24

Today is my 24th birthday. If you’ve been following me since the beginning of my blogging days, you know that every year, I write a post about the age I am turning. In addition, I also write about some reflections, and maybe some goals I have for myself.

24 to some of you may think 24 is a baby. Others may think it’s old. I am one of the latter. I am now in my mid-20s. I am no longer a fresh-faced college student. I am now an adult – whatever that means. When I was younger, I thought that being in my mid-20s would mean that I had my life together. Well, I can assure you that’s not exactly the case. I still sometimes don’t know what I am doing. And, that’s okay.

This past year, I’ve made a lot of big steps. I joined the Arts Commission in my town. I also bought a car – my very first new one on my own. During this year, I had disappointments, and I had celebrated successes. I even managed to make it on the radio.

As I turn 24, I decided to set some goals for myself. The first is to get my finances and credit in order. One way I can do this is to start saving money, and stop spending it stupidly. When I bought my car, I nearly drained my savings for the down payment. I never really gained it back. Furthermore, I have a habit of living paycheck to paycheck and purchasing things that I may not necessarily need.

So, with that being said, I’ve decided to work on that. My first plan of attack is to stop shopping at QVC – or at least stop putting so many things on Easy Pay. Over time, I can easily spend over $100 on my payments. Good news, after July, it will go down to half.

Secondly, I want to make it a habit to put more in my savings. Since I get paid weekly, I want to put a portion of my check into my savings before I even can spend it. Even though it might not equal much, that little bit does add up.

Another way I want to do this is to help pay my car off – or get closer to doing so. I currently pay more than my payments are every month. However, I want to begin to increase those payments by a bit. That way, I can get closer to paying it off.

Another goal I have for myself is to make me a bigger priority. As my responsibilities continue to grow, sometimes I realize that I put me on the bottom of the list. So, this year that’s going to change. Whether it may be taking my full lunch break or including a bath gel when taking a bath, I am going to do my best to take care of me. Sometimes it’s not easy to do so, but it’s really important. After all, if I am not going to take care of myself, then who is going to? Asking for a friend . . .

So, 24. So far, it seems like it’s going to be a pretty good year. I guess you’ll have to wait until I write 25 to know for certain.