• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

National Debt Relief

National Debt Relief - A+ BBB Accredited Business - Get Relief From Credit Card Debt, Medical Bills And Unsecured Loans

Talk to a debt counselor toll free:

800-300-9550

Get Relief From Credit Card Debt

Medical Bills and Unsecured Loans

  • Apply Now
    • Qualifications
    • Is This Right For Me?
  • Proven Results
    • Debt Relief Benefits
    • Credit Card Debt Relief
  • Debt Relief
  • Credit Card Debt Relief
  • Debt Consolidation
  • Login
HomeBlog Personal Finance11 Financial Things To Do Before Turning 30
Video Transcript

Free Debt Consolidation Quote

By clicking "Get Free Quote", you agree that the phone number you are providing may be used to contact you by National Debt Relief (including autodialed and prerecorded calls, as well as text/SMS messages). Msg. and data rates apply, and your consent to such contact is not required for purchase.
  • National Debt Relief, LLC BBB Business Review
  • McAfee SECURE sites help keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams

11 Financial Things To Do Before Turning 30

September 2, 2014 by National Debt Relief

young woman thinkingTurning 30 is a kind of watershed moment in most people’s lives. It sort of marks the end of young adulthood and the real coming into your own as a person. You will likely have new responsibilities including maybe even marriage and children but regardless of this the number one thing on your list should be your finances. This is especially important if you’re married, as conflict over money is the number two reason why couples end up divorcing.

What do you need to achieve financially by the time you turn 30? Here are 11 financial things you should have done or be working on. As you might imagine these goals are not for everyone and all eleven may not be feasible for you. But it’s important to keep them in mind at least as general guidelines.

Be prepared for large expenditures

Big expenditures will be coming your way and you should be saving up, anticipating and preparing for them. As an example of this, you may soon be buying a house, having children and other comparable major expenses. If necessary you will need to alter your lifestyle to be prepared for these expenses so that you will be able to pay for them without having to go into debt.

Have an emergency fund

In the event you don’t now have an emergency fund you need to start building one so you will have money available to pay for unanticipated expenses such as a serious illness, an auto accident or if you were to lose your job. Experts generally say you should have the equivalent of six months worth of living expenses banked and, of course, a year would be even better. If six months seems out of reach try for the equivalent of at least three months of your living expenses.

Live within your means

By the time you hit 30 you should know how to live within your means but be able to also enjoy life. You should know your priorities or what it’s worth spending money on and how to save in other areas to pay for those guilty little pleasures like your morning latte. It’s acceptable to splurge on yourself periodically so long as you’re cutting costs aggressively on other items. And understand that what other people are skipping on may not be anything you would want to give up.

Automate your finances

By now, you should know about automating your finances. For example, you should be sending a part of your paycheck automatically to your savings account every month so that you’re paying yourself first. If you’ve already built up a fairly nice emergency fund, you might send the money to your broker for investing. The simple fact is that most people don’t miss the money when it’s taken out of their paycheck before they ever see it. This just makes saving money a lot easier.

Max out your 401(k)

You should now be maxing out or at least meeting your employer’s match for your 401(k). When your employer matches your contribution to your 401(k) this is like free money and many financial experts say it’s the average person’s best friend. The money you put into a 401(k) is pretax meaning that it doesn’t count against your income. If times get tough you could borrow against your 401(k) and when you pay back the money, you’re basically paying interest to yourself. Be aware that if you do borrow from your 401(k) you need to start paying back the money within six months or it will be treated as ordinary income and taxed accordingly. And of course, you will have to pay taxes when you begin withdrawing the money at age 70 ½. In the event your employer does not offer a 401(k) you should be putting money into a conventional IRA

Have a Roth IRA

The money you put into a conventional IRA is also pretax like a 401(k). But it’s good to also have a Roth IRA. The reason for this is that the money you put into it is treated as taxable income but it’s tax free when you begin withdrawing it.

Make a will

I understand that its tough to think about your death when you’re only 30 years old but accidents and illnesses do happen. Even if you’re single you need to have a will so that you will have control over what happens to your money and physical possessions. Of course, this is even more critical if you’re married and have children.

Prioritize and pay off your high-interest debt

If you still have high-interest debt you need to get to work paying it off. Most experts say that the best way to pay off high-interest credit card debt is by using a technique called snowballing. It’s where you prioritize your debts from the one with the lowest balance down to the one with the highest. You then focus on paying off the one with the lowest balance. When you get it paid off you will have “new” money available to begin paying off the card with the second lowest balance and so on. This is called snowballing your debt because as you get each one paid off, you should pick up momentum to pay off the next one just as a snowball picks up momentum as it rolls downhill. If you think this technique might help you, watch this video from Dave Ramsey for more information.

If you have federal student loan debt you can’t snowball it but you could change repayment programs so that you would have better terms and lower monthly payments.

You were probably put in 10-Year Standard Repayment after you graduated from school. This means you have a fixed term of 10 years and fixed monthly payments. Another program such as Graduated Repayment or Pay As You Earn Repayment could be a better option. If you would like to know more about these options go to the website https://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/understand/plans.

Improve your credit score

Like it or not, that little three-digit credit score is what rules your credit life. It was invented by a company that was then known as Fair Isaac Corporation but is now simply FICO. If you don’t know your FICO score you can get it on the website www.myfico.com. You can also get it from any of the three credit reporting bureaus – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion or from an independent source such as CreditKarma.com. If you find that you have a low credit score of, say, less than 600 you need to get to work to improve it. One of the components that make up your score is your debt-to-credit ratio. This is calculated by dividing your debt by the total amount of credit you have available. For example, if you have total credit card limits of $10,000 and have charged $2000, your debt-to-credit ratio would be 20%, which would be very good. If you find your ratio is above 40%, you will need to either pay down some of your debts or get your credit limits increased. Do this and your credit score should improve at least somewhat. Beyond this, you need to check your credit reports to see what’s dragging down your score. If you have missed payments, skipped payments or defaulted on payments, you will need to get to work to correct these issues.

Know something about negotiating

It’s important to be able to negotiate successfully over things such as salary and with service providers. By now you should at least understand the elements of how to negotiate successfully.

Have read a few books

Finally, by the time you reach age 30 you should have read a couple of books about personal finance. Two of the best of these are Your Money Or Your Life and Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover.

Do you qualify for debt consolidation?

National Debt Relief
National Debt Relief

National Debt Relief is one of the largest and best-rated debt settlement companies in the country. In addition to providing excellent, 5-star services to our clients, we also focus on educating consumers across America on how to best manage their money. Our posts cover topics around personal finance, saving tips, and much more. We’ve served thousands of clients, settled over $1 billion in consumer debt, and our services have been featured on sites like NerdWallet, Mashable, HuffPost, and Glamour.

Follow National Debt Relief: Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin

Primary Sidebar

Consolidate Your Debt!
Find out how NDR could help.
  • Get one low monthly payment
  • Avoid bankruptcy
  • Get out of debt in 24-48 months
Get Your Free evaluation
Free Debt Consolidation Quote
By clicking "Get Free Quote", you agree that the phone number you are providing may be used to contact you by National Debt Relief (including autodialed and prerecorded calls, as well as text/SMS messages). Msg. and data rates apply, and your consent to such contact is not required for purchase.
 Trusted By Our Clients

"..."

Moderate National Debt Relief Caller: Charlotte Transcribed WE 1/17/2021 Charlotte: I am calling because I wanted to ask a few quick questions about your experience with National Debt Relief [unclear 0:00:27]. JOSE: It’s good. Charlotte: Now before I begin, I have to let you know that our call is recorded. Can you tell me what actually made you decide to work with [unclear 0:00:40] National Debt Relief as opposed to other providers? JOSE: Good. Charlotte: What made you decide to work with National Debt Relief, as opposed to other debt relief companies? JOSE: Aside from your reviews, I’m guessing the success of the reviews. Charlotte: Tell me about the service and the program that National Debt Relief signed you up for? JOSE: I was able to collect all my debt into one chunk and then pay it off. Also was able to get settlements lower than what the balance was. Charlotte: How easy or difficult would you say the enrollment process was? JOSE: It was pretty simple. It wasn't difficult at all. Charlotte: Now is there anything about the process that you feel could have been improved? JOSE: Not at all. I think everything went smoothly. Charlotte: Perfect. Can you give me a little feedback on your experience with your negotiator? What did you think about your negotiator? JOSE: Negotiator was really firm and fair. Charlotte: Do you happen to remember the name of your negotiator by chance? JOSE: I do not, actually. Charlotte: Okay. Is there anything about that representative stood out [unclear 0:03:04] at all? JOSE: No, not at all. Charlotte: Perfect. How comfortable did you feel working with the negotiator through this process? JOSE: Very comfortable. Charlotte: Perfect. So if you had any questions or concerns, how did the negotiator work with you to resolve any questions or concerns that may have arisen? JOSE: At this point, I really didn't have any concerns at all. So, I mean, been doing a great job. Charlotte: Awesome. So if you were gonna rate your experience with National Debt Relief so far, on a scale of maybe one to five, and five would be that you would recommend to friends and one is you were pretty dissatisfied, how would you rate them? JOSE: Is 5 the highest? Charlotte: Yes, 5 is the very highest. JOSE: Okay. Then we’ll go with 5. Charlotte: Would it be okay if I posted your comments as a review on our public web site for National Debt Relief? JOSE: Yes. Charlotte: I will also send over a link so that you can have it as a record for yourself as well. And I have you at salvipride673@gmail.com. JOSE: Yes. Charlotte: How did National Debt Relief work with you as far as setting up a payment [unclear 0:04:45]? JOSE: They did pretty good. Like I said, I have no complaints at the moment. Charlotte: How comfortable were you with the amount that you were paying? JOSE: Very comfortable. Charlotte: Perfect. Now as far as your thoughts on the cost in relation to the quality of service you received at National Debt Relief, what would you say about that? JOSE: The service team was all right. Charlotte: Now if you were going to rate your experience on a one to five, five is that you would recommend to friends and one is you're pretty dissatisfied, how would you rate them? JOSE: 5. Charlotte: Perfect. Would it be okay if I posted a few of your comments to our website? JOSE: Yes. Charlotte: Now if a friend or a family member were asking you about National Debt Relief, what would you say? JOSE: Really great people to work with. Very quick and easy, very responsive, no issues. Really makes you feel like they’re there for you. So not a scam at all. Charlotte: Perfect. Now about where are you in the process at this point? JOSE: I've already had two creditors resolved already. Pretty happy about that. Charlotte: And of course, our call is recorded.

Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating

Jose Perez
ConsumerAffairs Reviews

Latest Personal Finance Posts

  • How To Set Realistic New Year Money Goals
  • What Types of Accounts Do Banks Offer?
  • 5 Easy Tips On How To Build Wealth With Low Income
  • What Are The Benefits Of A Virtual Bank Savings Account?
  • Can I Combine All Bills Into One Payment?
National Debt Relief, LLC BBB Business Review AFCC Top Ten Reviews Gold Top Consumer Reviews Consumers Advocate Trust Pilot
Company
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Corporate
  • Privacy Policies
  • Terms Of Site
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap
Products
  • Debt Relief
  • Credit Card Debt Relief
  • Debt Consolidation
  • Debt Settlement
  • Calculators
  • FAQs
Debt Resources
  • Credit Card Debt
  • Medical Debt
  • Personal Loan Debt
  • Unemployment
  • Divorce Debt
  • Retiree Debt
  • Veteran Debt
  • Business Debt
  • Personal Finance
Follow Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

© 2021, National Debt Relief, All Rights Reserved.

Disclaimer
Disclaimer
Disclaimer