5 Financial Blunders to Avoid in Your 30s
From a financial point of view, your 30s can be one of the most critical parts of your life. Of course, you can’t mess around like you did in your 20s, but you are still young enough to adopt effective financial strategies that’ll help change your financial future.
Michael Sebastian Odhiambo 
The ’30s might just be one of the toughest decades of modern-day human life.
As one gets older, it becomes more and more important to be accountable. Your job turns into your career. Your apartment becomes your home. Families grow from your relationships and dreams become objectives.
Here are some of the mistakes you should avoid in this decade.
1. Social Competition
When one compares themselves to another, whether friends or family, they might want to acquire things before they can afford them. Everyone earns a different amount of income and has different financial responsibilities. No one is exactly the same. Living beyond your means and overspending may arise when one fails to recognize these differences.
2. Lacking an Emergency Fund
If something unexpected happens, like a huge unexpected bill, illness, injury, or unemployment, lacking some form of an emergency fund can obliterate your financial situation. Therefore, having a separate emergency savings account is crucial for the long term. This fund should have at least 6 months’ worth of living expenses.
3. Overspending on a Vehicle
Buying a car you can’t afford in your 30s is a bad financial decision. If you financed the purchase, getting an affordable or cheaper will car will mean fewer monthly payments. However, if your heart is set on a particular car, consider buying used instead of brand new. You can go a step further and buy a slightly older version of the model. You will still have the same car.
4. Not Following a Budget
Keeping track of the items you’re buying and how much you’re spending on these items is important no matter how old you are. You can only make crucial life decisions, like what car you can buy and what vacations you can take when you know where you stand. Creating and following a budget can be the difference between you slipping into huge debt and attaining long-term financial goals.
5. Not investing in Yourself
Do you have plans to start your own company? Do you want to build a mansion in your hometown? Consider your desired lifestyle now and in the future. How do you plan to achieve these goals? This decade is when a lot of people get more serious about their financial independence journey. Setting and achieving goals, talking about money, and creating savings plans will all help you develop a solid financial plan.
