3 Financial Moves to Make in Your 30s to Set the Stage for an Awesome Retirement

Key Points

• Your 30s are an important time to establish a retirement savings plan.

• Get into the habit of funding an IRA or 401(k), and choose your investments wisely.

• Pay off high-interest debt so it doesn't hold you back.

• The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook ›

If you're in your 30s, you may have a number of financial priorities -- and sources of stress. You may be dealing with expensive child care costs and a new mortgage at a time when you're trying to grow your career and beef up your salary.

But one of the most important things you can do in your 30s is focus on your retirement, despite it being many years away. Here are three essential moves that could really set the stage for long-term success.

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1. Fund your IRA or 401(k) consistently

You may have neglected your IRA or 401(k) for much of your 20s because you were trying to pay off your student loans and build an emergency fund. That's OK. But now that you're in your 30s, it's time to get into the habit of making steady retirement plan contributions.

A good rule of thumb is to try to set aside 15% to 20% of your salary for retirement savings purposes. If that's not attainable, set up a budget to figure out the maximum you can afford to contribute. And if you have a 401(k) plan, aim to contribute enough to snag your workplace match in full.

You can also pledge to save your raise for retirement every year, or to boost your IRA or 401(k) contribution rate by 1% to 2% per year -- whichever is easier. But the key is really to start making monthly contributions a priority.

2. Get rid of high-interest debt

If you owe money on credit cards, you're not alone. But any money you're forced to spend on interest is money you won't be able to save and invest for retirement. So the sooner you can shed your high-interest debt, the better.

One option you can look at is consolidating credit card balances into a personal loan with fixed monthly payments. That could not only lower the interest rate on your debt, but make it easier to pay it off sooner.

3. Develop an investing strategy

It's a great thing to contribute regularly to a retirement account. But you also need a solid investing strategy to grow your money through the years.

If you're investing for retirement in your 30s, it means you can afford to take on some risk in your portfolio, since you may not be using the money for roughly three decades. You should still diversify to minimize your risks, but you shouldn't be afraid to go heavy on stocks at this stage of life.

One easy way to invest in the stock market is to put your money into an S&P 500 index fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF). This effectively gives you exposure to the 500 largest publicly traded stocks by market capitalization, and it's an effective way to diversify without doing a lot of legwork.

The financial moves you make in your 30s could help determine what sort of retirement you have. Start saving steadily, shed high-cost debt, and create an investment strategy that allows you to grow your money over time. You'll be thankful for all of these things later on.

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