t’s great to be 30! You’re young and full of energy to dream and create a bright future for yourself. At the same time, you’re no longer naive about the challenges in the real world. You are hopeful for the future, and ready to accept the responsibilities that would lead you to success. In this article, you’ll discover the 7 things to have (or aim to have) by the age of 30.
1. A Job/Business That Pays for Your Daily Expenses
At this point in your life, you’re way past asking for allowances from your relatives (or anyone for that matter). Instead of being supported, you should be the one doing the supporting. At the age of 30, it’s a must to be fully financially independent. You should be living on your own hard-earned money.
2. Zero (or at least decreasing) Debt
Debt is a sign of how responsible you are with your money. If you spend more than what you earn, then you’re just like a kid who cries when he doesn’t get a new toy and all the other kids got one.
Financially responsible people accept their income, together with what they can afford. If they want something, then they either patiently wait to save up for it, or find ways to boost their income. They don’t ‘cry’ and rush the future by going into debt.
3. Savings Worth 3 Times Your Monthly Expenses
You’ve already seen enough of reality to fully understand that life is not that predictable. Accidents, emergencies, retrenchments, and redundancies happen all the time. And while it hasn’t happened to you, you know deep down that it CAN happen to you. This is why you need savings worth at least 3x your monthly expenses. So when unexpected things happen (like losing your job, or getting into an accident), then you don’t need to go back into debt or ask for allowance.
4. A Growing Retirement Account
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Everybody hates being asked to work on a day when you’re not supposed to work. But when that phone rings and it’s your boss or a VIP client, whether you feel like it or not, you’re going to get to work anyway. It might be for the money, or just the fear of displeasing people, regardless of the reason, you do it because you feel that you don’t have a choice.
Imagine that same scenario, but this time you’re already 65. That’s what’s going to happen if you don’t prepare for your retirement. The government won’t take care of you (you’re just a single line in a list of a million people). Your company might not be there (even though they promised you a lot of things). Your kids would be starting their own families at that time (so you shouldn’t be a burden to them). The only sure way to not have to work at the age of 65, is to start saving for your retirement early. It doesn’t have to be big anyway because it would have a lot of time to grow. The most important part is that you’ve started saving for it.
5. A “Just for ME” Account
So many things happen as you reach the age of 30. There’s a lot of engagements, weddings and babies. People start buying their first cars and move in to their first homes. They go on adventures around the world. Everyone is experiencing life. Now, what other people are doing is actually irrelevant. The question is, what are YOU doing? What BIG personal milestones are your working towards?
This is the purpose of the Just for Me Fund – it’s setting aside money just for the big things you truly want to do. And this isn’t about just owning a new phone, or eating at a posh restaurant… It’s for life-changing and unforgettable experiences like for buying an engagement ring, down payment for a home, funds to travel Europe, tuition for an MBA, etc. You’ve been working hard, you owe it to yourself to have a “Just for Me” account.
6. A Failed Business
Failed businesses are battle scars of those willing to take the risk. And while a failed business is certainly nothing to be happy about, you should still have at least one of these under your belt. It means you’ve gone out of your comfort (employment) zone, and that you’re not afraid to take risks.
It is the perfect time to take risks when you’re approaching 30, because you have all very little or no responsibilities at all! Try and take the risks now before you reach 30, because it’s going to be much scarier when you already have a mortgage, and 3 kids about to go to college.
7. A Mentor for Money-Matters
Think of a 16-year old teaching a 13-year old about sex and family planning. It’s going to be a disaster right? Well, in personal finance this happens all the time, but instead of teenage parents, you end up with people who are broke, and buried in debt.
Financial education is not taught in schools so everyone ends up informally learning about it. Instead of getting the lessons straight, most of us just learn subconsciously. Basically what we see around us, we also do. So unknowingly, you might be picking up the habits of your friend who’s secretly buried in debt, or the mindset your boss who’s been living from paycheck to paycheck ever since he started working. It could also be the habits of your parents who are not prepared for their nearing retirement. When you start seeing the world this way, you’ll no longer wonder why studies show that at age 65… 84% are dead broke, 8% are still working, 6% are well to do, and only 2% are wealthy.
As a 30-year old, you might think to yourself you already know a lot about money, and you don’t need a mentor. But money wise, you have less than 10 years of experience earning and spending your own money. Financially, you’re still a kid with a lot to learn about savings, budgeting, insurance, investments, businesses, real estate, franchises, scams, taxes and regulations, and so many others. So start reading those financial books and blogs, attend those financial seminars and take your financial education seriously.
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