By forty, people are generally established in their jobs and have found a house that they plan on living in for a while. You might have kids who are in school and you’re possibly thinking of sending them off to college. You might also be looking ahead toward retirement and wondering how to provide best for yourself when you reach that milestone. In your 40s, the stakes are a bit higher than they were in your 20s and you can’t make reckless financial decisions anymore. Luckily, there are plenty of tips you can find and lots of places you can turn to for help with your financial concerns.
Watch reckless spending
You’re probably making more money than you ever have previously, so while you might be tempted to spend it, it’s important to do so thoughtfully. Don’t eat out every night or buy a brand new car just because you can afford it right now. It’s also important to not upgrade your home or lifestyle more than you can actually afford. Evaluate what your spending limit is and live according to that.
Tackle your mortgage
Your forties are a great time to work on paying off your mortgage. By this time, you’ve likely paid off any student loans you may have accumulated when you were younger, so it’s time to pay off non-mortgage debt and try to make higher payments on your mortgage. The sooner you can truly own your home, the sooner you can enjoy the wealth you’ve accumulated and focus on making other purchases.
Get term life insurance
At this time in your life, it’s important to start thinking about how your family would manage if something happened to you. This consideration is especially important if you’re the main financial provider in the family. Term life insurance will cover the costs of your funeral and provide your family access to any assets you may have, so they don’t have to worry about these problems and will also be provided for.
Keep a watch on taxes
Now that you’re making more money, you’re likely in a higher tax bracket as well. It’s important that you keep an eye on your taxes and possible tax breaks that you can take advantage of, so you aren’t paying money that could be going toward something more useful, such as mortgage payments, retirement, or your family.
Reevaluate retirement
If you have various retirement accounts from different jobs, it’s a great time to look at these different accounts, see how they’re all doing, and investigate whether or not you can consolidate them or move money elsewhere. You may want to speak to a financial advisor about restructuring your retirement accounts so they can give you helpful insights.
