An old friend shared an internet link with me the other day, something about 10 life lessons that those approaching 30 (i.e., me) should already know. top on the list was money money money and getting your finances sorted.

For your convenience: http://markmanson.net/10-life-lessons-excel-30s

So, according to this list - which was based on what advice current 40-somethings would impart on their 30-year-old selves if they had the chance - the crux of the message was to save early and save as much as possible. After reading this list (which, in my honest opinion, was also filled with other cliched hocus 'advice' like 'loving yourself' and 'taking care of your health', which i guess isn't really hocus, but c'mon, *pfft* you don't need to tell me about that..ahem), it really started me thinking.

I guess in a way I am at a disadvantage in comparison to my peers. Friends my age (and even younger!) would have much healthier bank accounts than mine. Although I earned my first paycheck when I was 22, I have always lived a paycheck-to-paycheck life, jumping between casual jobs that paid well enough for me to maintain the sort of lifestyle I wanted, yet not enough to actually accrue any meaningful forms of savings. It also probably didn't help my cause that I voluntarily went to Antarctica for 2 years without any substantial pay, which resulted in me chewing up whatever scant form of savings I had. That being said, I was never in any terrible financial straits (although I once had to resort to borrowing money from friends until my next pay arrived) and, overall, I'd say I led a pretty come-what-may sort of life.

My current job is probably the first full-time 72 hours-a-fortnight job. As mentioned before, the pay isn't terrific, but I'm still managing to put away about 30% of my monthly salary away. From what I've read so far, if you are able to stash away 10% of your salary each month, that is a pretty good start, so I suppose I must be doing something right. However, I still worry that what I'm doing now is not good enough and not ENOUGH to make up for all those lost years of careless living (HAHA le sigh). Most of my peers are buying their first house and/or their first/second car, and, even though that is not something that I'm aspiring towards, I still don't think I am in any position to accomplish any of that even if I DID want to.

In a way, I still feel pretty irresponsible for a nearly-28-year-old. My mentality, sadly, is still very much focused and prioritised towards travel and experiences that would enrich me. I keep telling my colleagues at work that all I want to do is to be able to save up enough money to quit my job and go for a long holiday, and then, when I run out of money, to come back and find employment again and work enough to save for another holiday and then come back and work again to save up for another holiday and etc and etc.

How ah? Is this the curse of Generation Y? Or am I the anomalous one? I know there are a select few of my friends who feel this way (OK maybe just one) - but surely at some point in my life I'll snap out of this way of life?