10 Important Financial Decisions in your 30s with Helprin Management Japan
1. Plan your finances
There’s a saying that you can’t control what you can’t measure, so the first step is to measure and plan your finances thoroughly. A financial plan should be the foundation of your entire 30s financial strategy.
Here are the steps to planning:
- Outline your monetary goals for the month, quarter, and year. Make sure it’s specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound. To test for attainability and possibility, you should do the following steps.
- Compute your consistent net total monthly income. If you’re a freelancer, use the lowest monthly amount as your baseline.
- Track what you spend from essentials (utilities, mortgage, bills, work allowance, tuition, etc.) to luxury (shopping, cosmetics, accessories, vacation, etc.).
- Create a 50/30/20 budget: 50% for needs, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings or debt repayment. For example, if you have a $5,000 net monthly income, allocate $2,500 for needs, $1,500 for wants, and $1,000 for savings, investments, and debt repayment.
- Review your plan from time to time.
A plan will help you track your money better and save more from your income. Helprin Management Japan is a company that helps clients manage their money better and allocate some for the future.
2. Make an emergency fund
3. Spend less than what you earn
4. Get professional financial advice
Financial advisers and managers from companies like Helprin Management Japan offer several services that could benefit you in the long run. These experts can help you decide what to do with your savings, especially if you’re preparing for your family’s future.
Here are some services they may offer:
- Financial planning
- Investment management
- Retirement
- Estate planning
- Charity coordination
- Insurance
Financial professionals may also help you get more innovative business tax strategies and benefits.
5. Invest in things that appreciate in value
6. Pay off your debt
You can’t start saving money until you get rid of all your debts like student loans, credit card bills, etc. However, not all loans or obligations are wrong; some are good and have the potential for higher gains in the long run. Focus on paying off the bad debts.
Here’s a popular debt repayment technique:
- List all your debt details: principal amount, interest terms, and balance.
- Set a budget for debt repayment: 10 to 20% of your monthly net income.
- Start by paying off all of the monthly interest first, then putting the extra from the debt repayment budget to the one with the highest interest until fully paid.
- Continue with the same budget even when you have already paid some debts until you eliminate every single debt.
Once you pay off all your debt, you can start saving for the future.
7. Simplify your lifestyle
8. Expand income sources
You may look at the #1 item on this list (financial plan) and realize you can’t afford your needs with your current income, which means you need another revenue source or passive income.
Here are some income source ideas:
- Real estate rentals
- Monetize your identity, skills, and experience through content creation like blogging or vlogging
- Create a business
- Part-time jobs
- Freelance gigs
A sole income source can get you in trouble long-term, especially when you get sick or cannot perform your job or function.
9. Diversify investments
There’s a saying that you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket because the basket may fall and break all your eggs. Investments come with substantial risk, and most markets are prone to crashing, so you need to be careful where you put your funds.
If your portfolio only consists of one type of investment like real estate, cryptocurrency, forex, stocks, etc., you have a greater risk of capital loss when the respective market crashes. Therefore, you should spread your money across different platforms.