Financial Checklist for Your 30s: Growth & Stability

Your 30s often come with more responsibilities. Maybe you’re growing your career, starting a family, or thinking about buying a home. This is the decade to shift from building a foundation to actively growing and protecting your finances. You’re earning more now than you did in your 20s, which comes with more opportunities and financial bumps. 

Now’s the time to hone your budget, invest more intentionally, and protect your future with smart decisions. This is also when long-term goals like retirement and/or college funds start to feel more real. Let’s make sure your money is moving in the right direction with this checklist that you can refer back to!

1. Max Out Retirement Contributions (If Possible)

As your income grows, it’s time to increase your 401(k) and Roth IRA contributions to max if they’re not already. In 2025, the max is $23,500 for a 401(k) and $7,000 for a Roth IRA. You’ll never get this time back for the magic of compound interest, so try your best to max it out every year in your 30s.

2. Save for Big Life Goals

Whether it’s travel, a wedding, a home, or starting a family, start dedicating specific high-yield savings accounts for these goals to help you avoid using your Emergency Fund. And it’s not like you have to open a brand new account every time, either. Your current high-yield savings account should have the ability to create new buckets or “goals” so that you can easily move money back and forth. 

Read more: How to Save $1,000 Fast

3. Continue Investing Consistently

Stay strong on your long-term investing strategy based on your goals and risk tolerance. Investing the same amount regularly, regardless of whether the market is up or down, is the smartest way to avoid emotional investing. Also known as dollar-cost averaging (DCA), it lets you to stay invested for the long run, even when news headlines shout doom and gloom.

Read more: Beginner’s Guide to Investing

4. Review & Adjust Budget

When you add up costs like car payments, daycare, or a mortgage, your expenses will likely increase in this decade compared to your 20s. Regularly review your budget and cut down on those that no longer fit or serve your purpose and lifestyle!

Read more: 10 Tips for Budgeting

5. Get Proper Insurance

Your health insurance should be solid, and if you have dependents, now’s the time to get life insurance. You can also consider disability insurance, which protects your income if you’re unable to work.

6. Create a Will and Estate Plan

It’s easy to put this off but the sooner you do it, the better! Designate beneficiaries, name guardians if you have kids, and set up a simple will or trust to avoid probate, which can be a lengthy court process for distributing your property and assets. The difference between a will and a trust? A will lets you name guardians for your kids, but only a trust can bypass probate. Wills tend to be simpler and cheaper and take effect upon death, while a trust is more expensive but takes effect while you’re still alive.  Some people use both a will and trust to cover all their bases.

7. Open 529 Plans for Your Kids

You can open a 529 Plan for your kids as early as when they get their Social Security number to start saving for their college tax-free. Start contributing early and consistently, even if it’s small because the longer that money is invested, the more time it has to grow with compound interest. The earnings will grow tax-deferred, and withdrawals are tax-free when used for qualified education expenses!

529 Plans can also be opened for anyone, even if unrelated to you, and can have more than one plan under their name. It can be a friend’s child, a relative’s child, or even yourself if planning for any future education. And anyone can contribute to the established 529 account.

8. Keep Building Your Emergency Fund

When your income and expenses rise, increase your emergency fund to reflect it. Most likely you’ll need to aim for 6 months or more of expenses at this point.

So if your expenses are $5,000 a month, you’ll need at least $30,000 in your emergency fund.

The Money Move

Your 30s remain a crucial decade for establishing and stabilizing your financial foundation for your future self. Maxing out retirement accounts and re-evaluating your budgets can make all the difference to becoming financially independent earlier than later if you don’t foresee yourself working until your mid-60s. Don’t miss out on these important growth years because this is time you’ll never get back!