Welcome back to my new series, chatting all about the turbulent twenties!! I’ll be featuring a few of these blogs focused on the turbulent twenties, right up until I turn the big 3-0 at the end of this year. If you missed the first one, you can read it here. This one will focus on career life and money, money, money. Read on for more on the turbulent twenties!

Welcome to the turbulent twenties, a mini blog series. When kids are growing up, the “terrible two’s” are often referenced as they age. Well, I think there’s another equally transformative time in our lives, which I like to call the turbulent twenties. I cannot think of another time in life when you go through so many significant changes in such a condensed time period. There’s always opinions of how your twenties “should” go, but regardless of which life stages you’re moving through, they sure are turbulent. So grab a drink, pull up a seat, and let’s dive in!

Career

Last time, I chatted a lot about education, travel, and housing. Now, we’re moving into that post-graduation phase – where you’re apparently supposed to get a job. I suppose that’s how the world works! However, navigating the job market post-grad can be extremely challenging. When I graduated in 2019, I was quite lucky to land a position in the field I wanted, only a few months after graduation. However, I am aware that the job market is substantially more challenging these days. During and after the pandemic brought a lot of shifts, and in the last couple of years in particular, the job market has become even more competitive.

Rather than focusing on this insane job market, though, what I’d really like to discuss is the different pressures surrounding your career in your twenties. There is certainly pressure to land a “good” job and “prove” yourself, so to speak. However, I also think your twenties is the perfect time to try out different jobs and potential careers. It’s really an ideal time for exploration before you settle in for a lengthy career. I’ve seen a number of people, including myself, settle in for a career early on. This can lead to an identity crisis later in your twenties, or even your thirties, when you begin to question if it’s really what you want to do. (More on identity crisis’s later.)

Having less pressure to land that dream job right after you graduate may dissuade an identity crisis, by allowing you to explore different potential career paths before committing to one. Though I am very grateful for the career I did land in, I do sometimes wish I had a bit more exploration time before committing. I believe this largely led to a bit of a career break that I took in 2024, when I was 27. Time to assess if I wanted to continue in the path I was on was needed during this break. I ultimately did decide to do so, but I imagine if I had explored my options earlier on, then I may not have needed this break in the first place.

These days, having only one career seems to be changing, and many people are jumping around between different jobs and career paths. Often, this is out of necessity rather than choice. At the same time, in the chaotic job market of today, jobs are hard to come by. It can feel like a luxury to even allow oneself the option to explore different possibilities. Though it can be extremely challenging to not have a consistent and stable career in place, there are some positives from having the chance to explore different routes. If you don’t allow for the exploration of different options early on, it can feel like you are “locked in.” You may feel pressure to stay in that particular career, even if it isn’t serving you.

Your twenties are the time to explore and be a little turbulent. Why should this not be reflected in your career journey? There is so much pressure to have things figured out early on, but the truth is you have SO much time – throughout your twenties and in the decades to come. Though your twenties might feel both long and short, life overall is loooooong. Don’t pressure yourself to get boxed in right out of the gate. You’re allowed to change your mind and choose a different direction if it is no longer serving you. In fact, I’d argue that your twenties are one of the best times to do so.

Money Money Money: Loans

So what the hell are we supposed to do about money in our twenties? You probably have student loans to pay off, maybe other debts too. Do we pay them off right away? Do we save money, or spend money? Who the hell knows. But I guess I’ll share some of what I did throughout much of my twenties – whether or not I did it in the right order, you tell me.

Of course, I did spend a significant amount of money travelling throughout my early and mid-twenties, as I discussed in my last post. As I got closer to my mid-twenties, though, my finances shifted a bit. Like many of you, I had student loans when I graduated from university. Paying them off became a big priority, and I was very fortunate to be able to do so quite quickly. I attribute this to living at home during the pandemic, while also working from home. I didn’t have any expenses and was making a decent amount of money in my first post-grad job. This meant the majority of the money I made could be put directly towards paying off my student loans.

It was a very happy day when I paid off my student loans in full! However, I recognize most people are not able to pay them off this quickly. I applaud all of you who are attempting to pay back your loans, while navigating the job market as a fresh grad, AND attempting to navigate your twenties. Major props to you!! 👏

Money Money Money: Big Purchases

After paying off my student loans, I decided I wanted to get a car. Was it the best financial decision to buy a brand-new car and finance it over a 5-year term in my early-to-mid twenties? Perhaps not. I was quite set on it though, and since I didn’t have any outstanding debts at the time and lived in a car-centric area, I thought it was a good idea. I was also in a stable job at the time and didn’t see that changing in the future. So, I decided to go for it. In the spring of 2021 I did just that: bought a brand-new car and set myself up for car payments over the next five years. Don’t worry, I got a great interest rate. 😉

In hindsight, I perhaps would not have committed to this big of a purchase early on in my twenties. At the time, it made sense – but within a year I had decided to move to a new city, Toronto. I did bring my car with me, but it wound up not being as essential as it had been in small-town BC. Regardless, it did help me learn some form of financial accountability, as I had payments coming out of my account bi-weekly for five years. To date, it is still the biggest investment I have made. It may not have been the exact right time (when really is the right time?), but in the long run I was grateful for it.

Money Money Money: Saving + Investing

You may have picked up on a theme: I like to have what I call one “big debt” at a time. First student loans, then my car…. Possibly a house in the future. Once my car is fully paid off in the next few months, I will consider different financial options. This is also the year that my thirties are looming in my sights, and I may start to more seriously consider saving to buy my own home. That is definitely a lofty goal in today’s real estate market, but it would be nice eventually. Only time will tell that outcome.

What about investing? Well, I’m not the best financially-savvy gal, but I try to invest and save when I can. It’s a hell of a landscape out there for saving and investing. The best advice I could give in this area is to speak to a financial advisor at your bank. Everyone has a different situation, and the right options will vary for each person. But it’s always a good idea to consider saving and investing sooner rather than later. Then again, it is the turbulent twenties – so pick your poison!!

Navigating your career and how to spend/save/invest money in your early-to-mid twenties sure can be turbulent. These aspects can continue to have a big impact throughout your twenties and into your thirties, but I’d argue that it is most significant in your mid-twenties, during that first big transition post-grad. Next time, we’ll chat about health (on every level) and the really important relationships that mark your twenties: family and friends. For now, enjoy the photos below of myself in my mid-twenties, from 24 to 26 😊