Essential Money Goals for 30-Somethings

So you’re out of the party animal 20s and now in your “oh, I’m an adult now” 30s. You’re thinking it’s time to start taking this whole retirement thing seriously. Beyond that, you know that you’re entering the dreaded realm of “responsible adulthood” and you’d like to start practicing principles of sound financial management.

Here are a few essential money goals for 30-somethings.

Save for Retirement

Let’s get the most obvious one out of the way immediately. It’s time to start saving for retirement.

It’s possible that you spent much of your 20s exploring the country, if not the world, with your college buddies. Maybe you were still attending Spring Break parties in Florida. Perhaps you did some sightseeing in Italy.

Whatever you did, you lived life to the fullest and were more of a consumer than an investor. Now that you’re in your 30s, it’s time to change that.

Now is the time to buckle down and save money in retirement. If your employer offers a 401k program, be sure to max out your contributions. Yes, that means you’ll have less disposable income, but that’s all part of being a responsible adult.

You definitely want to take advantage of a 401k program if your employer matches your contributions. That’s a gift – free money! – towards your retirement and you’re neglecting it if you don’t make any contributions to your 401k.

If your benefits don’t include a 401k plan then you can open up an IRA account which will offer you similar retirement benefits.

However you decide to do it, it’s time to increase your savings so that you’ve got a nice nest egg ready when you reach your golden years.

Get out of Debt

Now is an excellent time to start getting out of debt and staying out of debt. If you maxed out your credit cards in your previous decade of life, then it’s time to start paying down those balances so that you’ll have more money for things that are important, like saving for your retirement (see above).

If you own your own house, you don’t need to go crazy when it comes to paying off your mortgage. Your home will probably appreciate in value as you pay off your mortgage, giving you some cushion if you need cash in an emergency.

It is, however, important to get out of any debt that you accumulated by purchasing things that go down in value, like consumer goods and vehicles.

Look for Ways to Save

Now that you’re in your 30s, it’s time to be a little more responsible when it comes to your spending habits. Look for ways that you can save money. Do some comparison shopping. Start clipping coupons. Look for rebate deals. Browse for coupon codes online.

If you start to make a habit out of pinching your pennies and keep that habit for the rest of your life, you stand to literally save thousands of dollars. That’s money that can be put towards your retirement.

Your 20s are behind you now. It’s time to start being responsible with your finances and thinking about the future. To that end, establish some great money goals and strive to reach them.