looking back to my 20s, I did everything wrong.  And although I'd like to say I'd do things differently if I had a second chance, truth is, I wouldn't because although I made mistakes I definitely learned from those mistakes.

• impulse shopping and shopping sprees - I can't recall a time in my 20s when I wanted to buy something and first thought "hmm.. do I really need this?" or "Can I afford this?"
• gambling - In my 20s, I dated a guy who enjoyed gambling and I often found us at the VLT lounge and casino.  I couldn't even try to guess the amount of money I threw away on gambling
• eating out - Same guy (looking back, it wasn't the healthiest relationship... that's another post), we ate out a lot, possibly 5 times a week.  
• travelling - In my 20s, I also travelled alot and never actually saved any money first before travelling.  Travelling also came with a "Go big or go home" attitude
• non-existent savings - One thing I did right was starting my RRSP contributions as soon as I started working.  I thought that RRSPs were enough in terms of savings.  I never thought about any other investments or even having a emergency fund

I was very financially irresponsible in my early 20s.  In my mid-20s the relationship that seemed to personify my frivolous spending ended.  Although I must admit that even when I met DH, we still weren't very financially responsible.  We enjoyed some travelling and shopping and eating out.  Then things got real busy.. baby, marriage, house.  Out of my 20s and into my 30s, it was a game of catching up, and now finally trying to be more financially responsible.