Getting older is pretty incredible. And that’s not just our opinion — lately, on the HerMoney podcast, we’ve been talking to some amazing women who have shown us that getting old is actually a life-affirming experience.
We recently chatted with Tamsen Fadal on reinventing your career in your 50s. There was also Gwen Bounds, who took up Spartan Racing at age 47, and Bonnie Hammer who started a family in her 40’s. These women have shown us that there’s no timeline for accomplishing all of your dreams.
Many of us have financial goals we’d like to meet in every decade of our lives, and Michelle Singletary, personal finance columnist at the Washington Post, shares some of the ones we should be striving to achieve on our life journey.
In Your 20s & 30s: Time Is On Your Side — But Avoid Debt At All Costs
In our 20s and 30s, it can be really easy to prioritize the short term over the long term and overspend on things we don’t necessarily need, but the earlier you can start investing, the easier (and more stress-free!) your retirement will be. (This is just one of the reasons we encourage HerMoney readers to get started investing ASAP, and join our InvestingFixx club to learn the ins and outs of the stock market.) “Use time to your advantage,” Michelle Singletary says. “When you’re younger, save as quickly as you can, invest as soon as you can, not just for retirement, but invest to pay for the things that you want in the future.”
Additionally, one of the biggest mistakes many of us make when we’re young is taking on too much debt — particularly credit card debt. “I think in your 20s and 30s if you have a healthy hatred for debt, it will create an amazing amount of wealth for yourself, so develop that habit early,” Michelle Singletary says.
In Your 40s: Save First, Then Spend (And Avoid Lifestyle Creep!)
Ever heard of lifestyle creep? It’s that subtle shift when earning more leads to spending more. Maybe you start by making lunch at home, but suddenly, you’re ordering sushi twice a week. Michelle Singletary says lifestyle creep often “creeps in” when we hit our 40s.
If you’re concerned it might be happening to you, aim to save 15% of your paycheck for retirement right off the bat. This will help keep the rest of your finances in line. “You should be living on 70 or 80 percent of your income if you can,” Singletary says.“Now, a lot of Americans can’t, but there are a lot who can, and if you hit that 15% benchmark first before you add in all the other expenses, it’s just smooth sailing from there.”
In Your 50s: It’s Time to Supercharge Your Savings
By your 50s, you might have crossed some big expenses off your list—like helping your kids with college, buying a car, or relocating. Once those costs are out of the way, Singletary suggests it’s time to “supercharge your savings.” After getting her three children through college debt-free, Singletary and her husband did just that.
“We hadn’t been maxing out the annual limit that we could in our workplace plan, and so in our 50s, we were like, yeah, let’s supercharge this,” Singletary says. “And we are mortgage-free. That was our goal in our 50s, that neither one of us will retire with a mortgage. And we met that goal.”
Jean Chatzky, HerMoney’s CEO, also advocates for paying off your mortgage before retirement. She says she did it because “I don’t like debt. I don’t want the feeling of debt, knowing that this rock could be pulled out from under me. And perhaps that’s because when I got divorced, I was the one that moved and I never wanted to have to do that again.”
In Your 60s and Beyond: Prioritize Your Health and Financial Harmony
In your 60s, Singletary recommends a milestone that’s less about money and more about health. “I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t pay enough attention to my health in my 20s, 30s, or 40s,” she says. “I ran on empty all the time to make everything work in a day. And so I am paying for it now that I’m in my 60s.”
Focusing on sleep, exercise, and stress reduction isn’t only essential for enjoying retirement; it also helps reduce future healthcare costs. Singletary also suggests having regular financial check-ins with your partner in this decade. Since her husband is retired and she isn’t yet, for them that means having weekly sit-downs to go over what the next week will look like and what kind of expenditures they’ll have. By having frequent conversations, she doesn’t feel blindsided (or panicked) as they start to draw down their retirement savings.
Bottom Line: Embrace Every Decade as a Unique Financial Opportunity
Each decade brings its own financial rhythms and realities, but the true goal, as Michelle Singletary shares, isn’t just about meeting specific milestones — it’s about making money decisions that reflect who you want to become. Whether it’s building saving habits, avoiding lifestyle creep, or putting your own health first, each phase is a chance to redefine success. So, no matter your age, remember that financial well-being isn’t a finish line; it’s a lifelong journey.
MORE ON HERMONEY:
- Women Say They’re Less Confident With Money…But Maybe That’s Okay
- How To Manage Your Money: The Biggest Financial Mistakes of Your 20s, 30s, and 40s
- All About Emergency Funds (How Much, Best Accounts, Rules, and More)
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