I was there when I was younger, just a bit younger. 17 I was out on my own making a living and having to survive. Now, I'm financially stable, own my house (no mortgage), own two T4Rs (both paid for), 4 cars, and 3 motorcycles (all paid for). I'm not saying this to brag (this is the internet after all), this is just me looking back if I was talking to my 17 year old depressed self, and telling me what I would have wanted to know about the future.
I know no one wants a life story, so I'll just say what helped me the most. The thing that really helped me the most was to not listen to other people's opinions (I'll explain). So many people told me I needed this and needed that, tried to use scare tactics to get me to buy more insurance this and that, made me want to buy the latest greatest mobile phone this and that...but after being almost flat broke, I said "F*** it, and f*** you guys too." I sold my TV, my guitars, everything I had except a stove and microwave (literally). At first I felt like a total loser, having nothing to show for myself. I worked at a Chinese restaurant washing dishes making 5.15 an hour for a couple years, and went on the lucrative area of telemarketing.
However, one thing I noticed (and yes I had a kid to take care of), was that while I was totally dirt poor in terms of possessions and wages, I had nearly no monthly expenses. $700 a month and I was clearly living expenses, including food and insurance (plus gas too when I used the car). I just cut everything else out of my life.
Now, that sounds ridiculous I know and very shortened (I made sure my family's health was ALWAYS taken care of and that we had clean water and food), but point is, even as a teenager, I didn't realize how much I thought I needed. So when I threw out everything and kept nothing but the bare essentials (like a stove and microwave), I found that after a few week adjusting period, I didn't miss it. Then, even on a crappy salary and having to raise two mouths to feed, I found that not only was I not going hungry, but I was actually saving money, just a little bit. Sure, some people might have snickered at my nearly empty apartment, but really, the floor with a pile of blankets and towels you got from wholesale at Walmart is very comfortable. Kids love it too, believe me, some of the best memories I have are from "Laundry Wars!"
I never held a "respectable" title (McDonalds worker, car washer, Taco Bell manager, assembly worker, etc), but money is money, and having no shame in what you do (as long as it provides income) is what matters. The moment I accepted that and could tell anyone with a smile that "I work at McDonalds!" and mean it, life was fantastic. I had no debt and a very stable job, not one were there ever employment cutbacks at my McDonalds and I even got promoted to Assistant Manager and started making four figure paychecks for the first time in my life. After not so long, I was surprised to find a was saving more and more.
As money seemed to get better over time, I bought things here and there (like a desk and a dinner table), but surprisingly, no bed (kid's didn't want), no TV (kids learned to play outside and how to flip broken down power tools...my girl is quite good at rebuilding electric motors although the boy discovered video games later on...) but in short, we never kept up with the Joneses and after I met my wife, we still haven't. Turns out, we don't like the Joneses anyway, and funny enough, they're the ones that are always in debt while my family and I are very well off (despite that I am only a High School dropout) and we couldn't be happier.
To this day I personally still don't have a TV (no cable bill), an iPad, my phone is 8 years old (no phone data bill, I pay $39 for 5 lines), my laptop is one of those old white Apple laptops (from 6 or 7 years ago), and food is whatever we cook.
Sorry, just going on and on and gave my life story...sorry. But the point is...you may feel down and such about not having accomplished anything, but don't worry about what other people think about you. If you are happy ultimately, and if you can find peace with having less or more (regardless), then there's nothing better. I'm still a loser, I didn't finish High School and my wife "only" has an associates degree. But we're happy and we're doing fine with what we have, regardless of what other people think about us.
We may be "wealthy" now, but even when I was dirt poor, I had no regrets about cutting back and living creatively and efficiently. It was actually the best time of my life.
Take care brotha, you're 22 and it seems like you're in a hell of a lot better situation than I was. Don't worry, it'll all be good.
