Tonight, as I was reading various blog posts on retirement and saving money, I got to a Reddit post where somebody asked if they were starting too late at 37. And people were quick to tell them, “No. I started later.” One even said they had to start over at 43. And it made me think, how many people really, truly believe it’s too late?
Yet, as long as you’re here in this moment, it’s not too late. Start.
You might not have the retirement you think you might have. It might not look like someone else’s who started early. But it’s better to have something than nothing. And it made me look at my own life.
I just turned 35 on the 22nd. I had a quiet birthday. It was amazing.
I spent most of the day relaxing in bed.
Then I went to the gym.
Came home.
Later that night, I got to talk to a friend outside while she sat in her car, and I just stood next to her window, and we talked for a full hour under the city lights. It was beautiful. That’s my favorite kind of night, just me and the nightlights of the city. Not nightlife, nightlight.
Then my son and I came back up to our apartment. We had a favorite of ours, spaghetti, whole grain with Italian ground turkey, I posted it here before. Then cake and ice cream. Simple. Ours. I didn’t go out to eat. Didn’t spend a bunch of money on presents.
Because this weekend, we want to go to the Seattle Bite Food Festival. And that’s where the money will be spent. It’s intentional. It’s choosing when to be frugal and when not to. It’s choosing to not spend $20 on my birthday so I can spend it on something meaningful with my child instead. It’s choosing to build in my 30s because I couldn’t do it in my 20s.
I didn’t have the tools or the resources like I do now.
So my 30s are now being spent building, in every area of my life.
I really do believe your 20s are for healing and knowledge. That’s how it played out for me, anyway. I spent most of my 20s unlearning the chaos I came from, reparenting myself, building emotional intelligence, and gathering information. I wasn’t building anything back then because I couldn’t. I didn’t have the tools, the clarity, or the stability.
But now? I’m in my 30s. And the 30s are for building. That means getting my license, my CFP. That means finishing school. It means building a career that actually aligns with my values, not just something that pays the bills. It means stacking my investments, growing my savings, being intentional about my relationships, and showing up for the life I actually want.
I’ve thought a lot about this. About what I’m doing now and what it’s setting me up for.
In my 40s, I want to travel. Not just dream about it or pin it to a vision board, I want to really go. I want to see the world with someone I love. I want to take my child places they never thought they’d go. I want to eat food I can’t pronounce in cities I’ve never seen before. And I want to do it without debt, without stress, and without guilt.
Because I did the work in my 30s.
And when I get to my 50s, I want to give back. Not because I owe it, but because I can. I want to teach. Share. Provide. I want to help other people build their foundations, the way I built mine. Because I know what it feels like to have nothing. I know what it takes to rebuild a life out of fragments. And I want to be the kind of person who reaches back and says, “Come on. You’ve got this. I’ll show you.”
I want to fund the arts.
Support medical research.
Create scholarships and grants for single parents raising sick kids.
I want to help cancer patients who feel invisible, students who feel forgotten, and artists who tell the truth about the communities they come from.
That’s what giving back looks like to me.
That’s my legacy.
That’s the plan.
20s: Heal and learn.
30s: Build.
40s: Live and love.
50s: Give back.
It’s not flashy. It’s not always Instagram-worthy. But it’s intentional. It’s rooted. And it’s mine.
I’m not in a rush to get somewhere. I’m not chasing wealth to show off. I’m just building what I didn’t have: peace, security, stability and doing it brick by brick. Because I know this much: What I do in my 30s will determine what I get to do in my 40s. And if I do it right, the freedom will come. Not just to spend, but to breathe. To travel without debt. To stay home when I’m tired. To show my loved ones a life that doesn’t start and end with survival. To be generous on my own terms. To love someone without financial fear looming over our heads.
This is what I’m working for.
This is why I move the way I do.
Why I say no to certain things.
Why I’m careful with my energy, my money, and my time.
It’s not just about the now. It’s about building a life that holds.
So yeah, this is the plan.
And I’m right on time.
And as always…. I had this in my headphones today while peering up at the sky and admiring some leaves while waiting for the bus to head up to our local Stadium Thiftway.
P.S. There was a time I didn’t think I’d live to my 30s, let alone my 20s, so this year isn’t just about a number to me; it’s about seeing chapters in my book that I didn’t think were possible at one point in time.
The Broke College Student 
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