When it comes to investing, you’re never too young or too naïve to start building your wealth. The younger you begin to make wise decisions about your money, the greater your chances are of enjoying a more secured financial future. But if you don’t know where exactly to begin, here are five investments that you should start making in your 30s:
- Before you get money out, build a solid emergency fund first.
If you don’t have one yet, this is the best time to open an emergency fund account that’s at least three to six months’ worth of living expenses. This will give you a buffer as you start building your investment portfolio, especially since it will take months or years before you start to enjoy the returns of your investments. An emergency fund will also keep your finances intact, and you can gradually increase your contributions as your income grows.
- Go for real estate.
Any experienced investor will tell you to choose real estate as your first investment—and for a good reason. While other forms of investments are easily affected by a volatile economy, real estate keeps on increasing in value over time. Properties are also not as expensive as you think. Click here to find out more about your options for properties or visit bloomdale.com.au to browse through different types of real estate.
Try your hand at index funds.
If bigger investment funds are still overwhelming you, it’s best to start with index funds that are a lot cheaper, easy to manage and beat managed funds in the long run.
- Take risks with stocks.
You’re young and far from retirement, so this is the best time to take some risks to diversify your portfolio. Stocks like ETFs and mutual funds are great startup investments because you don’t have to be a marketing master to understand them. Plus, they’re not as complicated to manage as more serious stock investments. You can then move on to safer investment options like bonds as you grow older.
- Invest in your retirement.
You already know about a retirement fund or superannuation where at least 9.5% of your salary will be deposited. This percentage is set to increase to 12% in 2025, and it helps Australians secure their retirement by building their super fund.
But if you want to be more secure with your future after you stop working, it’s also very important to start investing in your retirement fund where you can put a specific amount from your monthly income into an account that you won’t touch until you retire. This should be different from your savings account, and it will serve as your extra money to enjoy the things that you want without touching your super fund.
Of course, while you invest, you also need to get rid of existing debt and stay debt-free as much as you can. Take care of repayments at an early age so you don’t have to worry about them in the future when you’re older and nearing retirement.
