Gen Z Guide to FI

Happiness accountability check-in! I turn 25 in May 2024, and this is my list of 50 things I would be happy to have done before I’m 25. Updates are bolded, and completed-ish things are crossed off. You can find the original list here.

1. Go to Japan – the trip was fabulous. You can read all about it in my post on Solo Travel in Japan
2. Go to a Sam Smith concert – it was as fabulous as expected!!!
3. Visit my Grandma in Nigeria - going again in February, so twice within a year.
4. Get into business school – I got into 5 schools and counting with full-tuition scholarships.
5. Get annual check up done
6. Play Wordle daily – most days I get the word too, fell off of this a bit. Need to get back to it.
7. Remember Nigerian Mother’s Day and American Mother’s Day are different days
8. Call Grandma on her birthday – I messed this up but called her later.
9. Call parents on their birthday
10. Spend more time with my siblings – I’ve seen them more this year than in the last 10 years
11. See long-distance bestie at least once
12. Get double ear piercing for the vibe
13. Grow blog audience – July 2023 Update: significant growth in the last 2 months (7 new subscribers, you should join them ;)). September 2023 Update: 10 new subscribers :). December 2023 Update: 11 new subscribers :). February 2024 Update: 13 new subscribers :).
14. Get 1000 followers on @genzfirebaby instagram – September Update: 373 followers, December Update: 539 followers, February 2024 Update: 723 followers
15. Get dental cleanings + look into Invisalign – looked at Invisalign for 5 seconds but I’ll have to see if it’s really right for me.
16. Therapy every month – going steady with sessions every 3-4 weeks
17. Create and sustain a morning routine – I’ve fallen off the wagon A LOT since last update.
18. Drink at least 3 glasses of water daily – don’t judge me lol, still struggling but better than before
19. Go watch a movie in theaters every other month – watched Barbie in August 2023, and watched The Boy and the Heron in December 2023
20. Do at least 12 mins of exercise daily – some days hit or miss but I’ve started taking walks and that’s crazy for me
21. Karaoke – YASSS!!! It was fucking amazing…
22. Celebrate my friends’ birthdays – I actually started a sinking fund for this since I value my friends ❤
23. Talk to my dad more – I need more therapy to set up boundaries for this to be a reality, not much progress here & I think our relationship is worse.
24. Find new animes – I recently found Inuyasha and am a big fan. Also, live-action one piece; get on that shit. I love One Piece anime, and they did a good job with the live-action. I also started watching the new season of My Spy Family.
25. Watch exciting kdramas – I got my Netflix back and I’m back on the grind
26. Get a pedicure – try it out, is it a vibe or what? – it was in fact a vibe
27. Do braids/try new hairstyles – new hair who dis?
28. Pray daily – I’ve been trying to say what I’m grateful for most morning
29. Donate more! – I’m proud of overcoming the stingy bitch behavior I wrote about in this post. So much growth!
30. Sleep on my bed more and on the couch less – the couch is definitely for cold winters, I like my bed more now. I actually started turning on the heater which is really big growth for me
31. Get promotion or pay increase at work – your girl got promoted
32. Take all my sick time and vacation time! – vacation all scheduled, sick time scheduled (in secret shhh). Karma is a bitch because I actually had a bad cold but I went in to work anyway. Sacrifices must be made for vibes.
33. Spend Christmas/New Years with my family
34. Go on a short solo trip – Japan SOLO TRIP adventures were fun
35. Remove/sell the clutter in my space – I’ve been heavy on the Facebook marketplace and selling my old clothes. I’ve made over $300 so far.
36. Continue spending with intent monthly – fell off a bit but I’ve had a lot of experiences which counts too
37. Find 1 new podcast – I found Match Made in Manhattan and Thick & Thin, all fun, light podcasts I enjoy. I also recently started listening to some podcasts about the film industry since I’m serious about pivoting into the industry.
38. Support other financial content makers on Instagram – I’ve actively focused on welcoming new finsta bloggers into the personal finance community. It is a great pleasure!
39. Positively impact my direct reports at work – I’ve been going on team lunches with my direct reports every week. I think it is helpful to have an easygoing open environment. That’s my style at least.
40. Learn a new or profitable skill – I started a podcast & dance class haha
41. Ask for things I want even if the answer is no – definitely standing up more to my parents and doing things I want to do instead of resenting people for their expectations of me
42. Learn more about cybersecurity. September Update: I’ve been doing better using Google Password Manager. December Update: I’m still updating passwords, but it’s still something I need to complete. February Update: I’m trying, but it’s not fun, so it’s not making me happy.
43. Open 3 new cards for travel hacking – opened the Alaska card to see if I could travel hack to South Korea next year. Stay tuned for more on that.
44. Make new vlogs – I’m not sure if making vlogs gets me excited anymore. It’s sad to admit that I might have grown out of it??
45. Dust of my camera and use it – used it a bit in Nigeria until my dad’s old friends were asking me to take their pictures. So I was like nahhhh
46. Crotchet anything
47. Try new hair and skin products – definitely trying out new products and my dermatologist recommended more stuff for me to test.
48. Experiment wildly with makeup and fashion – September Update: fo sho been trying out new styles. I’ve discovered my fashion style is rewearable looks. Like 5 pieces in my closet that can make 20 fits.
49. Eat candy in moderation –> no moderation baby we wildin’ and I love it
50. Have more happy days than sad days – Journal more – definitely journaling more on the blog than on paper but either way more consistent. September update: paper journaling more in the last few weeks than I was before. December update: I’ve journaled more in 2023 than I had in 2021 + 2022 combined.
51. Quit my job in April 2024 – Initially, I put down March, then changed to April but I’ve changed the timeline to May right before my birthday.

I love running through this list and seeing how far I’ve come. I’ve grown so much since the December updates. There are many items on this list that I’m questioning whether or not it would improve my happiness. Another update in the next two/three months.

XOXO Gen Z Fire Baby