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5 Financial Milestones to Hit Before Turning 30

August 23, 2018 by Finivi

Turning 30 is a big milestone in life — and for many people in their late 20s, it serves as a sort of looming, unofficial deadline on when you should have your life together.

You don’t need to put quite that much pressure on yourself, as you’re never truly done growing, learning, or changing. But it might be worth having your financial life in order by the time you turn 30, since you could be about a decade into your career and entering your prime earning years.

So if nothing else, make sure you’ve hit these financial milestones before the big 3-0. Checking these boxes off your list can position you to most of your income potential and ability to grow wealth as you transition into your thirties.

1. Have a Fully Funded Emergency Account

It might have felt acceptable to lean on your family or even really close friends when you fell on hard times during your 20s. But asking mom and dad for some money to spot you in an emergency isn’t exactly the move you want to make in your 30s.

It’s time to learn to rely on yourself if you haven’t already, and that starts with being able to get yourself out of a tight spot rather than depending someone else to come to the rescue.

The easiest way to do this? Create an emergency savings account and fully fund it. Depending on your situation, you’ll want either 3 to 6 months’ worth of income in your fund, or up to 6 to 12 months’ worth of income.

The more unreliable your current income or the more financial responsibilities you have, the more you’ll want stashed in your emergency account so you can cover your own bills and living expenses should anything happen to your existing income.

2. Get the Right Insurance

On a similar note, you need to protect your assets. That includes your property if you own a car or a house and your own health — but car insurance and health insurance are likely policies you held in your 20s.

What you might have skipped over was life insurance and, even more importantly for most 20- and 30-somethings, disability insurance.

Getting these policies usually falls on the bottom of anyone’s financial to-do list, but make your 30th birthday your deadline for getting serious about protecting the valuable things in your life. The most valuable thing is your ability to earn an income.

That’s what disability insurance protects for you. Should something happen to you and leave you unable to work or perform a job to earn income, whether through illness or injury, your disability insurance could kick in and provide the money you need to pay your expenses and bills.

Life insurance doesn’t necessarily protect you since it only kicks in should you die — and quite frankly, no one needs cash if they’re no longer alive.

But anyone who depends on your current income could face financial hardship if you were to pass away. Life insurance protects those individuals (which are usually dependents like your children or someone you share debt with, like a spouse) and provides them with financial support.

That means people who need life insurance are usually those who have people in their lives, in some way, who depend on their income.

Be careful when choosing an insurance policy. Salespeople who work for the insurance company may be incentivized to sell you more coverage than you actually need if they earn commissions on their sales.

To determine the right amount of insurance for you, make sure you hit the next on this list of financial milestones:

3. Talk to a Financial Planner

Nope, financial planners aren’t just for rich old people, although many traditional, old school advisors tend to operate that way and only focus on retirees. Thankfully, financial advice is changing and more and more professionals specialize in serving people in their 20s and 30s.

Make a point to at least schedule a consultation with one of these types of financial planners — one who understands the needs of someone early in their career with lots of time to build wealth throughout their upcoming 30s.

Getting a financial plan in place now can help you understand the right moves to make to maximize your opportunities to increase your net worth over the next decade. A good advisor can not only help you understand how much insurance you might need, but can suggest ways to:

  • Pay down debt
  • Reach big savings goals, like paying for a wedding or a home
  • Start a business
  • Fund your retirement
  • Plan for financial freedom

…and a lot more. Again, look for an advisor who has experience working with people who are in a similar life stage. You want to know that advisor understands the specific challenges you face, and can give you advice tailored to your particular challenges and advantages.

4. Stop Overspending and Pay Off Your Credit Card Debt

You can only plead ignorance for so long. Stop ignoring your finances, track your spending, and use a budget to get your spending under control.

It’s time to live below your means, unless you want to spend your 30s feeling financially stressed and forever living paycheck to paycheck.

If you need to, switch to using cash only to make purchases so you eliminate the temptation of charging more to your credit card than you can actually afford to repay. Then, make a plan to pay off any existing credit card balances.

Credit card debt is way too expensive to keep paying for, and can stop you from achieving goals that are likely becoming more and more important to you as the next decade of your life looms.

5. Don’t Just Save. Invest.

If you haven’t started investing yet, you need to begin before you turn 30. This is one of the most important financial milestones to hit. Otherwise, you risk letting one big advantage slip away from you: time.

Investing is powerful because it lets you take advantage of compounding returns. That’s where you invest, earn a return, then keep that return on your investment invested — and it starts earning its own returns.

In other words, your money starts making money.

But to enjoy that benefit of investing, you have to stay invested for a long time — and that’s much, much easier to do if you start early. Fund your 401(k), open a Roth IRA, start contributing to a taxable brokerage… all of these are options for you to choose from.

The most important thing to know about investing financial milestones is that it’s more important to just start than it is to get it perfect right off the bat. You can always fine-tune your investments and get a real strategy once you get your money in the market.

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Eric C. Jansen, ChFC

Fun Facts About Me

When he is not researching the next great stock to add to client portfolios, you can find him travelling frequently with his family to Jackson Hole Wyoming.

  • Hometown: Chicago, IL
  • Birth Month & Year: November, 1964
  • Favorite Hobby: Goldmining in Nome, AK
  • Favorite Food: Steak at Charley’s Steakhouse in Orlando FL
  • Can't be interrupted when: Watching the Discovery Channel
  • Hidden Talent: Finish Carpenter
  • Something on bucket list: Obtain Helicopter Pilot License
  • Family Pet: Goldfish

Steven C. Johnson, ChFC

Fun Facts About Me

Steve would tell you that one of the best parts of the day is spent talking to clients and relationships that result from it. When away from the office, he loves to travel the back roads of New England enjoying all the great sites that can be found off the beaten path.

  • Hometown: Townsend, MA
  • Birth Month & Year: December, 1967
  • Favorite Hobby: Playing Hockey
  • Favorite Food: Chicken Caesar Salad
  • Can't be interrupted when: Watching the Bruins
  • Hidden Talent: Cooking – Makes a great Thanksgiving turkey
  • Something on bucket list: Travel to Italy and Greece
  • Family Pet: Max – our Pomeranian

Frederick M. Lane, ChFC, CASL

Fun Facts About Me

When not managing client portfolios, Fred can be found relaxing with family and friends.

  • Hometown: Nutley, NJ
  • Birth Month & Year: July, 1954
  • Favorite Hobby: Dog Walking
  • Favorite Food: Italian
  • Can't be interrupted when: Listening to Pink Floyd
  • Hidden Talent: Landscaping
  • Something on bucket list: Space Flight - Tourism
  • Family Pet: None

Catherine M. Gareri

Fun Facts About Me

When not caring for her clients Cathy enjoys relaxing in her yard at home.

  • Hometown: Bellingham, MA
  • Birth Month & Year: July, 1957
  • Favorite Hobby: Cooking and Entertaining
  • Favorite Food: Steak at the Capital Grille
  • Can't be interrupted when: It's family time
  • Hidden Talent: Dog Whisperer
  • Something on bucket list: Spending a couple months on the Almalfi Coast
  • Family Pet: In Between Mastiffs now so a little blue fish “Willy”

Katie E. Moore, CLTC

Fun Facts About Me

When Katie is not busy taking care of her clients, she spends her time being a mom to her two little ones, Owen and Isla.

  • Hometown: Modesto, CA
  • Birth Month & Year: September, 1982
  • Favorite Hobby: Swimming
  • Favorite Food: Mexican Food
  • Can't be interrupted when: I'm cooking
  • Hidden Talent: Climbed Yosemite's Half Dome, twice - no fear :)
  • Something on bucket list: See the Northern Lights and Potty Train my 2 year old
  • Family Pet: Caddy and Sierra – our two cats

Hesper Duval

Fun Facts About Me

Loves spending time with 2 daughters and enjoys participating in 5k obstacle races throughout the year.

  • Hometown: Charlton, MA
  • Birth Month & Year: October, 1981
  • Favorite Hobby: Running
  • Favorite Food: Cheesecake
  • Can't be interrupted when: Reading a good book
  • Hidden Talent: Interior Design and furniture restoration
  • Something on bucket list: To travel cross-country in an RV
  • Family Pet: Charlie and Nora, both black labs from the same litter

Donna Fournier

Fun Facts About Me

When not cheering for the Patriots, Donna spends her free time travelling throughout the United States looking for new haunted places to explore. She loves to wear her cowboy hat and boots when travelling out west.

  • Hometown: Swansea, MA
  • Birth Month & Year: February, 1961
  • Favorite Hobby: Exploring haunted locations
  • Favorite Food: Pizza
  • Can't be interrupted when: Eating my pizza
  • Hidden Talent: Rollerblading
  • Something on bucket list: Travel to Australia
  • Family Pet:  Had a pet skunk

Danielle Drew

When Danielle does not have her head in a book studying to expanding her financial planning knowledge, she enjoys anything active and outdoors, including visits to the beach and hiking.  

  • Hometown: Dennis, MA
  • Birth Month & Year: November, 1985
  • Favorite Hobby: Working out, concerts, and exploring wineries
  • Favorite Food: Lobster pot pie, cheeseburgers, BBQ, the list goes on...
  • Can't be interrupted when: Working out 
  • Hidden Talent: Country line dancing
  • Something on bucket list: To hike the 48, 4000 footers of New Hampshire
  • Family Pet: none, hopefully a big dog someday

Jay Willwerth, ChFC

Fun Facts About Me

Jay’s days are spent helping clients achieve their financial goals, followed by nights and weekends typically watching his daughters play competitive volleyball.

  • Hometown: Melrose, MA
  • Birth Month & Year: September, 1959
  • Favorite Hobby: Golf
  • Favorite Food: Anything at a Patriot’s Tailgate
  • Can't be interrupted when: Watching the Patriot’s Game
  • Hidden Talent: Competitive Volleyball Watcher (Mostly his 2 daughters)
  • Something on bucket list: Play a round of Golf at Pebble Beach
  • Family Pet: Bella, our Shih-poo
 

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