Money Moves To Make In Your 30s That'll Pay Off Big Time Later On

If you’re in your 30s, there’s a good chance that your personal finances are a bit of a mixed bag. On the upside, you’ve probably got a well-paying job, and you’re earning more money than when you were in your twenties. But on the downside, you’ve got a bunch of financial commitments you didn’t have back then, like a mortgage and children.

Sometimes it can feel as if you are stuck in an endless cycle of work and bills, never able to break free and live the life that you want. The trick to getting to where you want to go is to play the long game. Now that you’re out of your twenties and have a bit more financial capital, it’s time to set up your 40s and 50s to be the best decades of your life. Here are some money moves to make now that’ll pay off big time later on.

Buy Into Stocks

Millennials are naturally skeptical of buying stocks. After all, they were the generation who lived through the financial crisis. Many millennials were just leaving school or college when the crisis struck and saw not only how it eviscerated the job market, but how it destroyed stock market wealth too.

But even though stocks are risky, they’re also the best way to get a return on your money. According to a report published in Time magazine, the average return on bonds is a lousy 4 percent per year - still better than what you’d get in a savings account, but now by much. By contrast, the average return on stocks was 10.8 percent since 1926, proving that if you’re willing to play the long game, the returns are good. A return of 10 percent is very good. Of course, investing in stocks can be tricky, and so it’s worth talking to a professional about whether or not you should.

Sweat The Small Stuff

While it might seem that taking out a credit card and the odd payday loan is convenient, according to DebtConsolidationUSA.com, this can quickly land you in financial trouble. When people get into debt, they often try to take on their biggest debts with the highest rates of interest first and leave the smaller debts to fester. But according to two Northwestern University professors, this is the wrong way around. They found that people who dealt with their smaller debts first had more success in clearing their debt than those who tried to tackle the bigger debts.

Make Yourself Accountable

For years, researchers have wondered whether buddying up with other people to clear debts helps make them more accountable. Now researchers from Chile, Harvard and Columbia have found that people with debt buddies clear more of their debt and save more than those without. Thus, adding a bit of social pressure to your financial planning might be a good thing.

Don’t Cash Out

Finally, don’t miss out on opportunities to save early on. Many people don’t enroll straight away on their IRA 401(k) plan says time.com. As a result, they end up paying more tax and have less money in the bank, generating interest.