In high school, we learn that we should go to college, get a job, and work until retirement but no one really teaches us how to prepare for financial success. These smart money moves in your 20s and 30s will have your bank account thanking you later on!
After I graduated from college, I decided I needed to get my shit together financially and educate myself on some best practices. If you haven’t done all of these tips suggested in this post, get on it!! When it comes to earning or saving money, time is of the essence.
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Smart Money Moves In Your 20s and 30s to Have A Richer Future
Get to Know the Stock Market
Invest with Robinhood
Not gonna lie, I still don’t really know how stocks work but I do know it’s how rich people get richer. Lol they invest and create long term wealth!
I just opened up a Robinhood account and have been trying to learn how to pick good stocks to invest in. Buying individual stocks can be risky if you don’t know what you are doing.
I initially invested $500 and was so excited to be up $100 in 2 days! So cool!! I was so happy with my stock picks. Like ooo look at me picking good stocks but then life had to humble me lol. Within the next 2 days, I lost $350. But that’s just the nature of the beast!
I’d suggest investing in some low-risk bonds or mutual funds so you don’t have to stress over losing too much money.
Robinhood is definitely a popular investment platform for millennials. If you join Robinhood through my link and we will both get a free stock!
Earn some extra cash to invest by signing up with S
Invest with Stash
I also tried the Stash app and loved its beautiful layout. It makes finding companies and stocks to invest in so much easier than Robinhood.
You can search for companies by industry like media, real estate, or consumer staples, and they also conveniently group ETFs for you. ETFs (exchange-trade funds) are a bundle of different company stocks.
If you’re interested in women-run companies you can invest in Women Who Lead or if you wanna invest in travel companies you can choose “Destination Recreation.”
They truly make it very simple to start investing with as little as $5. For this convenience, you pay $1 a month to invest with Stash. It’s a price worth paying if you know you’re not going to take action if investing looks too hard!
Stop wasting time you can’t get back and start investing either way.
If you want a completely hassle-free way to invest, I’d go with Stash. If you’re willing to research some stocks and want no monthly fee, I’d go with Robinhood!
Pro Tip: Earn some extra cash for investing by signing up with Survey Junkie! Easy money and it won’t hurt as bad if you lose it to the market! lol
Start Saving Money for Retirement
It’s never too early to be thinking about your retirement! I wish they taught me about Roth IRAs and 401Ks in school so I wouldn’t be so lost!
Both are types of investment retirement accounts that allow your money to grow over time. The biggest difference between the two is that you are fined a 10% tax penalty for withdrawing money from your 401K but you can withdraw contributions from your Roth IRA penalty-free.
It took me a lot of research to understand this so to learn more check out this article.
You have probably heard of companies doing a 401K employer match. For instance, my company matches my 401K contribution up to 6%. This is literally FREE MONEY so take advantage of it if your employer offers it.
I started investing in a Roth IRA because I like that it is more flexible than the 401K. I don’t plan on touching the money I’ve put into it but I feel less nervous knowing that I can!
I used Betterment to open up my Roth IRA and highly recommend them! I chose an auto-investor because I have no idea how to do it myself. So if this sounds like you, consider making your life easier and try Betterment to open your Roth IRA
Betterment charges a low monthly management fee of 0.25%. But when you join through my link you’ll get 3 months free!! They have a user-friendly app and have other features that I use…taking me to my next point
Open a High Yield Savings Account
You know interest rates, right? When you look at your bank statements and you see an extra 3 cents in your account?
Interest rates at regular banks are extremely low but online banks tend to have higher rates! Before Corona hit, Betterment had a savings account interest rate of 2% compared to the national average of 0.1%
Now that rate has dropped down to .4% but I hope it will get back up there soon! By moving my savings over to Betterment I was getting almost $10 in interest every month! So much better than the 3 cents I was getting at my old bank.
Pay Yourself First and Budget
A high-yield savings account won’t do you any good if there aren’t any actual savings in it! Be smart with your money and budget it out. Put at least 20% of your paycheck into your savings account!
We want to move out of our parents’ house eventually, right?
You can try the 50-30-20 budget method to organize your spending.
50% of your money goes to necessities like bills, food and gas
30% of your money goes to wants like clothing, makeup, entertainment
20% of your money goes into your savings account/retirement funds
Also be sure to get cashback on your online and in-store purchases with Rakuten! I freakin’ love them and always check to see if I can save some money before I make a purchase online.
Don’t Be Stupid With Credit Cards
I have friends who have maxed out their credit cards on unnecessary things and are now in so much debt.
Don’t be like them! I kinda view credit cards like dancing with the devil. If you’re not careful they will eat you alive lol. I say this because if you can’t afford to pay off the credit card that month, you’re charged like 20% interest and the owed balance gets significantly higher!
So with this in mind, treat your credit cards like debit cards. Pay off the balance in full every month so you are not charged interest.
Only buy what you can AFFORD to buy. Do not buy a $5000 bag if you can’t afford to pay it off immediately.
Making stupid decisons will cost you in the future by lowering your credit score and really just stressing you the fuck out when you can’t pay off your debt.
Do Be Smart with Credit Cards
I have 3 credit cards that all give cashback on purchases and recommend you take advantage of cashback too!
When I apply for a credit card I usually aim for it to have an 0% APR intro offer, no annual fee, a cashback intro offer (i.e. spend $500 get back $150) and some kind of cashback rewards program.
Use your cards to make purchases for the points but then PAY IT OFF as I said before! That’s the only way to really be winning with credit cards.
Depending on your interests, you could get a card that rewards entertainment purchases like Capital One’s SavorOne card. I love this card because it gives me 3% cashback on all my Chipotle runs and solo dates to the movie theater.
The SavorOne card also meets all my credit card requirements so definitely check it out if you’re looking to get a new credit card!!
I told you I’m going to help you grow in all aspects of your life so that means a financial glow up too! Learn how to manage your money wisely and make smart decisions now to avoid regret later. Make these money moves in your 20s and 30s so you can be set in your 60s and 70s! Future you will be so happy about all that extra money you have because you invested, saved, and strategized, babe!
Keep glowin,
Kay xo
