Gen Z Guide to FI

Happiness accountability check-in! I turn 25 in a few days. I made this list of things I wanted to accomplish before I turned 25 for maximum joy purposes. Updates are bolded, and completed things are crossed off. You can find the original list here. So let’s see what I accomplished in my 24th year.

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 - visited twice within a year.
4. Get into business school – I got into 5 schools with full-tuition scholarships. Starting at NYU in the fall.
5. Get annual check up done
6. Play Wordle daily – 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 – we shall see, I’m on rocky terms with my dad and my mom’s birthday is after mine but I plan to call her.
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 – went to Canada in April spontaneously, I wrote about it in this post
12. Get double ear piercing for the vibe – I’m planning to do it as a birthday gift to myself!!
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 :). May 2024 Update: 18 new subscribers 🙂
14. Get 1000 followers on @genzfirebaby instagram – September Update: 373 followers, December Update: 539 followers, February 2024 Update: 723 followers, May 2024 Update: 825 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
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. I need to get back on this, I haven’t gone since December
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. Actually not on speaking terms currently.
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. I just finished the 2nd season of Jujutsu Kaisen and it broke me lowkey.
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’m moving in a few months so definitely heavy on the decluttering phase.
36. Continue spending with intent monthly – fell off a bit but I’ve had a lot of experiences which counts too. I’m going to see Trevor Noah this weekend. I’ve also become more comfortable taking myself on dates which is honestly a gamechanger.
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 – I opened quite a lot of cards in 2023. I’m spending the miles this year but I think I need to take a break before I can be approved for the cards that I’m targeting next.
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?? Giving up this hobby because it doesn’t spark as much joy anymore, sold my equipment. Definitely, a sad realization.
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 – didn’t touch this at all. Maybe I’ll explore in my 25th year.
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– Initially, I put down March, then changed to April but I’ve changed the timeline to May right before my birthday. Final update: I quit at the end of April and I’m currently on my 3 month summer break.

I’ve grown so much since the initial list from a year ago. There are many items on this list that I thought were necessary for my happiness. I’ve learned to let things go and leave room from change. I can’t keep every aspect of myself the same forever. Some hobbies don’t make me happy anymore but I’ve found new ones. I also learned that sometimes the people you love the most don’t love you the way you need. Space is good. At least, it has been good for me.

XOXO Gen Z Fire Baby