THE IMPORTANCE OF INVESTING OUTSIDE OF YOUR 9-5 JOB IN YOUR 20’S + 30’S
Your 20s and 30s are full of building: building your career, building your income, and building your future.
And while most people stay focused on their now, the ones who create real freedom and wealth learn how to build ownership for their future.
This is where investing outside of your 9-5 comes in.
Whether you’re early in your career or a few years in, this is the time to start laying the foundation for a life and a legacy, not just a job.
In my few short years of investing in real estate, here is what I would say to anyone just starting out in the building phase:
1. Build your own life
Investing provides you the option to build your own life that working for someone else never will. And having options is the stuff that people would kill for in their older years.
The option to take time off and travel, the option to be able to afford hospital bills for family, and the option to decide if you even want to work. While investing in your 20s and 30s means that your younger years are spent differently than your friends (you’re not going out all the time, you’re not spending your money on frivolous things), you are making a conscious decision to build a life you will be proud of now, as well as decades from now.
Real freedom comes from creating options, options come from ownership, and ownership comes when you decide, “I’m going to build something for me, not just work for someone else”.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my later years to be spent relying on a boss for a paycheck. I want to do what I can now to create a life that includes what matters the most to me later.
2. Build your streams
We’ve been taught that if you have a job with benefits, you’re doing well, and you might be. But one paycheck, no matter how good, still means you’re one phone call away from starting over. This can be a fragile situation, especially with the rise of AI and job cuts.
Building streams means starting small, whether you invest in a few stocks or decide to purchase a primary residence that eventually turns into a rental. Eventually, it will have the legs to become a stream of additional income and provide you with equity outside of your 40-hour work week.
3. Build your momentum
These years you’re given now are precious because it’s the time that most people have the most energy and time. Whether you’re single, dating, or married without kids, you have the energy and time to work long days and do what you need to do to save and invest in a future.
The more you get rolling, the more momentum you create. And the more momentum you can create in your finances and investing, the more you can build your future.
4. Build by starting small, but start now
You don’t need six figures in the bank to start investing. You don’t even need to have it all figured out, you just need to get serious about where your time, energy, and money are going.
Cut what you don’t need.
Learn something every day.
Start a side hustle.
Save with purpose.
Get in the room with people who are building what you want.
Maybe you can’t buy a house tomorrow, but can you move home and save for a down payment this year? Maybe you can’t quit your job, but can you freelance on the side and invest that income? Maybe you can’t start a business yet, but can you start learning how now?
Your future is built with the decisions you make now, not later.
Investing in your 20s and 30s will give you confidence, direction, and ownership. You don’t need to wait until you’re older, you don’t need to have it all figured out, you don’t need to wait to be married.
Start where you are and use what you have. Build something that pays you back later, build a life that doesn’t depend on a job title, and build the freedom you say you want now.
x, LG Curry