7 Important Financial Steps to Take in Your 30s
7 Financial Steps to Take in Your Thirties:
1. Build an emergency fund
2. Make a plan to pay off debt
3. Start (or keep) maxing out your 401(k)
4. Start investing now
5. Figure out the right investment strategy for you
6. Diversify your investments
7. Start saving for college
Financial Steps in the Long Term
"Setting goals is the first step in making the invisible apparent," says Tony Robbins, an author, entrepreneur, and motivational speaker. This is especially true when it comes to your financial situation. To determine the appropriate steps to take today while working on a financial plan, you must examine the long-term viewpoint – the far-off personal and financial goals you wish to reach.
You have power over your financial life, even if it doesn't always feel like it. Making informed judgments and acting quickly can put you on the road to financial security and attaining your objectives.What else do you think?
Or your 20s :) I started in my 20s and I'm glad I did!
- Lender
- Youngstown, OH
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Oh so many thoughts.
The emergency fund is something that you should start building in your 20's. By your thirties, you're probably making a little headway in your career that $500-2,000 doesn't really qualify as an emergency anymore.
401k's are, in my humble opinion, kind of useless. Unless you're getting a really great match, I wouldn't bother with them. You can only use half of it up to $50k to do anything, so after $100k, it doesn't have much value. And you're likely going to be in a higher tax bracket later, so why not pay the taxes now? I think investing in a vehicle such as real estate or a self-directed IRA can yield infinitely better returns. I'd even argue that you may be better off investing that money into starting your own business.
As for saving for college--I was told by everyone I knew to go to college and that community college was not prestigious enough. I was 18 and trusted that their guidance was best. I was sorely misled. I'll be advising my kids against college unless it's something like a very affordable community college that they can pay for with a part-time job. I'll offer the support of living at home. I'll offer them my knowledge of investing and pursuing commission-driven careers or trades. If they decide to pursue a traditional four-year university with a six-digit price tag so they can get a job that traps them in debt for 25+ years, they'll have to figure out they're own way forward. I'm not helping them do that.