15 Mistakes You Make In Your 30s
Your 30s are a time of transition and change. You had 10 years of trial and error, and now it's time to get serious. These are 15 mistakes you can't afford to make anymore. Welcome to Alux.
Number one: Not thinking of retirement. Newsflash! If you only rely on your country to take care of you when you retire, you're going to have a bad time. One of the biggest mistakes you can make in your 30s is not saving enough for retirement. The time will start flying by really quick. Inflation goes even higher, and the cost of living goes higher again. You cannot afford to not have an exit strategy. This isn't your parents' world anymore. More than half of Millennials in the U.S. can't even afford to start a family, let alone think of retirement. It's time to take some things seriously.
Number two: Settling for a mediocre career. While it's true you can always reinvent yourself and try different things throughout your life, the older you get, the smaller that window of opportunity gets. That's the true reality. You've got more responsibilities, more people rely on you, and more to lose if things go south. You had your twenties to mess around and try things out, but once you hit 30, your interests change, and your expectation of life changes too. Mediocre should not be in your vocabulary. You can't hide behind work-life balance and use that as an excuse to do the bare minimum. You are 100% responsible for the life you build.
Number three: Not prioritizing your health. You could get away with this in your 20s, but in your 30s, your body may not be as resilient as it once was. You can't afford not to listen to it. It'll get harder and harder to get and stay in shape as you grow older. The sooner you start making this a priority, the better. But it's also not impossible to get fit when you're old, and people have done it. But they've done it because of the imminent threat of a literal death. We advise not getting to a point where you have to use that as your motivation. Be preventative about it; start taking care of your body, and your body will take care of you.
Number four: Not investing in your relationships. Contrary to popular belief, best friends are not necessarily for life. You can say that you've got friends you haven't spoken with in years, but you can still get together with no problem. But the reality is, those relationships will slowly fade away if you don't invest anything in them. When people get older and grown-up responsibilities start taking control of their life, they tend to take things for granted— their old friendships included. That's how you get people who only message each other on birthdays and other events. Send that DM, catch up with that friend, host a dinner party, be the one that brings people together. You'll find that relationships don't grow out of thin air; they need a lot of work, especially when you're an adult.
Number five: Stop adapting. One of the biggest mistakes you can make in your 30s is to stop adapting. Your twenties are for experimenting, trying new things, and figuring yourself out. You've got some ideas of who you are and what you're good at, but those ideas need to be polished and nurtured. The seed that you plant in your twenties needs to be taken care of, and some branches might need some pruning. If you fail to adapt to what life throws at you, you stop growing, and you get left behind.
Number six: Taking stability for granted. By 30, you've matured enough to be your own person. It's the first time in your life you see some stability. You can pay for yourself, you can take care of things, and life starts to make a bit more sense. Don't take this for granted. If you do, it'll all go downhill from here. Now it's time to start putting brick over brick and build the life you want to live. Stability is the first step out of many, not the last step. You have resources; you have the means to do things, so do them.
Number seven: Not investing in your personal growth. If your 20s are for investing in yourself as a person, your 30s are for investing in yourself as a functioning adult. You should have enough resources and self-respect to want to be a better version of yourself. Your 30s are for this exactly. The vast majority of people completely stop growing up once they get to a certain level they consider good enough. They stop learning, they stop reading, they stop being curious, and let their intellect go dormant. Your brain only stops developing if you stop using it.
So, never stop using it! Aluxer, download the Alux app today if you haven't already and join us, because there we compound knowledge every single day through daily lessons, learning packs, and upcoming collections. There's so much wisdom and value there that if you spend 10 minutes with us every day on the app, you essentially have a mentor in your life—someone to guide you toward your dream life and your success. Go to alux.com/app and get started today.
Number eight: Not investing in your financial education. If you're in your 30s and you don't know the difference between being able to pay for something and being able to afford something, then we're talking about you here. 30 is usually the age where people stop having non-entry-level jobs that pay peanuts, and the first thing they do is buy stuff they don't need with money they don't have. Credit card debt is going rampant; Millennials are over one trillion dollars in debt—more than any generation in history. We're not gonna lie, it's not looking very pretty out there. Financial education is still one of those topics that's kept on a surface level. Do your homework, Aluxer, and stop fooling around.
Number nine: Letting your pride get in the way. The worst thing you can do when going on a wrong path is to go full speed. Sometimes, even when you realize you've made a mistake, your pride won't let you disengage yourself from it. You don't want to be known as the one who made the mistake, so you commit to something you know is wrong for no reason at all—just to save face. It can be toxic relationships, shitty jobs, or moving to a place you don't actually like.
Number ten: Quitting too soon. By 30, you should know that anything worth having takes time to develop and grow. Pride will make you go full speed in the wrong direction, and quitting too soon will block you from ever knowing what direction to actually go in. It's a balance you need to figure out, and you need to expect some hardships along the way because they will happen. For example, if you make the decision to move to a new city because you know it'll be better for you, it's entirely possible for the first few months to feel awkward and lonely. You don't know anyone, you don't know how to get anywhere, and you feel overwhelmed. That's kind of to be expected, but let me tell you, it's temporary.
Number eleven: Not building a solid emergency fund. Having a financial cushion in the form of an emergency fund is crucial in the case of unexpected expenses, such as medical bills, car repairs, or sudden unemployment. The general recommendation is to have three to six months' worth of living expenses saved in an emergency fund. Neglecting to build this safety net could lead to financial stress and even debt in the case of emergencies. It's important to make saving for an emergency fund a priority in your 30s.
Number twelve: Neglecting to learn new skills. In today's fast-changing job market, it's important to keep learning new skills to stay relevant and competitive. Failing to do so could hinder your career growth in the long run. By investing in continuing education and training, you'll be able to stay up to date with the latest industry trends and technological advancements. Learning new skills will also help you to adapt to new changes in your career and improve your job performance.
Number thirteen: Not taking risks. Playing it safe can hold you back from reaching your full potential. While it's important to be responsible and make smart choices, taking calculated risks can lead to great rewards and personal growth. Whether it's starting a new business, pursuing a passion project, or taking on a challenging job opportunity, taking risks can help you discover new strengths, expand your comfort zone, and learn from your failures. It's important to assess the risks and rewards of any decision carefully, but don't let fear hold you back from taking a chance.
Number fourteen: Stop talking to your parents. Not many of you realize this, but once you turn 30, you've already spent most of the time with your parents that you ever will. So, some friendly advice: Give them a call more often because it'll mean the world to them. For most of their lives, their whole life purpose was to provide for you so you could go out into the world and be your own person. Once that's done, they've got nothing to do anymore. They don't know what to do with their time, so they're just waiting around and hoping that you'll send them a sign.
Number fifteen: Getting married to the wrong person. In our research, we found that the most common mistake people regret making in their 30s is marrying the wrong person. Whether they're afraid of saying no, or they fall to social pressure, or they just don't know any better, something always happens. Our advice is to keep this in mind: You are two people—the one who you are right now and the one you aspire to become in the future. You need someone who understands both of those people, and you need to do the same for them. So don't rush it, okay? There's no reason to get the government involved in your relationship.
We hope you found this video valuable, Aluxer. And as always, we've got a bonus for you: Playing someone else's game. Some people are still figuring it out well into their 30s, and others have done it sooner. But for you, it doesn't really matter. The only thing you should care about is playing your own game. As long as you can say that this year is better than your last year and next year will be better than this year, you're good to go. You'll be making mistakes countless times in your life; it just can't be avoided. But what you can do is take full responsibility for those mistakes and do your best to make up for them.
If you neglected your health a lot, be responsible, admit it, and do something about it. If your finances are a mess, be responsible, admit it, and do something about it. Most mistakes can be avoided, minimized, or easy to recover from if you've got enough self-respect to own them.
We'll see you back here again tomorrow, Aluxer. Take care! Thanks for spending some time with us today, Aluxer. We're so glad you did. If you found value in today's video, please give us a like, hit that bell icon to never miss an upload, and hey, don't forget to subscribe.