I’m 28. Single. Employed.

I’m leaning in. Trying to live life to its fullest. Always wondering if the next guy I meet is “the one.” And yes…a little bit narcissistic.

I’m a twentysomething in America.

And apparently, I’m wasting my time.

In Meg Jay’s TED talk, posted today, she suggests that 30 is not the new 20, and that this decade is not one to just let pass by – but one to start that career, start that family, and, well, fix all your problems so that when your brain finally stops growing in a few years, you’ll be a fully-functional human being.

I’ve never been so insulted in my life.

Part of my twenties were rough. I was sad. (Ok, really sad.) I didn’t know what the hell I was going to be “when I grew up.” I luckily stumbled into writing, technology, and startups. (If not luck, it was eerily serendipitous.) I was sad again, and had my heart broken – again. 

But ever since I was 25, I have very intentionally chased after my dreams. Dreams not defined by society’s preconceived notions of what I should accomplish by the time I’m 30 – but dreams I desired because they were what I wanted for myself.

And then people like Meg Jay make me question if I’m chasing after the wrong dreams, and not fast enough.

I don’t dream of marriage, of white picket fences, of 2.5 kids and a dog. I don’t know if I ever will want kids, or a dog (or a cat) or a fence — let alone a house.

A friend of mine dreams of working his ass off to save up enough to travel — and then rinse and repeat. We often cowork, and in the summertime sit in front of windows at coffee shops and imagine we’re at a beach (with WiFi, of course.) My dream is to do what I love – wherever I want to – albeit with the luxury of not having to work if I so choose.

I have no concept of retirement. I can’t imagine not writing, sharing stories, exploring, and meeting new people.

Maybe I figured it out already. Maybe after all those breakups, bad dates, days at jobs I hated, days at jobs I never thought I would love again, days traveling with friends, and all the friends I’ve lost along the way, I figured it out. Maybe if I called Meg Jay up for therapy she’d ask me – as all the other therapists I’ve talked to say during my first session – “What are you doing here??”

Let’s just say Jay Z has way more problems than me.

Meg Jay is right. Twentysomethings need identity capital. They need to move with intention. But there is something to be said for those of us who have been doing so for most of the last decade — or at least, those of us who figured it out. There is something to be said for lumping an entire generation into one that needs help. Into an entire generation that has gone wrong. Into an entire generation that, for lack of a better, is “lost.”

But if you’re going to do that, at least look at what twentysomethings face almost unanimously. We are growing up in a terrible economy, in a world where you need experience before you can get experience, and where – as Tucker Max so gently phrased it – Assholes Finish First.

So for the next person to critize twentysomethings as a lump sum, please – hold your breath.

We know.

I’m doing a little bit of housekeeping around here and things are…a little messy. Stay tuned for a fresh new look in the next few days!

In the meantime, watch this awesome video of my favorite artist from Seattle perform their next single on Letterman. Warning: this may want to cause you to start dancing and/or be happy.

Several years ago I started cutting coupons as a way to save money while scrounging for ramen as a broke waitress. While high density cheap carbs sufficed as food, sometimes I still needed essentials like razor blades, allergy meds and other necessities. Coupons made buying things like toilet paper less painful on my wallet, and relieved me of the guilt for not buying awful generic paper products. (Seriously – generic toilet paper is the worst.)

A few weeks ago, Groupon ran a deal for the Sunday paper here in the Seattle area. It was a decent deal, but before clicking through, I thought hmm, I can do better than that. After a little Google magic, I found a coupon code on a local mommy blog that offered the Sunday paper at just 26 cents per week. That’s right – just 26 cents! The code apparently should have expired last summer, but I tried it anyway on the Seattle Time’s website and presto! – I now had access to hundreds of dollars in coupon savings every week. (The best part? I live in rural USA and my Sunday Paper actually is delivered to in my old-fashioned mailbox. If you can imagine me in uggs, leggings, an oversized sweatshirt and a sideway ponytail walking out to the colllective mailboxes down the street around 11am, that’s my typical Sunday morning. And you wonder sometimes why I’m single….)

Anyway, so now I have all these coupons for basically free. And oh, let me tell you how worth it they are.

First, there was my shopping spree at Kohl’s a few weeks ago.

That’s right – more saved than I spent. I managed to hit “early bird” hours the day after Christmas, which meant I was already saving 50-75%. On top of that, I’m signed up for mailing list to stores like Kohl’s, and had a coupon for another 20% off for that day only. The great thing about technology is that many stores now allow you to present coupons via your smartphone, so I just pulled the coupon up on my iPhone at the register. You should have seen the look on the woman in line behind me. She literally said “how the hell did she do that?” I felt like I was on a reality TV Show. (You know….that one?)

Today was another successful day of super savings. I managed to catch the last day of this weeks’ sales at Rite Aid, which is known to be a GREAT source for savings – even without coupons. This week’s Sunday inserts were especially good, and I also managed to find a few printable coupons to stack with the other coupons. I only needed a few things (read: NEEDED) but managed to save nearly 50% on essentials that will last several months!

I don’t use coupons for things I don’t need, or use them to hoard dozens of boxes of cereal in the garage. I also try to match coupons with ongoing sales – sometimes I’ll buy duplicates of things I always need (like eyedrops) if it means saving money and doesn’t hurt my bank account too much. I definitely don’t use coupons to buy something just because it’s a great deal – unless of course, I know at some point I will need it and it may cost more in the future when I will need it. And if I know I need something that I don’t have a coupon for, I try to find a coupon for it online. Manufacturers often offer coupons for their products on their websites and Facebook pages – that was actually one component of today’s massive savings, as Clean and Clear had a $5 printable coupon on Facebook.

Do you cut coupons? What’s your strategy? I’d love to hear them in the comments!

2011 was a big year for me. I secured a contract gig that I love, freeing me from the chains of a corporate lifestyle. In that process I learned what kind of luxury life as a freelancer can bring – and the disaster that a financial dry spell can cause. I learned how to “hustle” – and in the process, learned that I can make as much money as I want. Somewhere in there I made a few poor decisions, which led me back to my parents’ house.

This, though, is not a bad thing.

I’m now living rent free and pay for very little of my own food. My expenses are greatly reduced. My lifestyle has also finally stabilized, enabling me to seek out more contract work. See where I’m going here? Less expenses than before and even more work.

I initially wanted to be able to move out of the house by early summer. This would, however, still leave me paying minimums on credit cards and with enormous student debt. After setting a few goals and making a few lifestyle changes (which will all be future blog posts) I realized I could set a bigger goal: be Debt Free by December 2012. That means no consumer loans, no credit card balances, and no student loans. The total amount is a pretty big, scary number (I won’t lie) – but the benefit of walking away from this in a year without those bills will leave me the ability to afford a better quality of life at this point in time next year.

Will I be able to do it? Stay tuned to this series for how I’m protecting my credit, paying down each credit card, saving money and still enjoying life. And as always, I’d love to hear your stories. Have you paid off all of your debt? Feel free to share in the comments!