So we are going to talk about the stuff which most people would be talking with you if you are a 20 years something.
What are the major pieces of advice that you get from people? What life lessons they pass on to you? What books they ask you to read? Where do they ask you to travel?
There are many, right?
Well I won’t be surprised if you said yes to this. In fact a yes is what I would expect.
Now, if I may ask, apart from all the advisory and constant nagging, from the experts of the sorts, have you set any goals for self?
Here, from my personal experiences, I would like to share with you a few goals in life that must establish for self if you are in your 20s.
- Owning your first solo apartment must be a goal before you touch 29. No matter how big or small the apartment is, it should be YOURS! Be it a small studio one.
- If you are staying away from family, make a goal to own basic amenities like a fridge, a washing machine, a TV, a music system and an AC. This will not only make you independent and self reliable for the rest of your life, but it will also prepare you to face life in all aspects.
- But a health insurance for self. Make it a goal before you leave your 20s. You will have to stop relying on your parents’ health insurance. You must have an actual health insurance that came from your grown-up job! Whenever you have problems with something, you should not call your parents, you call your insurance provider because it’s yours!
- Make a goal to acquire financial independence in your 20s itself. No more having to use your mom’s credit card to buy your makeup and shoes. Malls, cafes, restaurants and BPOs are a fair option to start with, till you grow in your profession. But the plus is, you will have your own money to spend whenever you want to.
- Make a goal to learn how to save. Create a cushion for self while in your 20s. So that, If at all you go a little outside your budget sometimes, simply because you seriously needed that neon mini, or you needed to take some days off of work because you’re stressed out of your mind, you know you’re gonna be fine. Why? Because savings!
- Have a goal to be in a relationship that lasts longer than a year, in your 20s. In that one year, you will learn to make adjustments, you will learn to respect individual space and you will also grow into a better human, if you survive one year of a relationship with the same person. Many bonuses will come along, which I leave for you find out for self.
- Establish a goal to go for a real vacation. Not a crappy road trip in your borrowed rut of a car with a couple of dumb brunettes and few cans of beer and diet coke. Be on an actual, “we planned this whole thing” vacation, with flights, a pretty damn nice hotel, a bikini and few sexy dresses that you bought specifically for the trip.
- Learn to cook while you are in your 20s, which means, learning to feed yourself like an adult. Learn to made a meal that involves actual recipes and you can be proud to host a dinner all on your own.
- Make and meet a goal for self to buy a new car by yourself. Sure, you’re gonna be financing it for the next 16 years of your life, but will have that new car smell. It will be a priced possession and it will be not your parents’ car! It will be yours!
- To have a real bank account where all your pay checks land, must be your goal in the 20s. And the pay checks should be big enough to pay for your rent, your expenses and a few gifts for your parents.
- While you are in your 20s, invest in a hip designer piece that you can keep for the rest of your life, and flaunt to your friends, that you have something from a timeless collection. For example, a designer black blazer for boys or a little black dress for girls will be stylish for the next 30 years and therefore, so will you.
- Make a goal that you discard all the stuff which reminds you of bad memories, and do not carry it forward to your 30s. Let there be enough space to make more memories born of new stories in your 30s.
- Make a health goal in your 20s to reach your ideal weight and learn to maintain it for the rest of your life. This will prepare you mentally to stay fit and this will also help you value your health for the late life.
- While you are at the 20 rope, learn to make good financial negotiations in your early years as 20s. Because, you need to make a life where negotiations are a part of anything and everything. Be it salary, buying furniture, or even maintaining a relation.
- It should be your goal to take your mum and dad out for a holiday before you enter your 30s and start a life of your own relationships, professional commitments, aspirations and get utterly busy.
- In your 20s, make a goal to gift something really cool which can be preserved for life, to the people closest to you. Make some memories for them, which can remind them of you, when they look at or use that stuff. May be a book to sister, a diamond pendant to mom, or a Rolex to dad.
- Make some good investments in your 20s, which can fetch you life saver money when in need. A short, medium, or long term Investments, small one or big one, doesn’t matter, but you must have some stash invested which promises to bring the chunk, when there is no work.
- If at all you are suffering any debts, make a goal in your 20s to get rid of them before you finish 20s. You must be free of all money related liabilities before you start a real adult life with your spouse and kids.
- And this one, trust me is the most important goal that you need to achieve in your 20s. Because this may sound easy to read but it is the hardest to enact. You’ve got to learn to spend less than you earn. A lot less. The money you make over and above your expenditures is what you’ll save and invest with. This, in turn, will allow you to be secure and free to make choices in the future. If you always spend everything you own, your options will disappear once you can no longer make money like you can today.
And that’s about it. I pretty much summed up the life goals of all the 20 somethings and that they must try to achieve at least some of them.
