Only one more year until I’m 30. The big 3 0. I’m not going to lie, it seems so odd to think that I will turn 30 in this year. I still feel 18 in my mind and I feel so confused by how quickly the years are moving. Does anyone else feel like time goes quicker when you’re older?
We might be still in the midst of a pandemic, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have big plans for the final year of my 20s. They are definitely very “adult” plans. Gone are the days of dreaming of multiple getaways and seeing new sights. Although they aren’t as glamourous, it hasn’t made me any less excited.
Buying a House
My OH and I want to buy a house, or at least be in a position to buy in the next 12 months. I’m kind of hoping this will be before I’m 30. For no reason, other than I enjoy the idea of being on the property ladder before then.
I’ve been saving up for a house deposit for a few years, and luckily I was able to ramp this up in the past couple of years. I would love to be able to save more each month, but I’ve also been saving up the all-important emergency fund.
It also worries me about trying to buy a house when I have no idea what’s going to happen with the world and my job. We have a minor plan of looking to move somewhere else for a couple of years. Hopefully, it will be somewhere with a bit more space. We’ll have to see if that ends up being our option!
Focus on my Health
I mean, this isn’t specific for any one year but more of a continuous journey. Since I moved to university I have not done much to keep myself healthy. Okay, maybe I have a little. I have exercised pretty much every year since, in one way or other, but the food I eat has never been great.
I’ll hold my hands up and say I’m fussy eater. I have had to force myself to eat most of the foods I do today, and I’m not sure if it’s my fear of the unknown or some other underlying issue I have. All I know is that I would rather eat a pizza than try something new. This year, I want to try and change that.
I’m going to start small and try swapping out my unhealthy snacks for slightly healthier ones. And by that I mean eating pistachios instead of a chocolate bar. My PCOS means I’m more likely to have hormonal imbalances, which can leads to quite a few issues weight wise. If I can get my eating under a little more control, and hide the sugar, I might be able to get a minimal handle on some of the issues.
I’m also looking to improve my sleep. I’ve always had issues with sleeping. I struggle to fall asleep, and I wake up a lot through the night. I feel like a newborn with how often I wake up! It might be a more difficult to improve on this, but I am going to be attempting to get more sleep each night and see if that helps to keep me motivated, and feeling better in myself.
Keeping on Top of My Finances
To be honest, this isn’t something too radical for me. I may not have done great when I first started, but I have had some form of budget for the past 10 years. During my university years it was more of something to to cry at, rather than to see any way to improve. However, since working full time I have been able to use it to keep an eye on what I’m spending and how much I’m spending.
In the past couple of years I’ve been trying to build up some safety cushions. I move a bit of money into two separate savings accounts and I’ve been letting it slowly grow. One of these is for my emergency funds. I’ve finally managed to hit £1,000 for this! But it has taken a while as I only move £40 a month to it. I’m hoping to build this up so that I have 6 months of expenses saved up in case of any serious issues, but I’m happy with what I’ve managed to get to now. The past year has highlighted to me how important it is to build this up. So I’m hoping to move any spare cash I can into it.
Focus on my Writing
2020 gave me the time to focus more on my fiction writing, and honestly I loved it. I’ve always wanted to publish a book, but I’ve never thought that I was good enough. At least not good enough to pass through traditional routes. I’m not saying I’m a bad writer, but the mid list is going. Newer authors aren’t going to be taken on as readily. I mean what business wants to invest in an unknown at the moment?
I’ve finally made the decision to go down the independent route and I’ve spent a lot of time researching what I need to do to achieve this. It’s not going to be easy and this year I want to get two books in place that could be published. I have one that is going through edits, and I need to hire some professionals here as well, and the other is partway done in its first draft. Ideally, I’d like both to be finished. But I don’t want these to be the only books I ever publish. I have a trilogy in mind, that I’ve been mulling over for half my life, and I want to have this fully planned and prepared so I can start working on that. When I have the time.
Part of me feels like I’m being optimistic. I mean I struggle to write just one book, but I know I can do this. My main downfall will be in setting the time out properly to do it. I procrastinate, and put things off and it’s mainly because I’m scared to fail. I hate the idea of failing at something so much that I sabotage myself in terms of being able to achieve it. It was something I did it through school, college, and university. Now, I need to let go of that fear and prove to myself that I can be a success.
29 isn’t always seen as such a big year.. It’s not a milestone birthday, and it holds no significance. But for me, it should be the year I make the changes I need to.
Hasta la fuego
