You and only you can change your life. Maybe an article like this could be a guidepost for you if you want to dabble your hand at investments. Avoid making these mistakes in your 30s and you are sorted!
- Spending too much– You must learn the art of budgeting and it’s not something you have to get a degree in. It is learnt by trial and error. You need to keep in mind that life can change overnight so if that happens will that expensive branded handbag or pair of heels help you in any way? Think and consciously spend. Money is made to be spent but not to overspend.
- Not having an emergency fund– Saving for a rainy day should be your top priority. The pandemic has been a fine example of how life changes when you least expect it. Think it through, you don’t need to break your head over it or save every rupee you earn for an emergency that might take place. Just balance it out, every month pledge to save a percentage of money for building your safety net.
- Not having conversations– You have to have an open dialogue with your family or if you are planning to settle down with someone in the near future. It is essential to understand your loved ones’ spending and saving patterns A deep dive into this will make it clear if it’s working for you or against you. Being on the same page with money can save you from a lot of pain and worry in the future. It’s never your family vs money. Money and you belong to the same team. It is here to help you and not haunt you.
- Unclear financial goals– Most people have a certain goal they would like to achieve by a certain age or year, maybe the purchase of a new car or house or maybe growing your family. Your partner and you must have similar financial goals so you can work together as a team to plan strategically on how to achieve them. Unclear financial goals lead to a lot of ambiguity and leaving things to go with the flow which should not be the case for big decisions.
- Not looking at your career prospects– With the onset of the AI era, you should sit back and brainstorm what your career will look like ten years from now. Do you love what you do now and can you keep doing it for the rest of your life? Would you ever want to take a long sabbatical and go back to college to upgrade your skills? These are some loaded questions that might scare you but it is vital to face them so you have no regrets.
- Being too cautious– Money is not meant to be exhausted on gambling in a casino but neither is meant to be caged like a bird. You need to be playful and fearless. Make smart moves and believe in the power of compounding. The idea is not to save every rupee but how can you double the rupee you save?
- Say Yes to retirement funds and insurance, and Say No to too much debt– One day you will be young and free, you think you can take on every challenge and pay off all the debts. But the truth is lie goes by in the blink of an eye and you suddenly feel bogged down by the bills and EMIs you have to pay at the end of the month. Don’t let it accumulate. Also, the feeling that you will be young forever fades away too soon so invest in insurance and plan for retirement. You deserve a comfortable life so always remind yourself of the popular money acronym- “Misusing it only numbs and endangers you.”
It’s humanly impossible to not make mistakes but what is possible is being more mindful while making choices. Choices are what make you who you are, so make the ones that you look back on and feel a sense of pride and satisfaction. Money is meant to be enjoyed and appreciated and not something because of which you have sleepless nights and blood pressure problems. So, remember the famous saying each time you make a monetary decision, “The goal is not to make more money but to live a life on your own terms.”
