Welcome to the 30s

It is said that the 30s are the new 20s. Sounds great, right? Credit card debt, student loans, weddings, first home purchases... many of the life experiences (and expenses) attributed to your 20s now occur in your 30s. At the same time, we are told by financial experts that our retirement accounts should be flush by 30. So how to get your financial house in order in your 30s?

My goal is to simplify information on saving, investing, and spending so you can find financial stability while enjoying life. Information that all of us can use. We all have access to information, and thousands of financial experts are willing to share their secrets to financial health. But too often, these sites make us feel guilty. Guilty for going out on an expensive dinner with friends, guilty for not monitoring our credit score monthly and researching investments weekly, and guilty for not thinking about our net worth constantly. I'd like to share the tips and lessons of financial advisors you can use and then move on to more important things, like the people and activity that feed your enjoyment of life.

I began blogging on my co-worker's excellent young professional blog, "Personal Finance for the 20something." As a financial professional, I read a lot of other articles, blogs, and books on personal finance. What I've found is a lot of information for young people just starting out, and massive amounts for those ready to enter retirement. Not a lot for those of us in the middle. Why? Because it's hard. We know what to tell you to do in your 20s, because compounding interest helps those who save early. We know that if you are contemplating retirement, there are certain steps you need to take to prepare. But where are you in your 30s?

For some of us, the 20s were a decade of exploration and experiences. Many studied abroad, moved around the US, ski-bummed it for a few seasons, and then finally decided to settle down, pay off debt, and begin saving. There are others who entered the work force immediately, saved 20% of their income each year, and are in a good place financially. And then there are those who continued their higher education long after college and find themselves finally entering the workforce with multiples letters after their names and multiple digits in their student loan balances. Everyone is at a different place in their 30s. And I realize that even more acutely now that I am here as well.

Two of my close life-long friends who live in our hometown exemplify this dichotomy. As we caught up over brunch, it occurred to us that 30 was not what we expected. As one pointed out to the other, "we are both 30, single, and living with our parents". I laughed because these are two of the most accomplished women I know, with graduate degrees (a PhD in one case and a master's in the other), travelled (one just returned from teaching at a women's university in Bangladesh and the other has lived in Japan, India, and Italy), and full of life. Life is often not what we expect because it becomes more than we ever expected. I hope to help you get your finances under control so you can sit back and enjoy whatever life throws your way.