You may find yourself juggling a lot financially in your 30s, like purchasing a home, switching jobs, and even having children.



“The greatest thing is to have options, and when you establish a good [financial] plan in your 30s and work that plan, it allows you to build those options for your 40s,” says Leslie Thompson, a chartered financial analystand the founder of Spectrum Management in Indianapolis.



Here are four money moves you can make in your 30s that experts say can leave you wealthier in your 40s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">1. Update your emergency fund</h2>



Financial planners suggest you aim to build an emergency fund that can cover three to six months’ worth of living expenses. You may have started this effort in your 20s, but in your 30s, it’s time to revisit your savings goal. As your expenses increase, so should your emergency fund.



While you’re evaluating your emergency fund, reconsider where you’re keeping it. Experts recommend putting money for a rainy day in a savings account, or another easily accessible account.



More from Grow: <a href="https://grow.acorns.com/why-keeping-a-100-bill-in-your-wallet-can-curb-spending/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Why you should always keep a $100 bill in your wallet</a><a href="https://grow.acorns.com/items-you-should-rent-not-buy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">3 items that can be a better value to rent, not buy</a><a href="https://grow.acorns.com/side-hustles-you-can-do-from-anywhere/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">4 side hustles you can do from anywhere (that pay up to $85 per hour)</a>



Look for accounts offering high-interest yields, but note that savings account interest rates can vary widely: The national average is <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://smartasset.com/checking-account/average-savings-account-interest" target="_blank">0.09%</a>, according to SmartAsset, but some high-yield savings accounts offer as much as <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/rates/" target="_blank">2.55%</a>, according to Bankrate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">2. Prepare to buy a home</h2>



A home is the biggest purchase most people will ever make, so it’s good to start planning early. First steps:&nbsp;<a href="https://grow.acorns.com/2-ways-to-check-your-credit-score-for-free/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">monitoring your credit score</a>&nbsp;and saving for a down payment.



“The higher your [credit] score, the lower your interest rate will likely be” on your mortgage, says Thompson. Aim for a score of&nbsp;<a href="https://grow.acorns.com/the-credit-score-you-need-to-get-the-best-rate-on-a-mortgage/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">760 and above</a>&nbsp;to get the best interest rate on a 30-year fixed loan, which could save you&nbsp;<a href="https://grow.acorns.com/the-credit-score-you-need-to-get-the-best-rate-on-every-kind-of-loan/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">thousands&nbsp;</a>in interest over the lifetime of your loan.&nbsp;<a href="https://grow.acorns.com/matt-schulz-shares-3-ways-to-boost-your-credit-score/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Improving your score</a>&nbsp;takes time, but moves like paying bills on time and keeping balances low can help.



Then set a savings goal for your down payment. Experts typically recommend <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://grow.acorns.com/how-much-money-you-actually-need-to-put-down-to-buy-a-home/" target="_blank">aiming for 20%</a>, although the median is 7.6% — and you may qualify for certain mortgages that let you put down as little as 3%, or nothing. To prepare for the purchase, set up <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://grow.acorns.com/set-up-automatic-bill-payments/" target="_blank">automatic</a> saving contributions. “Saving up for a down payment can make your mortgage more manageable, and perhaps allow you to buy a more expensive home,” she says.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">3. Get—and stay—on track for retirement</h2>



Having a solid foundation for retirement is “the single best move” you can make, says Stephen O’Hara, a certified financial planner and vice president of Wealth Enhancement Group based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He says the best way to get ahead on retirement savings is by&nbsp;<a href="https://grow.acorns.com/what-is-a-401k-match/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">maximizing your employer 401(k) match</a>, ifyou have a job thatoffers one.



By the time you’re 30, Fidelity <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/23/how-much-money-americans-have-in-their-401ks-at-every-age.html">recommends</a> having a retirement fund that’s equal to your starting salary. By age 35, your retirement savings should be <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/12/how-much-money-to-have-saved-by-age-35.html">twice your annual salary</a>. While that benchmark is just a guideline, it can help you gauge if you should be boosting your contributions. In general, a good retirement contribution target is 15% of your annual salary.



The difference annual increases can make



Automatically adding 1% to your 401(k) contribution each year can make a big difference by the time you retire.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="418" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/grow-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-355714" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/grow-1.png 600w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/grow-1-300x209.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/grow-1-100x70.png 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></figure>



<a href="https://grow.acorns.com/how-to-save-for-retirement-when-you-dont-have-a-9-5/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">If you don’t have a workplace retirement account</a>, you can explore different options like&nbsp;<a href="https://grow.acorns.com/how-an-ira-can-help-you-grow-your-wealth-and-retire-comfortably/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">opening an IRA</a>, says O’Hara. “Each time you experience a pay raise, try to raise what you’re putting away [for retirement],” he says. If you can’t put in 15% of your annual salary initially, then try increasing your&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/23/how-much-money-americans-have-in-their-401ks-at-every-age.html">contribution by 1%-2%</a>&nbsp;every year until you get there.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">4. Balance your long-term financial goals</h2>



Your 30s can be full of big financial changes, so you’ll want to be mindful of how you spend and save money, says Thompson. The first thing you should do is look at your big-picture goals,and pick&nbsp;<a href="https://grow.acorns.com/money-lessons-everyone-should-know-by-age-30/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">three to focus on</a>.



Let’s say you want to buy a home, take an international trip with the whole family, and chip away at student debt. Start by calculating&nbsp;<a href="https://grow.acorns.com/how-to-make-a-personal-budget/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the amount you need&nbsp;</a>to put aside each month in order to achieve each goal by a target date. Then look at your bills, says O’Hara. By taking a hard look at your expenses, you can figure out where you’re overspending, and what areas, like dining out or entertainment, you may need to cut back on in order to stay on track to meet your goals.



“If you want to take a 10-day trip to Greece, you’re going to start looking at your happy hour bills and go, ‘This is not in alignment with meeting that goal,’” says O’Hara.



Though many people have a tendency to tackle financial goals one at a time, it makes sense to work on a few at once. “It all starts with putting those first dollars away,” and letting those savings habits build on each other, he says.



This article was first published on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/10/do-these-4-things-with-your-money-in-your-30s-to-be-richer-in-40s-finance-experts.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/10/do-these-4-things-with-your-money-in-your-30s-to-be-richer-in-40s-finance-experts.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Do these 4 things in your 30s if you want to be richer in your 40s, money experts say

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/kathleen-elkins/">Kathleen Elkins</a> 



Before wealth manager and author <a class="" href="https://davidbach.com/">David Bach</a> made his first million, he was a brand new financial advisor in his early twenties, he tells <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/make-it/">CNBC Make It</a>: “We had someone come and talk to our training class, and as he walked out the door, he handed us this chart.”



Ultimately, the chart “changed my life,” Bach says.



The chart shows two different scenarios:



<ol class="wp-block-list"><li>You start investing at 19 and contribute $2,000 to your account every year until you reach 27. From 27 to 65, you contribute $0.</li><li>From 19 to 26, you don’t invest anything. You start investing at 27 and contribute $2,000 to your account every year until you turn 65.</li></ol>



In the first scenario, you’re only saving and investing for eight years; in the second, you’re saving and investing for 39 years. Still, the person who starts at age 19 would end up with more money in their portfolio in the long run.



Assuming a 10% rate of return, the first person would have $1.02 million by 65, while the second person would have $805,185, a difference of more than $200,000.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/cnbc-picture-1110x539.png" alt="" class="wp-image-340296"/></figure>



As the chart shows, the sooner you can start putting your money to work, the more you’ll benefit from <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/11/how-compound-interest-works-and-how-it-can-help-you-save-money.html">compound interest</a> and the less you’ll have to save to reach your retirement goals.



In terms of where to set aside your dollars, “You have to have this money invested for growth,” Bach says. “You cannot put this money in a money market account or a CD, where it grows at 1% or 2%. You’ll never build wealth.” Instead, Bach recommends putting your money to work in a tax-advantaged&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/09/definitive-guide-to-retirement-savings-accounts.html" class="">retirement account</a>, such as a 401(k), Roth IRA or traditional IRA, where it will grow over time.



Retirement-specific accounts offer tax benefits, but there are other ways to invest your money: You can look into low-cost&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2014/05/06/what-is-an-index-fund.html" class="">index funds</a>, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/14/index-funds-are-the-smartest-way-to-invest-your-money.html" class="">Warren Buffett recommends</a>, and online investment platforms, such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ellevest.com/" class="">Ellevest</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.betterment.com/" class="">Betterment,</a>&nbsp;known as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/13/man-vs-machine-how-to-figure-out-if-you-should-use-a-robo-advisor.html" class="">robo-advisors</a>.



No matter how you choose to invest, the most important step is to open at least one account and start contributing to it consistently.



“Start investing today,” says Bach. “Because the miracle of compound interest starts working the day you put it in place — but the key to compound interest is that it takes decades. It doesn’t get done in days. When you try to get rich quickly, you stay poor forever. This is about building wealth for your lifetime.”



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/08/self-made-millionaire-david-bach-a-chart-changed-the-way-i-think-about-money.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/08/self-made-millionaire-david-bach-a-chart-changed-the-way-i-think-about-money.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

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Do these 4 things in your 30s if you want to be richer in your 40s, money experts say

Self-made millionaire: A simple chart changed the way I think about money

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financial goals

Do these 4 things in your 30s if you want to be richer in your 40s, money experts say

Self-made millionaire: A simple chart changed the way I think about money

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