What You Should Know in Your 30s - Ultimate Guide to Adulting

While there are many milestones in our lives - sweet 16, being 18 and leaving home, age 21 where most enter the workforce for the first time -, entering 30 (the Big 3) is universally feared occasion. Carrie Bradshaw famously said in Sex and the City 2, "Enjoy yourself. That's what your 20s are for. Your 30s are to learn the lessons. Your 40s are to pay for the drinks." Your 30s are when you start to figure out who you really are on a deeper level after all of the trials and errors in your 20s.

Now we are not saying you should delay becoming a mature adult until your 30th birthday; our society would not function if we acted like irresponsible and carefree children for the first 30 years of our lives on this earth.

But since entering 30s is a significant turning point, here are some not-so-scary life advice for those graduating from young adults to become mature ones.

Pay Attention to Your Health and Eating Habits

No, your body does not fall apart as soon as you hit that 30 year mark. However, it is true that your metabolism starts to slow down and your body shows noticeable changes, requiring you to pay more attention to what you consume and how you expend energy. Gone are the days where could eat 3 slices of pizza and french fries at 3 am every weekend and never worry about what it'll do to your body. Those habits will cost you in your 30s.

It's all about expending more energy than you consume. Use easy apps such as MyFitnessPal to track what you eat each day and try to get minimum 8,000 steps per day.

In addition, age 30 is normally when women should be getting regular mammograms to minimise risk of breast cancer. It is recommended you also pay more attention to your body fat % (as well as your cholesterol number) and blood pressure.

Start Thinking about Retirement

How you choose and set up the superannuation fund in your thirties could have a long-lasting impact on your financial stability for the next few decades. Many do not understand retirement planning and thus often underestimate this important undertaking.

There are many aspects and factors to consider when comparing super funds such as performance and fees. It's worth doing some due diligence and ask your family members and other colleagues for advice.

Invest in Your Mental Health

If you haven't already taken advantage of some of the mental health benefits you have access to through your health fund, you should do so. Mental health is not something that you only think about when there are major tragic events happening in your life.

As you age and take on more and more responsibilities, your mind and body build up stress that if unaddressed could seriously damage your well-being down the road.

Investing in your mental health doesn't necessarily mean going to therapy. It could be meditation or keeping a journal or simply making a conscious effort to regularly feed your soul through joy-stoking activities such as traveling.

Make sure that your bed is well structured for optimal sleep temperature, firmness, and positioning. Memory foam mattress that is water and dust mite resistant is a must-have for an adult as consistently decent sleep affects our health, mood, weight, and productivity. So take mattress-shopping seriously (e.g., Ecosa vs. Sleeping Duck) and make sure you are limiting your bed to sleep-related activities only.

Explore Wealth Building Strategies

Ideally you would have started saving in your early 20s but 30s is a crucial juncture in your journey to expand wealth and prepare for major future events such as starting a family. If you haven't already, start thinking seriously about how you want to build and diversify your portfolio. There are platforms for mock trading if you want to practice before playing with real money.

In addition, 30s is when you start to have more disposable income. Many financial advisors warn thirty-year-olds not to fall into the trap of increasing the lifestyle costs with the increased salaries. Minimise your spending and leave more for saving and investing.

Successful people always have multiple sources of income. Now that you have good years of experience under your belt, explore what side hustles you can do to thicken your revenue stream.

Protect Your Skin

Entering 30s means you have to start thinking about ageing of your skin as it starts to lose collagen and elastin. Men or women, having a consistent skincare routine is critical if you want to preserve your youthful charm.

If you are one of those people who despise worrying about skincare, then just remember 2 things: Sunscreen and Moisturiser.

Photo by Briana Tozour on Unsplash