{"id":8111,"date":"2026-05-04T18:46:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T18:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/?p=8111"},"modified":"2026-05-04T18:46:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T18:46:44","slug":"older-millennials-share-their-biggest-mistakes-so-you-can-learn-from-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/?p=8111","title":{"rendered":"Older millennials share their biggest mistakes so you can learn from them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A lot of these comments will hit home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t long ago that a millennial was seen as a college kid that baby boomers chided for being entitled and Gen Xers<\/a> thought were way too sincere and needed to learn how to take a joke<\/a>. Today, the oldest millennials, those born around 1980,<\/a> are now in their mid-40s<\/a> and have lived long enough to have some serious regrets<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also have enough experience to take some pride in decisions that, in hindsight, were the right moves. The good news is that at 40 there is still plenty of time to learn from our successes and failures to set ourselves up for a great second half of life. These lessons are also valuable to the Gen Zers coming up<\/a> who can avoid the pitfalls of the older generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Reddit thread that hit a nerve<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A Reddit user who has since deleted their profile asked millennials nearing 40<\/a> what their biggest mistakes were at this point in life and they received more than 2,200 responses. The biggest regrets these millennials have are being flippant about their health and not saving enough money when they were younger<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also realized that the carefree days of youth are fleeting and impossible to get back. So they should have spent less time working and more time enjoying themselves. Many also lamented that they should have taken their education more seriously<\/a> in their 20s so they have more opportunities now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The responses to this thread are bittersweet. It\u2019s tough hearing people come to grips with their regrets but the realizations are also opportunities to grow. Hopefully, some younger people will read this thread and take the advice to heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are 21 of the most powerful responses to the question: \u201cMillennials of Reddit now nearing your 40s, what were your biggest mistakes at this point in life?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On health and relationships<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. \u201cNot taking care of my hearing, not even 35 and going deaf.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Kusanagi8811<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. \u201cNot getting healthy earlier.\u201d <\/em>\u2013 zombiearchivist<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. \u201cStaying too long at a job in my 20s, just because it was safe and easy. When I finally got the motivation to leave, ended up with an almost 50% pay boost.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Hrekires<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. \u201cThinking that I could and should put myself on the back burner for anything and anyone else.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 lenalilly227<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. \u201cSmoking and not dealing with my sh** the right way.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Allenrw3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. \u201cPining after the wrong person.\u201d <\/em>\u2013 runikepisteme<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. \u201cI turned 40 this year and just started liking who I am. Why the fuck did it take 40 years for self acceptance?\u201d<\/em> \u2013 guscallee<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. \u201cTake care of your f***ing back. Lift with your knees. Sure it\u2019s rad when you grab a fridge by yourself and lift it in the back of a moving truck unaided, but one day that shit is going to have consequences that won\u2019t just magically go away by resting and \u2018taking it easy\u2019 for a week.\u201d <\/em>\u2013 GuyTallman<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. \u201cI wish I spent more time with my dad while I had the chance.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 CharlieChooper<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. \u201cI\u2019m 37. I absolutely could have taken better care of my body, but I\u2019m in relatively good health. I\u2019m starting to realize how important it is to maintain my health. I do also think I drank far too much in my 20 and early 30\u2019s. I\u2019m trying to rectify that now, but it\u2019s hard. So that I guess.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 dartastic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On work, money and missed opportunities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

11. \u201cI\u2019m not sure if people have experienced the same but when I entered my 30s I became convinced I was rapidly running out of time. Rather than using that as motivation I let it paralyze me with indecision because I \u2018couldn\u2019t afford to make the wrong choice.\u2019 Consequently, I\u2019m now 39 and, though I\u2019ve had great things happen in my 30s, I regret spending so much time worrying and so little time committing to a course of action.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 tomwaste<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. \u201cWork to live, don\u2019t live to work. You have half your working life after you turn 40 but only 20-25 years to really live it up before the responsibilities become heavy and your joints start to ache. Live life. Really LIVE it. Experience as much you can. Every sensation, sight, sound, touch. Be open. Be brave. Live your first few decades in the fast lane. You have the rest of your life to take it easy, when you have no choice.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 MrDundee666<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13. \u201cI should have paid more attention to my parents telling me to save money and less attention when they were teaching me about purity culture.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Arkie_MTB<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14. \u201cIf I could tell my 18 year old self one thing, it would be to save 10% of every paycheck I ever got.\u201d <\/em>\u2013 PutAForkInHim<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15. \u201cThinking that I have time to do everything I want only to find myself loosing time, and the endless energy I used to have in order to purse them.\u201d <\/em>\u2013 ezZiioFTW<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

16. \u201cNot wearing sunscreen.\u201d <\/em>\u2013 blueboxreddress<\/p>\n\n\n\n

17. \u201cNot recognizing the importance of work\/life balance earlier in life. My late teens, all 20\u2019s, and early 30\u2019s were spent pulling 60-100+hr weeks because I thought it was what was required to succeed. How wrong I was. Others stabbed me in the back and reaped the reward.\u201d <\/em>\u2013 [Deleted]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

18. \u201cWhen you get out of college, keep your friends. No matter how hard it is. Hold on to them.\u201d \u2013 <\/em>mpssss22<\/p>\n\n\n\n

19.\u201cShould have bought a home. We qualified 20 years ago for enough to buy a small 2 bedroom but I didn\u2019t think we could afford it. That 2 bedroom would be worth nearly 3Xs and paid off by now. We pay nearly double in rent what our mortgage would have been. Gotta love the SF bay area cost of living.\u201d<\/em> -Thelazywitch<\/p>\n\n\n\n

20. \u201cAlways ask for more pay. Starting, yearly, before leaving, whatever. Get that money.\u201d <\/em>\u2013 SensibleReply<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What younger generations can take from this<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reading through these responses, one thing becomes clear: most of these regrets aren\u2019t about big dramatic failures, they\u2019re about the small, quiet choices that compound over time. The good news is that the same principle works in reverse. Small, quiet choices toward health, connection, and financial security<\/a> add up, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A lot of these comments will hit home. It wasn\u2019t long ago that a millennial was seen as a college kid that baby boomers chided<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/686864327_1446857780808542_7950215202658966090_n.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8111"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8113,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8111\/revisions\/8113"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}