GUIDE TO

INVESTING
IN YOUR 30s

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INTRODUCTION
Your 30s can be a huge time of change, so we look at things to think about
when investing in one of your most important decades
CHARLIE HUTCHENCE
Investment Writer
Whether it’s a new mortgage, travelling or even starting a family,
your thirties can be a decade that is filled with some of your
biggest life changes.
As your life and often your priorities change, a solid financial
foundation can help you feel less overwhelmed. It’s a good time
to start saving strategies and be serious about your money.
In this guide we look at what we think are the most important
things you should focus on when it comes to your money.
This guide is not advice. If you need personal advice about
investing, please let us know and we’ll put you in touch with
an adviser.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
This guide is written for clients who like to make their own
investment decisions, it is not personal advice. If you have
any doubts about the suitability of an investment for your
own circumstances please seek advice. All stock market
investments can fall in value as well as rise, so you could
get back less than you invest and you should regard
them as long-term investments. All information is correct
at 10/10/22. This publication is issued by Hargreaves
Lansdown Asset Management Ltd, One College Square
South, Anchor Road, Bristol, BS1 5HL who is authorised
and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
October 2022
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HERE’S SOME
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
MAKE A PLAN
The first thing to do in your thirties to start your investment
journey is to make a plan. It’s easier to reach your goals
when you know what they are, and have a clear plan to get
there. These could be short-term goals like planning for kids
or buying a house, but also longer-term goals such as your
retirement. Whatever they are, have a think about it and
work out how you aim to get there.

Once you’ve figured out your goals, look at if you are

currently on track and if there is any space to save more or if
you can cut down on any current unnecessary expenses.

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PAY OFF DEBTS
The first thing in your plan should be, if you can, to make
sure to pay off any existing debt (excluding long-term
lending such as a mortgage and student loans) you may
have accrued in your twenties. The sooner you do this, the
better you can focus on saving for your future.

To do this, you should stick to any debt-repayment plans

you might have made and if you can, see if you can increase
your repayment – for example, getting a work bonus could
go towards paying a credit card bill or paying off finance on
a sofa you bought last year.

This is also a good place to start being mindful of credit card

spending, being sensible with your use and only borrow
what you can afford to pay back People often want to know
which investments will lead them to more money or financial
freedom, but often paying off credit cards or high-interest
loans will be a more certain path than hoping their returns
from investments will get them where they want.

Find out more by reading how to keep on top of debt here.

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CASH IS KEY – GET YOUR
EMERGENCY FUND SORTED
Once you’ve paid off any existing short-term debts, we’d
recommend that if you don’t have one already, you should
look to build up an emergency fund.

In general, we recommend having 3-6 months cash (i.e.

what you would typically spend across those months) put
aside “just in case”. This could be for something like a job
loss, unexpected home repairs or any other unforeseen cost
that may arise.

It’s also worth noting that having some cash is important in

your saving strategy. Generally speaking, we recommend
that if you’re saving up for something that is less than five
years away (a wedding or a new car – for example) then you
should consider cash savings rather than investing.

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START INVESTING
REGULARLY – AND NOW
If you’ve paid off debts and got your emergency fund
sorted, it could be the right time to focus on investing.
Even if you put off investing in your twenties due to paying
off student life, your 30s are where you need to start putting
money away. Basically, you’re still young enough to reap the
rewards of compound interest, but old enough to hopefully
be considering investing or saving at least a small part of
your income. This amount will depend on you and
your circumstances.
History has typically shown that steady investors are more
likely to outperform even those who sit on the side lines
waiting for market dips. There’s an old adage which states
that time in the market is better than timing the market. And
there’s a good reason for that - market timers can’t make
use of that snowball effect if their money isn’t in the market
to begin with, whereas regular investors can.
Time really is money so if you haven’t started this and
you have the capacity to do so – even with something like
£25 per month – do it. The harsh reality is that today’s 30
somethings have a tough task – we often can’t control how
much we earn but we can control when we start investing.
As the saying goes, the best time to invest was 50 years
ago, the second-best time is today.
It’s important to also note that if you’re thinking of investing,
we’d recommend that you aim to invest for at least five
years to benefit from having your money in the stock market.
Having your money invested for five years can reduce the
risk of the value of your investments being affected by
short-term market volatility.
COMPOUND INTEREST/COMPOUNDING
Compounding is the process in which an asset’s or
investments’ earnings, from either capital gains or
income, are reinvested to generate additional earnings
over time.
This is often referred to as the “snowball effect”.
FIND OUT MORE
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How do I start investing regularly?
One of the best ways to start saving and investing could
be through a Stocks and Shares ISA, a tax-efficient
investing account.

You can invest up to £20,000 a year (that’s across all ISAs, so

if you have another one you pay into, bear this in mind) and
any potential growth will grow free of UK income and capital
gains tax. But do remember the value of your investments can
fall as well as rise so you could get back less than you put in.
Tax rules can change and any benefits will depend on your
personal circumstances.

There are other accounts you could use to invest, so it’s worth
exploring them before deciding which one is right for you.

FIND OUT ABOUT OTHER ACCOUNTS

NEW TO INVESTING?
And not sure where to start? Get to grips with
the basics.

READ MORE

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INVEST IN
YOUR FAMILY
The average age to start a family in the UK is 31 for
women and 34 for men. That means your 30s is not only
an expensive time for your family, but its also a great
Invest as little as
opportunity to give your little ones a step on the savings
ladder and a boost to their savings when they are in their
20s or 30s themselves.

A great way to do this is by setting up a child’s savings

account. This could be in a Junior ISA.

A Junior ISA works in the same way as an adult ISA, except

the annual subscription limit is £9,000. Money in the account
belongs to the child, but they can’t usually withdraw it until
they turn 18 – except in exceptional circumstances.

You can start saving for your child with as little as £25
per month with HL, and although a parent must set up
the account, others, such as grandparents, are able
to contribute.
per month
MORE ABOUT SAVING FOR CHILDREN

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CONSIDER YOUR FINANCES WHEN TAKING TIME
OFF WORK
Planning for parental leave is something to be considered in
your 30s and when looking at your long-term saving and
investing goals.
If one or both parents are planning to take a significant time
out from work on reduced pay (current UK laws allow up to
one year of parental leave) then this can have a significant
reduction on earnings and therefore savings.
PROTECT YOUR FAMILY
With new family members come new responsibilities – so
protecting your family financially is something you should
also look at if you have or are planning to have children in
your 30s.
With things like hospitalisation,premature death, loss of
a job, unexpected home repairs or any other unplanned
expense, you should be thinking about how it can affect
your family and what you might do in those situations.
There are many ways you can prepare, like having an
emergency fund as mentioned above. But what you might
want to factor in is insurance.
There are several different types of insurance and cover
that might be right for your needs, even if it doesn’t involve
growing your family. Find out more in one of our guides on
how to protect your financial future.
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REVIEW
YOUR PENSION
Don’t neglect your pension – previous generations bought
houses much earlier than us, allowing them to get back to
pension saving earlier, too. That meant they had more time
for compounding than we’ll likely get. All the more reason to
think about our retirement savings alongside our other goals.
REVIEW YOUR PENSION
As circumstances change, you can easily increase, stop
or restart your contributions. If you find you’ve got a bit
of leeway in your plan to invest more into your pension,
it should be quite simple to add more. Just speak to your
employer or pension provider.
While you’re at it, you could always speak to your employer
about matching contributions. For example, if you up your
contributions by 5% a month, your employer may do the
same giving you a 10% increase overall.
SEE EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE
Being in your thirties, you’re likely to already have had a
number of jobs and you could easily end up with a dozen
or more pensions by the time you retire. Reviewing your
pension savings can be tricky and time consuming if you’ve
got different providers.
It might be easier to bring any old personal pensions into
one provider. Just be sure that if you transfer your pensions
to one company, you check what charges apply, if you will
be giving up any valuable benefits with your current provider
and that the pension plan you transfer to is as flexible
as possible.
It’s important to understand that pension transfers are
a complex area and may not be suitable for everyone.
Before going ahead with a pension transfer, we strongly
recommend that you take a look at your current pension and
the benefits, charges and features offered. You should also
check if there are any exit penalties for transferring away
from your current pension provider.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT INVESTMENTS FOR YOU
You might realise when looking at your pension that
you could do more with your investments and want to
choose where its invested yourself.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SELF
INVESTED PERSONAL PENSIONS
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SAVING FOR A HOUSE
The average age of someone buying a house in the UK is now
thought to be at least 31, so if you haven’t already started
saving for a home in your twenties, now is a good time to start
if it’s in your plan.
A good way to save for your first home is with a Lifetime ISA.
Anyone from age 18 can open a LISA, contribute up to £4,000
per tax year and receive a 25% bonus from the government.
This is a great way of adding to your savings – however if you
do want to withdraw the money for anything other than an
eligible house purchase or after age 60, you will usually also
pay 25% back to the government so you could get back less
than you put in, and if you have chosen to invest the money
that includes any added value of your investments if they have
risen in that time.
But if you do decide to keep your money in a Lifetime ISA to
save up for a home and you plan to save for five years or more,
it might be worth having a Lifetime ISA you can invest with.
Since the government bonus is paid straight into your
Lifetime ISA, you can choose what you would like to do with
it. This could mean if you invest the bonus alongside the
money you’ve already saved, you can keep any returns you
make on these investments free of UK income and capital
gains tax. Remember though, investments can fall as well
as rise in value, so you could get back less than you put in
and tax rules can change and their benefits depend on your
personal circumstances.
It’s important to note that eligible house purchases with
a Lifetime ISA are for homes under £450,000 and you
must have had your Lifetime ISA account open for at
least one year before making a purchase to keep your
government bonus.
You can also only open a LISA before age 40 (although you
can add money until age 50), so if buying your own house
is on your radar, its certainly worth considering opening an
account in your 30s.
MORE ON LIFETIME ISAS
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WHATEVER YOU DO,
START NOW
Time is a very valuable asset and in your 30s, you still have
it. The earlier you start determining your goals and then
preparing to reach them, the more time you’ll have to enjoy
your plans later in life.

GET STARTED

GET IN TOUCH
Call us: 0117 900 9000
(Monday – Friday, 8.30am – 5pm).

Email us: info@hl.co.uk

Write to us:
Hargreaves Lansdown
One College Square South
Anchor Road
Bristol
Issued by Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management.
BS1 5HL
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority

1022

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