What to Know About Money in Your Late 30s and 40s

The piece frames the late 30s and 40s as a career and family stage where income may be higher but financial planning still needs attention. It urges readers to keep building skills, maintain professional contacts, and invest with long time horizons while also addressing debt, health care, family conversations, and end-of-life documents.

Reading notes

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• Continue investing in your own skills so you stay useful in the job market over a career that may last another 25 to 30 years.
• Keep up a network of former colleagues and work contacts, since opportunities often come from people you know.
• Use the years of higher earnings to maximize retirement contributions, pay attention to fees, and keep long-term investments diversified and low-cost.
• Consider Roth accounts and taxable investment accounts as part of a goal-based investing plan.
• Rework debt repayment if student loans are still outstanding, and avoid adding more debt as retirement gets closer.
• Learn your health plan details, use preventive care, and compare HSAs, FSAs, deductibles, copays, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximums.
• Check that doctors and facilities are in-network when possible, especially for routine care.
• Talk with children about the value of money and with parents about their finances, retirement, health care costs, and housing.
• Make a will, name guardians and executors, and make sure spouses understand each other’s finances.
• Review life insurance options, especially if you have children, and still leave room to enjoy money on family time and other priorities.