During your 20s, the sky is the limit. You have your whole life ahead of you and can do almost anything you want – such as staying up all night, eating junk food for dinner and getting out of bed without feeling pain in your knees. However, your 20s are also a good time to set personal finance milestones to prepare yourself for life in your 30s. By setting just a few goals and using best practices, such as taking out an installment loan to handle debt consolidation, you’ll have more financial freedom to do even more amazing things as you get older.
5 Financial Goals to Hit Before 30
1. Pay yourself first.
Get in the habit of paying yourself first. This means that before you pay any bills or buy anything for yourself, you place a certain amount of money in a savings account, preferably an online account for better interest rates. You can set up an automatic transfer of funds to your savings each payday, and live off the remainder. After a while, you’ll learn to live with less and feel confident knowing that you’re building a nest egg for the future.
2. Establish your credit.
If you’ve missed a few payments or have a debt in collections, now is the time to take care of it. Having a solid credit history will help later on when you want to buy a new car, a house or a yacht to sail the world. Get into the habit of making on-time payments, and pay off any debts by age 30 to prevent unnecessary stresses in the future.
3. Set up an emergency account.
Accidents happen, jobs end unexpectedly and cars break down without warning. Besides paying yourself, you should also set up an emergency fund to handle those untimely expenses. Consider saving at least three times the amount of your utilities. If you pay out $1,500 per month, keep $4,500 in a separate emergency account, and only use it to cover essential expenses.
4. Pay off your student loans.
Depending on your major and when you started college, aim to pay off your student loans by age 30. Not everyone knows what they want to do right out of high school, but you can try and get your loans to a minimum by tackling your student debt first before spending money on vacations, new televisions and other luxuries.
5. Max out your 401(k).
If you’re enrolled in a 401(k), max out your contribution according to the IRS’s limits on before-tax income. In addition, match your employer’s contribution if you want even more money in your account for use after retirement.
It’s never too late to start saving money. Even if you’re in your late 20s, you can start setting goals and planning for the future. If you want to consolidate your debt and get on the right track to saving, Always Money can help get you started with an installment loan to help meet your needs.
To get started,
- Visit a store near you (Click here to find the store nearest you),
- Call 1-888-618-9217 to get pre-approved over the phone, or
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