how to spend your money in your 20s

how many serums make up the price of a plane ticket?

When you’re 25 you have endless ways to spend your money, and none of them feel right. 

Paying rent feels like your bank account’s got its period: it comes around every month, it’s painful, and in the end, you have nothing to show for it.

You want to look the part, but blazers aren’t cheap and the crack on your computer screen is growing ominously.

You can’t bear the thought of meal prepping on top of your Monday meetings, but you can’t afford to buy lunch.

Some of your friends have less work and more money, so they suggest nights out, weekend trips, or that you buy a new outfit.

You convert the cost into hours spent on excel spreadsheets and decide to stay home.

Owning a home, having a big wedding, or settling down with kids feels impossible. Buying a dog, a new car, or a flight home doesn’t feel much easier.

Some days, usually when the weather gets warmer, you forget about these long-term plans for a while, after all; your 20’s are for having fun. You buy the concert tickets, scroll for some outfit inspo, and, because you’re feeling very mid-20s right now you even download an app and start swiping on potential people to split some costs with.

While you’re at it, you order that new product for your skin that you heard you should be using and think about how many serums add up to a plane ticket.

The comedown hits at work the next day as you eat your leftovers while your co-worker with a house and kids asks what wild plans you have for the weekend, hoping to live through you. You dodge the question because you have no plans, and wonder if you’re still fun.

You want to go and buy a complicated coffee to console yourself, but you think about her house instead.

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who wrote this?

Anna is an editor and writer living in Ontario, Canada. She loves all things storytelling and wrote a masters thesis about music and murder mysteries, so you know she’s a very serious person. She just turned 25 and is ready for inspiration to strike now that her brain has fully developed. When it does, you can find her writing at anna_j_bailey on Instagram or Anna Bailey on Substack.  

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