A proper money management plan is of great importance when you are in your 30s because not only your salary is greater than before but you have a lot of expenses to cover too.
You might be paying the loans of your new house, car, or might be spending a lot of cash on your kids’ care and education. This is why it is important that you start planning for your investments and retirements in your 30s and up your game a little.
While it was okay to save a few hundred bucks in your 20s, this won’t cut it out for you anymore. You need to have enough money for emergencies and let’s face it, the likelihood of emergency situations increases once you are in the 30s. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be scared. It might sound intimidating but there are easy ways to manage your money.
Evaluate your Current Assets
The first thing that you need to do is scan your current financial status and make a list of all your bank accounts, stocks, bonds, and other assets that you might own or possess.
Make sure that you calculate the value of all your assets and then add them up to determine the amount of money that you currently hold altogether. This will give you a better idea of how much you need to invest and how much you need to add to your retirement or emergency fund.
It will also give you a clear idea of any debts or loans that you might have so that you can plan a strategy to pay them off as quickly as possible.
Increase your Emergency Fund Stash
Most importantly, increase your emergency saving because the financial responsibilities increase when you are in your 30s.
While it was okay to save a few month’s expenses in your 20s, it is no longer enough for your 30s.
This is because you might have house mortgage to pay or pay for your children’s needs which is why your emergency saving needs to be bigger too. It would be advisable to keep at least 6-12 months’ worth expenses in your account in case you lose your job or fall chronically ill.
There are many other reasons why you might need an emergency fund. Most often, it’s in order to prepare for unexpected expenses.
If you’re a homeowner, a home repair might be necessary at any time.
If you own a car, you might have an emergency such as a dead battery or broken breaks. Then, you might need new car accessories. With an emergency fund, these won’t affect your monthly budget.
Also, take into account your average salary income.
If you have an unsteady job, then you might need to save more than a person who has a steadier job profile. The thing to remember is that if something goes wrong, you can’t sell your stuff and move back with your parents anymore. You have a family to take care of and it would be a bad example to set for them.
Get Rid of all your Debts and Loans
Next important thing to do is to first get rid of all your credit card debts and bank loans that you currently have.
There is no point in prolonging your debts anymore and increasing the interest on your debt amount as they can seriously bring down your credit score.
That’s something you’d want to avoid because your expenses are going to increase in the coming years with the children school fees, college fees, and so on on the agenda.
Also, it is high time that you start planning for your future but you can’t proceed until you have a good credit score. If need be get help from a top rated credit repair company like Lexington Law for a better score.
Just use your savings to pay off your debts so that you can start making plans for your money and grow it as when the opportunity arises.
Start Your Investment Portfolio
Another important step would be to start investing your extra cash to grow your money quickly.
Investing your money in stocks, bonds, etc. can help you accumulate more money which you can use for the down payment of your house or for your wedding expenses.
Although it is not essential that you start investing immediately, take your time and create a portfolio first so that you can choose the right investment scheme for yourself.
Once you have a better idea about investment business, you can make use of your extra cash and gain some benefits out of it.
Get Health and Life Insurance
You never know when you or some other family member might meet with an accident which is why it is important that you get the health and life insurance sorted out for your family.
It is always wise to buy a life insurance as early as possible because cost increases with age. Moreover, health condition deteriorates as you age. If someone aged 40 years old, wants to buy a no exam policy will have to pay almost double than you will pay now.
However, apart from looking at the health coverage, also check if your company provides you with some medical benefits or not. If this amount isn’t enough then you might need to get a personal health insurance and would need to save more money for emergencies.
This is the right time to get life insurance as well so that your children and spouse won’t have to suffer if anything accidentally happens to you.
You could also look into policies that allow the spouse to take over and manage the bills. Don’t skip out on the life insurance and make sure that every family member in your house has one for themselves.
Set Aside More Money for Retirement
Another important thing to do is to save more money for your retirement.
While saving for retirement might not seem a big deal in your 20s, it is extremely important that you start taking it seriously in your 30s.
Put 10-15% of your salary towards your retirement so that you can save more in the remaining time. You can also use online tools to calculate the approximate amount that you would need to live after retirement and then make it your goal to save that much by the end of your 30s.
Taking proper care of your finances in the 30s is important if you want your future to be predictable and stress-free. So, make sure you do consider these methods and manage your finances well for the coming years.
