This Gen Z'er Makes $82K A Year And Is Still Struggling Financially — Here's How It Affects Her Daily Life

Dannica Ramirez / BuzzFeed

May 4, 2024 at 8:00 a.m.·2 min read

Maskot / Getty Images/Maskot

As an older Gen Z'er, I try not to compare myself to my peers. However, when I see people my age posting on social media about how they're traveling the world, starting families, or moving into their own place, I sometimes can't help but feel like I'm "not where I'm supposed to be." I feel like it's common to think you're supposed to have life all figured out and settled by a certain age — but that's just not realistic for everyone.

Dannica Ramirez / Canva

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Haley K.

This week: Meet Haley (she/her), a 25-year-old from Upstate New York. The remainder of this post will be from her POV.

Dannica Ramirez / Canva

Dannica Ramirez / Canva

Dannica Ramirez / Canva

Dannica Ramirez / Canva

Dannica Ramirez / Canva

Dannica Ramirez

Dannica Ramirez / Canva

Dannica Ramirez

A typical to-do list for me looks like:
• Wake up and get dressed
• Make an iced coffee, tea, or some other drink and breakfast
• Feed my cats breakfast
• Sit down at my desk in the other room for work
• Check my email and respond to any as-needed
• Scroll on company socials to get caught up
• Check our website for new inquiries
• Decide on social content for that day
• Design a graphic or video for each platform
• Eat lunch (If I remember to)
• Feed cats lunch (spoiled!!)
• Design a marketing email or invitation to training
• Respond to questions from members regarding our new learning management system
• Work on quarterly, annual, or monthly reports as needed
• Edit content for articles or newsletters
• Post on all our social media pages
• Finish the day by responding to more emails
• Try to go to the gym for an hour (Monday, Wednesday, and either Friday or Saturday)
• Make dinner for or with my partner
• Feed the cats dinner
• Run off to one of my hobbies (doing stage lighting or acting) or try to decompress by watching something, scrolling on my phone, or going to Target
• Go to bed by 12:30 a.m.

Haley K.

Haley K.

Dannica Ramirez / Canva

Dannica Ramirez / Canva

Dannica Ramirez / Canva

Dannica Ramirez / Canva

Dannica Ramirez / Canva

Dannica Ramirez / Canva

Dannica Ramirez / Canva

Dannica Ramirez

Dannica Ramirez

Content creators give us a perfect snippet of their ‘lives,’ and it’s easy to forget that they get multiple takes to create the final product. I just try to keep in mind that my priorities and situation are different from theirs — and that’s okay.

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This Gen Z'er Makes $82K A Year And Is Still Struggling Financially — Here's How It Affects Her Daily Life

Welcome back to Gen Z Journals.

This week: Meet Haley (she/her), a 25-year-old from Upstate New York. The remainder of this post will be from her POV.

Content creators give us a perfect snippet of their ‘lives,’ and it’s easy to forget that they get multiple takes to create the final product. I just try to keep in mind that my priorities and situation are different from theirs — and that’s okay.

Latest Stories

Teachers Are Sharing Just How Much The Pandemic Changed Their Jobs

Columbia University president hit with no-confidence vote from faculty group over handling of pro-Palestinian campus protests

President tells Gaza protesters that University of B.C. must remain neutral

What’s it like to learn from a Teacher of the Year? See inside Columbus winner’s classroom

Chancellor suggests ‘sustainable rise’ in foreign students would be welcome

Morehouse College might halt graduation ‘on the spot’ if there are disruptions when President Biden speaks

''Illegal, destructive, dangerous': UVic president cites complaints about encampment

Fredericton police make arrest after altercation between students

Repeal of a dead law to use public funds for private school tuition won't be on Nebraska's ballot

Florida threatens to revoke Muslim school’s vouchers over imam’s remarks

University of California student workers authorize strikes over Gaza protest response

Congress investigating UCLA over treatment of Jewish students amid pro-Palestinian protests

A Lakota student's feather plume was cut off her cap during commencement at a New Mexico high school

As summer arrives and universities strike deals with students, campus protests taper off

CSUS ‘always has security’ at graduation, but isn’t expecting protest-related interruptions

Columbia faculty group passes no-confidence measure on school’s president

Law enforcement detains at least a dozen protesters at University of California, Irvine, as they clear encampment

47 people arrested at UC Irvine after police, sheriff called in over protest

3 teen girls expected to plead guilty in swarming death of Kenneth Lee in Toronto, court hears

Will Smith brands wife Jada Pinkett 'my ride or die' after shock split