Whether you’ve landed your first job or are planning for retirement, having your finances in order is crucial to living a stress-free life. One of the best ways to implement smart financial strategies is by having a roadmap of what to accomplish and when. The more realistic the goals, the easier and sooner they’ll be completed.
Ages 20-29
This is when many bad financial decisions are made. Your goal during this time is to start building a credit history. This will help boost your score and establish credit worth helping you when applying for car loans, apartment hunting and securing a mortgage. Remember that the higher your credit score, the better chances you’ll have of being approved for a loan. Additional tips include:
- Try working towards being a financially independent person. This will give you a sense of accomplishment in knowing that your financial behaviors are working in your favor.
- Keep your student loan payments under control by sticking to a repayment plan.
- Start an emergency fund as soon as you can. It’s a great way to fund medical emergencies or unexpected bills.
Ages 30-39
While not everyone ties the knot in their 30s, this period is still life-changing and you’ll need to adjust your spending and saving strategies accordingly. Open a savings account to pay for a future home, wedding and family. Here’s what else you can do:
- Focusing on paying off debt during this time will help you spend more freely and effectively later on, especially if you never got started during your 20s.
- Create an emergency fund that covers up to six months of expenses.
- Put anywhere from 10% to 15% of your paycheck into a retirement account. The earlier you start, the better.
Ages 40-49
This is the time to start thinking about your family and how they’ll manage to get by should something happen to you. Consider a life insurance policy in case something unexpected happens. This helps your family access any benefits should you happen to pass away. You can also:
- Start investing to live comfortably during your golden years. Create an investment portfolio to last well into your 80s.
- Pay off any type of revolving credit to help free up income.
50 and Beyond
During this time, start maxing out any 401ks or IRAs that you own. Make sure to know how much you’ll need for retirement so that you’ll have a good financial target date. If you have any questions about IRAs, we’ll be more than happy to help you! It’s important to start paying off your mortgage as well. If you still owe money, take care of it as soon as you can.
No Matter Your Age, VFCU Can Help
The best advice we can give is to start planning for retirement early. By putting away at least 15% of your monthly income into a savings account, you’ll be setting the foundation to a stress-free and affordable retirement. Visit our credit union in Brownsville today to get started!
