Recent research has found that people in their 30s are half as wealthy as those in their 40s when they were the same age, signalling a drop in wealth levels. This has made it harder to afford houses, led to lower pension levels and made it harder to save up.
In the short term at the very least, Brexit is also set to force down the standard of living for most people as huge drops in £GBP is leading to higher food and fuel prices. Many economists believe that a sustained devaluation of our currency will lead to interest rates increasing (to reverse money flows), which will also push up people’s mortgage repayments.
The report also found that people in their 30s now will struggle to amass wealth in the future too. In order to tackle these dropping levels in wealth and manage to live a more comfortable lifestyle, there are a number of actions which can be taken.
While a lot of the circumstances which have resulted in falling levels of wealth are not down to individuals in their 30s themselves, by budgeting better they can improve their own situation. Review your incomings and outgoings, identifying areas that can be cut back on to help draw up a budget. This can be used to plan savings into the future and a way to increase personal wealth with a few small sacrifices, as long as the budget is stuck to.
There are many more investment opportunities open to people in their 30s now compared to ten or more years ago. From the ease of investing in stocks and shares with the click of a button, to a booming property market, these can all be taken advantage of. More and more start-ups are appearing and performing well in stocks and shares, so another option is to find a promising new one to back and (hopefully) profit from its rising stock.
If you’re not that great at creating a budget and sticking to it yourself, or are worried about the future, consider consulting with experts such as Tilney. Speaking to an expert can help you form a plan to increase and safeguard your wealth into the future, while also ensuring you have enough to live comfortably today. Whether its retirement, financial independence, saving for children or more, financial planners can help.
Finally, people’s lives are a lot different from ten years ago, which could play a small part in changing wealth levels. Along with setting out a budget, assess your life and what you spend money on now that you didn’t one, two, five or ten years ago. There is bound to be some unnecessary costs that you can get rid of or make lifestyle changes to save financially. Either way, there are ways individuals can tackle dropping wealth levels themselves.
