Hard Learned Lessons About Money: Financial Goals by 30 - The Confused Millennial (2024)

During my twenties I moved over 10 times, got fired twice in a month, started a side hustle and turned it into a business. Five months before my 30th birthday we had a baby. Three months before my 30th birthday, we bought our first home. I wanted to write a post about all of the hard money lessons I'd learned by 30, but honestly, my entire world felt like it was moving out from under me at the time. So in honor of my 31st birthday, I'm finally looking back at the hard learned lessons from my 20s and the financial goals I accomplished by 30.

So let me first say this: no matter where you are in your financial journey, congratulate yourself.

You don't need to reach some random financial goals by a certain age. Milestones happen at all different points in our lives.

While I reached the list of financial goals by 30, my husband did them in his 30s. There is no hard timeline or set of rules you need to follow. This has just been my journey.

This post is sponsored by Lexington Law, a trusted leader in credit repair. They have an established credit repair process that’s helped hundreds of thousands of people repair their credit each year. If your credit score isn't where you want it to be, and you believe you have unfair, inaccurate, or unsubstantiated claims on your credit profile, click here to receive your FREE credit report consultation today!

List of hard lessons about money and financial goals to learn by 30:

Financial Goals: Money Management

1) Become financially literate in your 20s

Financially literacy is when you have a basic understanding of money and personal finance. For instance you know what a checking or high yield savings account is, are aware of the different types of retirement accounts available, understand taxes and spending as it relates to your income.

When you're financially literate, you usually have the confidence and skills to make better money choices. If you already feel out of depth, don't worry, we'll cover a lot of financial literacy in this post!

2) Stay up to date on current events and news

Personal finance is often tied to current events and the news. Knowing what is going on in the world, can help you make more informed choices about your own money.

3) Build your emergency fund

Get 6-12+ months of living expenses in an emergency fund ASAP depending on what type of job you have.

Not sure how much money to put in your emergency fund or where to park it? Read my Complete Guide To Emergency Funds here [covering What, Why, How Much, + Where To Park It?]

Learn more about how to save for emergencies from Lexington Law here.

4) Create a budget you actually follow through with

When I first started learning about personal finance in my 20s, I tried complicated multi-line budgets and various softwares. Ultimately none of it worked for me. I needed a simple budget that I could actually stick with which led me to the 50/20/30 Guideline.

5) Understand how health insurance works

When I got kicked off the family health insurance plan at 26, I was a little dumbfounded. Co-insurance? Maximums? Were my existing doctors in network?

The years that followed meant that I got a crash course in understanding health insurance. I've been on subsidized plans, gone without, and even plans that cost over $1,000 a month in premiums!

I've also learned a lot about how health insurance works under FIRE [Early Retirement]which opened me up to alternative health insurance options outside of the marketplace.

6) Stop overspending

I started working at 13 years old, but by the time I was 19, I had nothing to show for it. Each weekend, I'd go shopping, buy expensive coffees, and falling into these daily overspending traps.

Around 21 or 22 years old, I decided enough was enough. I was done with overspending. I shared my experience on How To Stop Overspending Money here.

7) Create a plan to stay on track with your financial goals during a crisis

One thing I can assure you about your 20s or 30s (or life in general): things will not go as planned.

You will likely face a crisis or two; whether personal or global. While you can't stop the crisis, you can minimize the fall out by having a plan for your money. Take some time to read this post and put one in place: How To Stay On Track With Your Financial Goals During Crisis [+ After A Financial Crisis]

8) Get in the habit of spring cleaning your finances

Spring means tax season is upon us and historically, I'd be scrambling to find all receipts and 1099s or W2s. There's a level of stress that comes with financial chaos we can all avoid by just getting in the habit of regular check-ins with our money.

A financial spring cleaning ensures you'll minimize clutter and chaos, while staying on track with your financial goals. Learn about 15 Ways To Spring Clean Your Finances here.

9) Complete annual personal financial audits

An annual personal financial audit is bigger than a spring cleaning. A spring cleaning allows your audit to go more smoothly; but here you'll do a deeper dive and ensure you're really setting yourself up for the best financial future possible. Discover Why You Need To Do A Personal Financial Audit [+ How To Do It] here.

10) Spend your tax refunds wisely

Your 20s may be the last hurrah in receiving a tax refund, so make sure to use it wisely. Need ideas? Check out my suggestions for what to do with your tax refund this year.

p.s. Don't stress about losing your tax refund! The goal is for you and Uncle Sam to be even come tax time. Meaning if you're getting a refund, you've been giving the government an interest free loan!

If you were surprised by a lower tax refund than usual last year, then I suggest learning more about tax refunds and the Taxes Cut and Jobs Act here from Lexington Law.

11) Close each year with positive money moves

I know this is like the third financial check-in I'm suggesting you do for the year but that's because I had to learn the hard way that ignorance is not bliss when it comes to your money.

I don't expect you to do all 15 End Of Year Money Moves or all the things on the spring cleaning your money checklist every year or even in one year. But these frequent check-ins can ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

The more you can do these things, the less overwhelming and intimidating your money goals will seem in the long run.

Also, some items on those lists may not apply in your life, but 6 months later your life may have drastically changed; making it important to re-address your finances often so you don't fall behind.

Debt + Credit Goals by 30

12) Understand how your credit score works

When I got my first credit card at 18 years old, all I knew was: “only use it for emergencies.” Not understanding how my credit score worked led to a lot of fear in me… and missed opportunities of using it effectively (more on that below though!)

Take the time right now to understand so you don't live in credit fear.

Inaccuracies on credit reports may be more common than you think. In fact, you may be more likely to have them if you've carried student loan or medical debt, have been away on military leave or recently divorced, or have been a victim of identity theft. If any of this sounds like you click here to receive your FREE credit report consultation today from Lexington Law.

13) Learn about the credit card application process + it's impacts on you

After landing my first big 9-5 job, years after I got over my credit card fear, but before I understood how my credit score worked, I went on a little shopping spree. I was still in school and had no professional clothes.

So as each store rang up my items and I saw $250+ totals I gleefully said “yes” when the merchant asked if I wanted to open a store credit card to save 25% off that day.

Little did I know, that each time I said yes, I was dropping my credit score. Fortunately, mine was high enough that I didn't get rejected, but I wish I took the time to learn about applying for a new credit card beforehand.

14) Pay off your debt

When my husband and I first started dating he was in roughly $10,000 worth of debt. It was taking a serious toll on him and costing him even more money. As a recovering overspender myself, we looked at debt repayment strategies and came up with a plan to get out of debt as quickly as possible.

15) Stay out of debt

I'm referring to “bad” debt here, such as revolving debts on credit cards; not “good” debt like a mortgage or student loan. Learn more about good debt vs. bad debt from Lexington Law here.

Once we were out of debt, we made it our mission to stay debt free. This was the big turning point in my personal finance education.

I realized there was so much they didn't teach us in school and started reading all the books, blogs, and talking to people. I even discovered 7 Habits Of Debt Free People which I live by today!

16) Learn to use credit wisely

Like I mentioned, when I got my first credit card, fear was instilled in me.

“Only for emergencies!” haunted my thoughts with every swipe. The more millennials I spoke with, the more I learned were also afraid of credit cards.

Learning about how credit impacts our life, I realized I needed to use it wisely in order to make my money work for me.

The idea of not using credit cards ever is sort of outdated in my opinion. Instead, I focus on using my credit card like a debit card; only charging what I could pay off that day.

17) Join the 800+ credit score club

Dropping credit fear and using my credit card wisely allowed me to join the 800+ credit score club!

When working on this financial goal, it's important to check your credit reports here. Look for inaccuracies or wrongful claims. These could be items that should've aged off or things you don't recognize. If you think you have any of these click here to receive your FREE credit report consultation from Lexington Law.

Then I learned how to improve my credit score and the 9 habits of people with 800+ credit scores. Using those tips, I've been able to enjoy perks like lower interest rates on my mortgage.

18) Get a rewards credit card

A rewards credit card allows you to get a little something back for the money you are already spending. For nearly a decade I had only the credit card I got when I was a teenager, then the store credit cards I – not so smartly – opened after my first job. I didn't understand why I needed a rewards credit card.

For nearly a decade that meant I was leaving money on the table. Since switching to a rewards credit card, I've enjoyed upgrades on travel and earning hundreds in cashback. Learn what to look for in a rewards credit card here.

19) Stay on track with your student loans

While student loans are considered “good debt” when calculating your credit score, you still want to stay on top of them. Don't skip payments in hopes that your student loans will actually be forgiven.

In fact, in some instances thanks to the current student loan relief options under the CARES Act, it may make sense to pay extra on your student loans.

Money Saving Financial Goals for your 30s

20) Learn how to set and reach savings goals

My strategy for saving money in my twenties was to just hoard as much as possible and never touch it.

While that did leave me with a nice sum in my checking account, it also led to anxiety and stress around spending money. That may not sound bad to you, but trust me, it was brutal on my mental wellbeing.

I couldn't relax and actually enjoy a vacation because I was doing mental math about how many waitressing shifts I'd need to work to recoup the costs. Or I was acting like a mad person if every little thing wasn't just right because I felt like I needed to get every pennies worth of an experience. It was exhausting.

Finally I learned a simple formula to reach any savings goal and it gave me some breathing room. I started to worry less about over spending because I actually ear marked money for things.

21) Use a high yield savings account

A high yield savings account is just a savings account that pays you a little more on interest. For instance, your average brick and mortar bank, that still has a store front you can walk into, currently has an average savings rate of .06% according to the FDIC.

However a high yield savings account offers a savings rate roughly 15 times higher. For instance, mine has gone up as high as 1.90% and down as low as 1.10%. This number changes often based on market rates. You'll find this type of account typically with a fully digital bank.

This is a great place to keep your emergency fund or savings you plan to pull from in the short-term future.

22) Download apps that'll save you money

For years I just stuck with the status quo: basic checking and savings accounts, basic credit card, and basically not letting my money work for me.

Granted money saving apps, rewards credit cards, and high yield savings accounts aren't going to make you rich. But they are small swaps that do add up over time. Here are 5 Money Saving Apps I love.

23) Do a no spend challenge

Part of becoming a recovering overspender meant that I had to cut ties with spending money cold turkey.

Doing a no-spend challenge was the absolute best thing I ever did for my finances. It started off as a 30 day experiment and ended up lasting 3 years.

It changed my outlook on gift giving, relationships, consumerism, and so much more. Learn more about my experience and how to do a no-spend challenge here.

24) Create a few sinking funds

Like I mentioned, I had a lot of anxiety around spending money I was hoarding.

Part of that did come from the no-spend challenge. I was sort of scared that my extreme frugal living during those years would cause a back slide into overspending. Fortunately, that didn't happen.

I eased myself back into comfortably spending money by planning with sinking funds.

These can be used for savings goals, but also for everyday large purchases that you know are coming up, like annual subscription renewals. Read my Complete Guide To Sinking Funds here.

25) Learn to make affordable decisions on the fly

The hard lesson that not all stores price things fairly was one that shook me.

I sort of stumbled into this realization when I was grocery shopping. One day, I noticed that spinach was .50 more expensive at one grocery store compared to the other store across the street.

I started looking at price per ounce/unit on all sorts of things afterwards. Even doing a quick google search for an item before purchasing it to see how it was priced from other retailers online.

Then I realized, in order to have long term financial health, I needed to be educated about market rates on the items I frequently bought so I could make affordable decisions on the fly.

26) Grocery shop + meal plan on a budget

Food is one of the trickiest items in our budgets.

Talk to one person and they spend $200 a month, talk to someone else and they spend $600 a month. Food is a necessity, so it's easier to overspend without even realizing it.

Take the time now to learn how to save money on groceries every month while on a tight budget. And get used to meal planning and shopping with a cheap grocery list. It'll save you money in the long run.

27) Opt for sustainable eco-friendly options

As a kid, I used to protest to save the trees. I had signs and even tied myself to a tree once. Fast forward to my 20s where everything around me was suddenly plastic or being delivered in plastic and more plastic.

Initially I would get sticker shock and not want to invest in reusable items like straws, bags, or even eco-friendly period products. But then I realized that I was actually doing more harm to the environment and my budget by not making these environmentally friendly swaps.

28) Use 3 money saving tips to go under budget on your wedding

We got married when I was in my twenties and my husband was in his thirties, so I guess this is a financial goal for your 30s or 20s.

For a long time, we struggled with what we wanted to do about our wedding. The idea of a 100+ person over the top costly event seemed extreme. I much preferred something a bit more low key but still celebrating.

We focused on discovering ways to save money on our wedding that honored who we are as a couple without breaking the bank.

29) Enjoy affordable (or free) fun!

As my husband was getting out of debt and I was recovering from my own financially extreme issues, we decided to get creative by coming up with ways to have fun for free or on a budget.

We love these date night ideas for when you're feeling broke and even put together this list of 13 ways to celebrate summer without breaking the bank.

30) Financially hack at least one vacation

I know travel can seem like a luxury for some, but I'm all about finding ways to explore and travel without going into debt.

Maybe you don't set your wanderlusting eyes on Bora Bora for your first trip, and instead doing a one tank excursion. There are honestly so many ways to save money on travel.

Start with one or two ideas, get comfortable with it, then try a few more on your next trip. Before you know it, you could be financially hacking your way across the globe!

31) Live below your means

One of the best money saving tips, goals, or lessons I can share with you is to simply live below your means.

When I landed my first 9-5 at 24, I kept my waitressing job. Overnight I had doubled my annual income. Aside from my new office job wardrobe, I was committed to keeping my spending the exact same.

This lesson was sort of a hard lesson learned from watching my parents growing up and from my husband.

My dad was an entrepreneur, and I saw first hand how quickly money can come and go (probably why I went overboard on living frugally).

My husband was also an overspender, and was $10,000 in debt when we first started dating, with nothing to show really from his fancy NYC career days.

—

Investing: Future Planning Financial Goals for your 30s

32) Discover all of the retirement options available to you

Make it a point to learn about all of the different retirement options available to you by 30. My friends at Lexington Law put together this guide to retirement plans to help you get started.

After you learn about traditional retirement plans available to you, look into non-traditional retirement options like what the FIRE movement is and alternatives to FIRE here.

33) Use compounding interest to your advantage

The earlier you start saving for retirement the better thanks to compounding interest.

Compound interest is when you start to earn interest on both your initial (principal) deposit, plus all of the interest that has collected on the deposit or loan.

In other words, in investments compounding interest is our friend, and in loans it's our worst nightmare.

34) Start saving for retirement

If you didn't get it from the last point: the earlier you can set up investment/retirement accounts the further ahead you'll be thanks to compounding interest.

You can open some retirement accounts for as little as $50. Most don't require you to make regular deposits either.

So if you simply make it a goal to put all of your birthday and holiday money into your retirement accounts each year of your 20s, you'll have a little leg up than if you started doing the same thing at 30 thanks to compounding interest.

35) Take care of your health

Investing in healthy habits is often a smart move in your financial future.

Eating healthy and regular exercise can be good preventative measures in your overall health.

Furthermore, keep up with your regular preventive care doctors appointments, oral exams, and skin checks. Depending on your insurance, you may not have any copays for these.

Taking care of your health may be a little investment up front, but it has the potential to save money on much larger healthcare costs down the road.

36) Start a side hustle

Unless you've been sleeping under a rock, you know many companies are moving towards remote work and the gig economy has been on the rise. In addition, there's a growing trend for speciality trade schools over formal college education.

A side hustle allows you to:

• refine your skills,
• increase your personal brand equity, and
• make some money outside a traditional career

As a teenager, I always blogged, but in my 20s I let that fall to the wayside until a series of events led me to starting this. At the time, I had just been fired twice from my career, and was working as a life skills coach to millennials.

The blog was a side hustle that quickly replaced the initial company I thought I was building and has grown to be the sole income for my family of three.

I can only imagine how much further along I'd be if I kept up with it from my teen years.

Even if you don't plan for your side hustle to become your career, it can hold the potential to help you negotiate a raise or move up a traditional career ladder.

37) Understand the financial impacts of a move

Moving out on my own in my 20s was wildly exciting! So exciting, I ended up moving over 10 times during my twenties!

The first few started off not as a huge deal. Dorm to dorm, back home, etc. I had grown used to my nomadic lifestyle that I could pack up in the trunk of a car.

Only my initial experiences left me a little out of the loop on the real financial impact of moving.

When we got our first unfurnished place, we definitely didn't have a budget set aside for furniture. We had to get creative and learn ways to save money on furniture and home decor ASAP.

When we bought our first home, we needed to get financially in order for the cost of a moving company, closing costs, inspections and more.

Do your research before committing to a move!

38) Prepare your budget for a baby

Everyone talks about how expensive a baby is so we decided this was one lesson we weren't going to learn the hard way. Instead we got organized, learned a ton of ways to save money when having a baby and planned accordingly.

If you can make it a goal to prepare your budget for a baby in advance, I think it'll make the transition into parenthood easier (it did for us at least!).

You can start by taking this quiz from Lexington Law on financial readiness for kids.

39) Financially plan for a home

Moving is expensive, and buying a home can be expensive too. We were not prepared for closing costs on our home. We thought in our state the seller covered them so we had a nice little sticker shock towards the end of our home buying process.

Don't make the same mistake we did, whether you plan to make this a financial goal by 30 or for your 30s, it's a big one! Spend time planning for the purchase and discover ways to save money on your first home purchase ahead of time.

40) Use career changes to your advantage

Okay, changes in your career may sound a little scary, but they can actually be a blessing in my experience.

If you are still employed, you can make a job switch and try to negotiate a higher salary or compensation package.

If you lose your job, you can actually turn it into an opportunity to earn more money. I know that may sound crazy, but this was a lesson I learned the hard way firsthand.

After getting fired twice in a month I was faced with a choice: go back into my career that had a limited earning potential or make a career switch. I decided to use my experience as a mental health and substance abuse counselor and start teaching millennials life skills.

That snowballed into the blog you read today which has become the sole income supporting our family since I was pregnant.

41) Invest in yourself

If starting a side hustle and making healthier choices weren't blaring enough let me shout this from the rooftops: invest in yourself!

See a therapist, learn a new skill, surround yourself with people who lift you up and inspire you.

The entire next session is filled with even more ideas to invest in your money mindset.

Money Mindset Financial Goals for your 30s

42) Adopt an abundance mindset

Growing up, I was raised around a lot of “not enough” talk. As in, “we don't have enough money,” “we can't afford that,” “I won't get a raise because of X, Y, Z.”

These constant money messages about there not being enough money out there I think were a big reason I hoarded money in my early twenties.

Again, there's nothing wrong with saving money, but the way I was saving money led to an adverse reaction within me anytime I went to spend money.

Adopting an abundance mindset has meant that I realize there is always enough money out there. My bills will always be paid. I will always be able to make money. It's allowed me to move to a place of ease and balance with my money.

43) Understand the impact of stress on your finances

I think most people have heard of the phrase “stress eating,” but what fewer people talk about is “stress spending.”

Stress spending can wear a lot of different masks. It could be feeling stressed so your order take-out a few extra nights a week. It could look like living frugally for a few years, then overspending because you felt deprived during your money fast.

Take some time to understand how you respond to stress. Take note of any money messages you picked up from parents or society causing you to have an unhealthy relationship with money. Come up with ways you can dismantle things that are no longer serving you.

44) Get comfortable talking about money

Money is typically seen as this taboo subject. We are often taught, “it's impolite or indecent to ask or talk about money.”

But the reality is, the more we stay silent about money, the more it imprisons us.

While I was getting my master's degree in counseling, one of my professors had us sit down and discuss the salaries we were making in the field.

He said, “transparency around salary is the only way we'll be able to hold employers accountable and ask for more.” And he was right.

That day I discovered my classmates were making $25-35k a year as counselors. I learned I was making the most at $40k. We were all vastly overpaid for how heavy our jobs were and the fact we all worked overtime without compensation.

That same level of intimacy around money in our career should be applied to our romantic relationships. Afterall, you marry a person's debt. Learn how to talk about finances with your significant other here.

45) It's okay to change your mind

It's important to say yes to things in life. Especially in your twenties when you are discovering who you are and experimenting with so much.

However, it's equally as important to know you can change your mind.

If grad school isn't sitting right with you, you can leave. If you no longer feel like going to a friend's bachelorette (whether you can financially swing it or not), you can change your mind.

Too often, we follow through with commitments out of fear, and they end up costing us more money and energy.

46) No is a complete sentence

Just like you can change your mind, you can also say no.

Learning to say no to things gives you an opportunity to prioritize your financial and mental health and actually make good on these financial goals.

47) Set better financial boundaries with friends and family

We all love our friends. Afterall, they are our chosen family. However, it's just as important to have financial boundaries with friends as it is with family.

A hard learned lesson for me: don't expect anyone to pay you back. Not financially, not for your time, not emotionally. Boundaries can help ease that blow.

48) Deprogram the money messages you’ve learned

I've mentioned money messages, but making it a point to actually write them down and deprogram them.

Keep a running list in your phone whenever you notice any sort of limiting belief around money, write it down. Then you can work with a therapist or Psych-K practitioner to de-program the subconscious mind holding onto those beliefs.

49) Understand just how much you can do with very little money

My husband has been working on a start up the last few years. About a year or so ago, he thought he was actually going to sell it for a very large amount of money. All of our dreams of, “what would you do if you won the lottery,” started to feel a little more real… and then the buyer didn't get the funding to complete the sale.

We struggled with processing that loss. Started to lose sight of gratitude for what we had. And then I did this fun exercise on what it would look like for us to live on $20k or $40k a year as a family of 3 and I realized once again, just how much we can do with how little.

It's sort of like a back door approach to the financial goal of living below your means and a different way of saying: practice gratitude regularly.

50) Give back

Generosity is linked to improved overall health, decreased mortality rates, and an increase in feel good chemicals. Make it a financial goal by 30 to give back to organizations regularly whether with your time or money.

You can even take it a step further like I did, and set aside a sum of money to give to strangers face-to-face. That experience was life changing for me as hard as it was at points.

51) Learn from financial trends without joining in

Just like in the health and wellness space with fad diets, the financial space has its own set of financial trends.

Personally, I believe there is something we can all learn or take away from any financial trend, but that doesn't mean we need to join in on it. For instance, we decided not to go for early retirement by 35/40 years old, but I did learn these 5 things from the FIRE movement.

52) Aim to never be busy

Is aiming to never be busy a financial goal? Yes.

It's simple: my financial goals always align with planning for my future while making my money work for me.

This was a hard lesson for me to learn as I only ever watched my family and friends “hustle harder.” But the hardest working people I know, also had the hardest time financially.

By making it a goal to never be busy, I'm challenging myself to find smarter ways to use my time and money in growing my wealth. This forces me to stay accountable to other goals on this list like saying no, changing my mind, using retirement and investment accounts, and more.

53) Understand time is the ultimate form of currency

Sort of in the same line as never being busy, I had to understand time is the ultimate form of currency.

This was a hard lesson for me too, since up until my daughter was born, I had only ever traded time for money.

You may make this goal actionable by pricing yourself appropriately, learning to negotiate better, setting up passive revenue streams, saying no to more things.

Check out these passive income strategiesfrom Lexington Law for more ideas.

There are loads of ways to turn this lesson into an actionable goal that'll pay you back financially in the long run, so get brainstorming!

54) Stay in competition only with yourself

You have nothing to prove to anyone.

Do not feel the need to keep up with the Kardashians or latest Instagram trends. Focus solely on doing better than you did yesterday.

Put this goal into practice by:

• Unfollowing accounts or unfriending people you find yourself getting swept into the comparison game with
• Looking at your finances from last month and choosing one way you can do better this coming month
• Diving into your motivations for wanting to do something

55) Acknowledge that wealth is a mindset

I'm sure you've seen those headlines like, “how to be a millionaire in your 20s!” But the truth is, learning how to be wealthy in your 20s or 30s all comes down to your money mindset.

The richest man doesn't always have the most money in the bank. You can't take it with you, so you may as well learn to build a rich, well rounded life.

Remember, reaching financial goals starts keeping things small and targeted. This list is a culmination of 30 years of experience!

Perhaps you start with the financial goal of repairing your credit by 30. From there you can break it into smaller goals like pulling your credit reports, calling Lexington Law for a FREE credit report consultation, and making regular on-time payments on your existing debts.

Wherever you choose to start, I have faith you'll make some progress!