4 Financial Goals To Reach Before You Reach 40
Becoming a woman who is in control of her finances isn’t something that happens overnight. It is something that takes a consistent amount of self-control over an extended amount of time. Instead of putting pressure on yourself to be perfect all at once, give yourself short term goals to achieve in steps.
Age 40 is a reasonable time to start hoping that you’ve gotten a certain amount of these goals out of the way. Here are some of the goals that you can consider setting for yourself by the time to reach that age.
Fix Your Credit Score
Your 20’s and your 30’s are periods where you are still figuring out how to spend wisely and how to find a job that maximizes making the most amount of money for your time and energy. You may find yourself going through financial hardships and have to dip into credit.
Often during these times, you can find yourself with a less than ideal credit score which leads to feeling pretty out of control and stressed about trying to catch up. Therefore, try to make it a point to fix your credit by the time you are 40. While perfect might not be realistic, you can certainly aim for it, then at least you will have reached a great credit score if not perfect!
Buy a House
Buying a house is a great way to feel as if you have reached a major milestone as an adult. Having somewhere that you can call your own is incredibly satisfying. It shows that you are the sole proprietor of your home and don’t have to answer to anyone else’s rules.
You can decorate your house and remodel it as you please. However with that freedom also comes the responsibility of having to take care of any repairs yourself rather than having a landlord to call, plus carrying homeowners insurance.
Put Aside Savings
Try making it a goal to have a certain amount of savings aside by the time you reach 40. This can either be for something you’ve always wanted like a trip around the world, a new car, or your down payment on your house.
The easiest way to save is to put aside 10% of each paycheck. It may not seem like much in the moment but after a while, it starts to add up! You will find yourself with a rather nice amount of money after 15 years!
Start a Retirement Account
Starting a retirement account means putting money into an account, which will build more interest than a traditional savings account over time.
Good options to choose from are either a ROTH IRA or a 401-K.