Your 20’s is all about learning, growing, sharpening your skills, and finding the right career path. It’s about saying yes to every opportunity that comes your way.
Now your 30’s is completely different… Let’s get into the 8 areas you need to focus on during this period of life!
In your 30’s, you want to start building towards the future. This means you want to maximize your income, start investing for the future, and get a financial plan in place. Buying a house, having kids, protecting them, paying for the education, travel, college, etc. does not happen by wishing. You have to make enough income and plan to be able to accomplish them all.
By now, you should have paid off all your debt besides your car and mortgage. Paying off credit card debt, student loans, etc. should be a huge focus for you in your 20’s to free up more cash flow for your 30’s. However, that is just step 1. Step 2 is to never go back into high interest debt again. Figure out your cash flow, know what you can spend, and don’t let yourself fall back into credit card debt.
The two above point a little bit to this, but by your 30’s you should understand money better. You should have a financial system that allows you to understand how much you can spend, invest, and save. Then you need to actually save for the things you want like travel, housing projects, etc. Don’t let your finances control you!
Wealth is more than just having money. If you have money, but bad health, no friends, and poor relationships with your family, you are not wealthy. Find ways to stay healthy. It can be weight lifting, biking, running, swimming, really anything that keeps you active. You need to stay active and stay fit to be at your best. Also, prioritize time with your friends and family and build into those relationships. You cannot do life alone.
After saying yes to everything in your 20’s, you should have figured out what you love and what you hate. If going to networking events or happy hours feels like a chore, do not do it. You have to figure out what you love and adds value to your life and what doesn’t. Do more of the things that bring you happiness! Life is too short not to.
I talk about this all the time. The path to a great financial future is through equity. It could be through a business you own, the company you work at, or investing in some companies you value. You have to have equity to maximize your wealth. As you get into your 30’s, time becomes a huge constraint. You need to be able to get wealthier absent of your 24 hours a day of time.
For many people in their 30s, you are married, having kids, taking leadership roles, etc. Becoming a better version of yourself is the best thing you can do for all those people that rely on you. There is always room to improve!
By the time you are in your 30’s, you should know what you really want out of life, who you want to be, and what you want to do. Try and align your life as much as you can with all of those things. And if possible, find a career that combines your unique skill set with your interests! This is the most powerful combination out there.
As you can see, your 20’s and 30’s are very different and what you need to focus on is also vastly different. Use your 30’s wisely!
Disclaimer: None of this should be seen as advice. This is all for informational purposes. Consult your legal, tax , and financial team before making any changes to your financial plan.
Financial Advisor