3 ways to invest in your 30s

Your 30s can be an empowering time; a time when you may find yourself building valuable career experience, exploring financial independence, and learning lessons from youthful mistakes that now thankfully reside in the rear-view mirror.

Living your best life now? You can put that in the ‘win’ column.

But what about tomorrow? Next year? Or 30 years from now?

Securing your financial future isn’t only for peace of mind. It’s for the actual logistics of living your best life once you retire.

If you’re eager to rack up the wins in the decades to come, here are some ways you can think about investing in the now.

1. Robo-Advising

   If you haven’t heard about robo-advising, you can rest easy because it doesn’t involve actual robots that become sentient and take over the world (not yet anyway).

   Instead, imagine an online platform designed to select investments in place of a financial advisor. These selections result from intricate algorithms based on Nobel-Prize-winning investment theory models. Just fill out a questionnaire and the robots do the rest.

   If you’ve already got a Nobel Prize you might not be impressed. For now however, let’s assume the prize still eludes you; are you intrigued by the virtual approach to risk vs. return? And do you consider financial advising fees to be a roadblock?

   If you’re nodding your head ‘yes’, then robo-advising could be a convenient way for you to start investing while saving money in the process.

2. No-Fee Bank Accounts

   Money used in the short-term is often overlooked in terms of building your long-term future, yet what you save by avoiding hidden fees can have a sizeable impact over time.

   As easy banking apps are becoming the latest life hack, the costs of maintaining multi-function accounts can unknowingly rise; Interac e-transfers^®, pre-authorized billing, electronic funds transfers and the list goes on. The time you save with more options is value-added to your life, but why should it come at a price?

   Have a closer look at your bank account to see where you might be losing money. Better yet, look into a no monthly fee high interest savings account so you can get more growth potential from your day-to-day balance.

3. RRSPs

   It’s the elephant in the room. The thing you keep putting off while you sip piña coladas on a white sandy beach.

   Sounds dreamy. But what about the beaches you’ll want to unwind on when you retire?

   It’s time to eliminate the awkward silence between your current and future self, and coming up with a personalized RRSP plan is a great way to do it. You can start by determining the lifestyle you’d be comfortable with in retirement, seeing if your employer makes matching contributions, and figuring out how much you’ll need when the big day comes.

   A handy RRSP calculator can help you simplify the math, and once that magic number is tattooed onto your brain, you’ll do everything in your power to reach it.

   Monthly contributions, diversified investments, reinvesting some (or all) of your tax returns – there are a number of different ways to use RRSPs to build your future.

No matter which method of investing you decide to focus on, by taking some action now you’ll be able to step into the future you’ve always aspired to, while having the security to handle whatever comes your way.

No time like the present (you can thank you later).