5 financial goals by 30 to change your adult life.
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Having financial goals by 30 will be great way to build your financial position for the future.
Financial goals are important to ensuring you are working towards something.
They give you direction, clarity and purpose.
There are a number of people who don’t take time to think about their future and where they’re heading.
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5 Financial Goals By 30
These are financial goals that I wish I had set for myself before I was 30.
For some, financial goals for your 20s usually include nights out and new shoes.
I’m not saying one shouldn’t do that, but have goals that will benefit your future not just your present.
I’m going to give your some financial goal examples in detail for you to think ahead whilst enjoying today.
Here are five financial goals which you can take on to work towards for your 20s.
Level Up Your Money Mindset
Your money mindset is your unique beliefs about money and your view on how money works in your world.
Mindset is everything when it comes to money.
Your mindset forms what you believe you can and can’t do or achieve with money.
It influences the way you see rich and poor or right and wrong financial decisions.
How To Improve Your Money Mindset
There are various ways you can begin to improve your mindset, here are ones that have worked for me.
First, learn what your real thoughts and feeling are around money.
Do this via journaling or record yourself speaking on your phone.
Write down or say aloud what comes to mind when you really think about money.
Think of experiences you’ve had with money growing up and note your memories and thoughts.
Second, get exposed to seeing money from a different perspective.
When you’re shown a different perspective to something your mind opens up.
One of the best ways to do this is to read books about money.
I’d even encourage you to read books about personal development and self-help too.
I Will Teach You To Be Rich is a great book to start with.
Why This Financial Goal Matters
Your mind is like a sponge, it will take in everything it’s fed.
Either you’ll feed it with the right content to level up your money mindset.
Or you’ll find yourself thinking like the people around you and on average, people have a scarcity mindset.
Building your mindset is a lifelong journey so start early.
As you grow and expand your world, getting a job, car or serious relationship, you want to make the right financial decisions.
Be Intimate With Your Money
Learn the numbers!
Before you panic, I’m not saying learn arithmetics or calculus.
Being intimate with your money means you know what you’re doing with every penny you have.
Develop a working relationship with your money and be very clear about your financial position.
This is one area I failed on in my early adult life.
How To Be Intimate With Your Money
Budget! It’s not a sexy word I know but trust me, this will completely enhance your life.
Having a budget empowers you to have control over your money.
Budgeting is simply planning what you’re doing with every penny that you have.
You plan how much to spend and how much to keep.
Another avenue is tracking your expenses.
Unlike a budget, you’re not planning ahead but looking backwards.
Keep track of how much you’re spending on a weekly basis and figure out what you’re really doing with your money.
Trust me, many people don’t know how much they really spend on food or online shopping.
Tools for you:
- Our budgeting spreadsheet template: The Ultimate Money Plan to take control of your money
- Our FREE Expense Tracker spreadsheet: Know where your money is going
Why This Financial Goal Matters
We overestimate how much we can afford and underestimate how much we spend!
It’s very common for people to build a lifestyle that is more expensive than their pocket allows.
This leads to relying on debt, and debt is not cheap.
This is what limits many people from being financially independent.
The consequence of not having a budget is that you have no plan for your money.
And failing to plan is planning to fail when it comes to money.
Invest, Invest, Invest
Investing requires a mindset shift! Mindset is everything.
Money is an employee, it will either work for you or someone else.
Investing is one way that you can make money work for you.
The best place to start is investing in yourself.
Your personal growth and development will have better rewards than investing in shares.
However, investing your money is still a great financial goal for your 20s.
How To Start Investing
I’ve gone into detail about how to start investing but I’ll summarise key points here.
First, learn about investing.
Read money books about investing or get an investing course.
You could even binge-watch a bunch of Youtube videos to get exposed to the world of investors.
Ultimately, investing is putting money into something that will give you more money back.
This is why I said it’s making money work for you, to make you more money.
Secondly, understand there are many different routes to investing.
You can invest in the stock market, in property, in business, in cryptocurrency and so much more.
Don’t do all of them, at least not at once. As you learn about investing pick the strategy that fits your goals.
Third, opt-in to your retirement plans with your employer. Pensions are a form of investment.
The only difference is that you can’t touch the money until you’re much older.
Why This Financial Goal Matters
I’ll approach this from the perspective of investing in the stock market.
Let’s say you invest £250 a month for ten years, you’ll end up with £30,000 in your investments.
If you left that pot for 30 years and didn’t add any more money into it, after 40 years you’ll have around £500k.
But, if you start investing £250 every month for the next 30 years you would’ve put in £90,000.
Despite putting more money in, you’ll end up with around £375k because of the 10-year difference.
The point is, start investing. The longer time your money is invested, the more it will grow.
You don’t need £250 to start either. You can start investing with smaller amounts.
Have A Side Hustle
Of all the financial goals I wish I did by 30, this one is probably the top one for me.
Having a side hustle or a side gig is one awesome way to up your money game.
There are so many options to sink your teeth into both online and offline.
Side hustles are a great way to pick up new skills, make new connections and build your confidence.
How To Start Side Hustles
For me, I’d say start by looking internally.
Take stock of the skills and experiences you have and brainstorm ideas on what you can do with that.
Let’s say you have skills in photography.
You can start doing photography gigs, create an online course for aspiring photographers and teach advance knowledge to beginners one-on-one.
Secondly, you can experiment with various options.
You could start a blog, a youtube channel, a food catering gig or a home barbering setup.
This is great if you want to experiment and exploit various skills and see what works for you.
Why Side Hustles Matter
Worst-case scenario, your side hustle doesn’t pick up or make you any money.
But you would’ve picked up new skills and from that experience, you know what to do and what not to do.
You learn something about yourself you didn’t know about before.
For instance, you may realise you’re not great at negotiating deals or selling a product.
This alone will heavily influence your future choices to play to your strengths, or you choose to develop your weaknesses.
Best case scenario, it picks up and you gain some traction and success from it.
Above learning about yourself, you become a master at not just relying on a job to bring in money.
Many people never escape the rat race of employment because they simply don’t attempt to create their own money.
Create your own F-You money that allows you say “f-you” to the employment life.
This is what Financial Independence is all about.
Financial Joy Academy is a platform where you can build your plan to achieve financial independence. Lindie and I are part of this thriving community and we’re on our path towards financial independence.
Check it out by clicking here (plus you’ll get a 15% discount if you join using our link).
Stay In Your Financial Lane
Understand that everyone is on a different money journey.
Everyone doesn’t come from the same place or with the same resources.
You may have people around you who are driving the latest car or are renting their own flat.
Others might be going on holidays every other month.
Some might be splashing out money on every gadget and tech they like.
How To Stay In Your Lane
To be honest, this goes back to knowing your numbers.
Know what you can and can’t afford.
Secondly, learn to say no.
Avoid making decisions because your friends are doing it if it will mean getting into debt.
If you’re being pressured into a money decision, even if it’s self-inflicted pressure, say no.
What you’re really saying no to is keeping up with the Joneses.
Why This Goal Matters
Our fiends and family heavily influence the way we spend our money.
It’s often said you’re the average of the people you hang around with.
Hang around with spenders you’ll be a spender yourself.
Another viewpoint, you may want to feel part of the club.
If everyone drives an Audi, you may end up wanting to buy one yourself.
Financial peer pressure could lead you in making decisions that you wouldn’t make normally.
Worse, you may end up finding yourself in debt trying to keep up with the Joneses.
Take Action
Which financial goals are you setting to reach by 30?
Check out our Ultimate Money Plan to get in control of your money and smash your financial goals
Let us know how you’re getting along by getting in touch with us, we’d love to hear from you
Knowledge is powerless without action
So take action, and take care
Thando