9 Life-Changing Financial Tips Everyone Should Know Before 30

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As a wealth adviser, I’ve worked with multi-millionaires, people with overdrawn accounts and vast amounts of debt, and everyone in between. In these last five years I’ve noticed a few distinct characteristics that separate the haves from the have-nots that I want to share. Let’s jump right in.

1. Business owners make the most money in the long run…. That’s probably not surprising, but it comes with a high price. Usually, most business owners start off very slow. It takes years and years to build a truly profitable business, but once they get over that hump, the sky is the limit in regards to income. Keep the faith.

2. People that work in sales have high earning potential… Medical sales, stock brokers, insurance brokers… pretty much any position that has the ability to earn commissions or bonuses can grow into a lucrative career over time. Even if a salesperson frequently switches jobs, typically they change to higher paying opportunities with greater payout potential as their careers mature.

The number one rule of budgeting: pay yourself first.

3. Just because someone makes a lot of money, doesn’t mean they keep a lot of money. Let’s face the facts, if you make over $1 million per year but you spend over $1 million a year, then you are broke. I’m talking about everyday bills as well as expensive cars, designer clothes, jewelry, fancy dinners — there’s plenty of ways to give your money away. The number one rule of budgeting: pay yourself first. Just because you’re making a lot of money now doesn’t mean you always will. Automatically transfer the amount you want to save each pay period into to a separate account, and the needless stuff will weed itself out.

Not-so-fun fact: According to a 2017 GoBankingRates survey, 57% of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts, and 39% have no savings at all. That’s insane!

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