But getting your investments right can be tricky. Even something as common as buying your first home can be a challenge when you’re learning as you go. Not only do you have to find an affordable home that’s a great investment, but you also have to find the right real estate agent, ask them the right questions and try to pay the lowest commission possible.
A good investment plan is made up of goals that are both doable and specific. The first quality is important because if you set yourself lofty, unattainable goals, you’re setting yourself up for failure, and that bitter aftertaste will make it even harder to try again.
If you miss on a big investment, or fall victim to a market correction, you can absorb those losses easily. After all, the biggest returns also come with the biggest risks, while the safest investments generally offer the lowest returns.
While investing in your 30s should mean taking some calculated risks, you should still take reasonable measures to protect your investments. The easiest way to do that is to make sure you have a diversified portfolio.
Understand taxable and tax-advantaged accounts
Taxable accounts don’t offer you any tax benefits, but they do offer great accessibility and flexibility. For example, you can’t use an IRA or 401(k) to invest in specific individual stocks or innovative investments like cryptocurrency, but you can with a taxable brokerage account.
While paying down debt can help your credit score, and your financial and psychological well-being, money invested in your 30s has a lot of years to gain value, so you should take advantage.
Once you write a budget that you can stick to, you can start saving and investing a concrete amount of money every month, which will make reaching your investment goals easier.
Many workplaces will match any money you put into your workplace retirement plan. Financial experts consider this to be “free money,” so you should definitely take advantage.