Baby Steps: Financial Moves for Every Decade of Life
Recently, my husband and I took care of our 12-month old granddaughter while our daughter and son-in-law took a much-needed vacation together. When they dropped her off, their parting words were, “She is almost ready to walk, but make sure she waits until we get home!”
Famous last words… Of course, as soon as they left the house, she was trying to walk – literally everywhere. And after about 24 hours she was taking her first baby steps. By the time they arrived back three days later, she was walking (a little unsteadily but walking none-the-less) and was very proud of herself. Great strides in just a few days but predicated on all of the trial and error and lessons learned in the months before.
Financial planning is a little like this. You’ll make mistakes along the way – everyone does. But you will do a lot of things right as well and the important thing to remember is that your financial health is based on doing the little things right, all along the way.
So, what should you be doing when you are 22, 52 or 72? Here are three important tips for each decade.