6 Valuable Life Lessons I Learned in My Early 30s

Insights and Advice on Finance, Health, Investing, Digital Presence, and Growth Skills

Life is a great teacher. Being in my early thirties, life has taught me valuable lessons that I should have been aware of in my young adult age. Nevertheless, I would like to share these valuable lessons with the current generation for their own future.

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1. Insurance

Term Insurance

The first and topmost priority of any person, once they start earning, should be to take term insurance. Term insurance is the financial security that we leave behind for our family and it tops the list of priorities. Earlier the term insurance is taken lesser is the premium amount to be paid. Decide on the insurance amount as per your needs and financial status. Never mix term insurance with other kinds of insurance like investment cum term insurance. Always remember term insurance is not an investment it is financial security.

Term Insurance Premium By Age.

Health Insurance

After securing the family the next objective is to take care of the health of the family. Coming from a middle-class family, I was reluctant to take health insurance because it was expensive for the income that I earned, and if there were no claims in that financial year it was money that never comes back. But I didn't take the risk and took the basic health insurance policy. Believe me, it helped me at many critical times and I embraced myself for taking it.

Photo by Bonnie Kittle on Unsplash

Over the years I learned about top-up health insurance policy which acts as a complement to the basic health insurance policy. Basic and top-up health insurance both have lower and upper limits eg basic health insurance's lower and upper limit is $0 - $3000 and top-up health insurance's lower and upper limit is $3000- $10000. Once our claim limit exceeds 3000$ let's say it is $5000 then we can claim $3000 from the basic health insurance and ($5000 - $3000) $2000 from the top-up health insurance.

We don't often claim for top-up health insurance as it has a higher lower limit. Hence for the fact, top-up health insurance is much more affordable. Work out the combination of lower and upper limits of the basic and top-up health insurance policy as per your needs. Even if a basic health insurance policy is not affordable take a top-up health insurance policy it will definitely help in critical times.

2. Health

"The first wealth is health" by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Health is critical to enjoying our life. Being health-conscious for me was on and off. Few months, I would be so dedicated, and in other months I would be ignorant. My body could feel the difference between when I am dedicated and when I am not. So I have managed to put in a constant effort over the years.

Check out my article on how I transformed myself in the year 2022

Looking Back at 2022. My Review of 2022 Goals | by Ethiraj Srinivasan | ILLUMINATION | Medium

21 days since the new year 2023 began and I am going to review my goals for 2022. I know it's late b...

It was so surprising for me how I transformed myself from a person who hates vegetables to a person who loves vegetables. When I moved to a new country and was alone, I realized the importance of having healthy food and was much more aware of my health.

Photo by Clark Douglas on Unsplash

Though we intake proper food for our body it is also important to keep our body active. Regular exercising is essential. I do a diverse set of activities like walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, etc, and track them using apps. I use the Strava app for cycling and jogging. I use the SweatCoin app for walking and it pays to Walk 🚶 - a win-win.

Photo by David Nicolai on Unsplash

All these pay benefit only if we have proper sleep. Sleeping for 8 hours is very much needed for your health.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

3. Investing

We all love to be wealthy but that is not possible without investing. So start investing at an early stage. The power of compounding is immense when we start investing at an early stage.

I follow a simple formula for my investing journey. From my income, I first pay the term insurance and health insurance premiums and then invest a portion of the remaining income and finally, use the remaining amount for the expenditure. I try to automate my investments to a certain level because it brings in disciplined constant investment. I invest in a diverse set of portfolios and use apps like moomoo for equity, and coinhako for cryptocurrency.

Income - Insurance(Term+health) - Savings - Expenditure

4. Digital Presence

World is now a huge competition in whatever field we take. Thus we need to be ahead of others. Having a digital presence in your field gives you an advantage over others and creates more visibility for us. It is also a great opportunity to showcase our skills. For a UI/UX professional it could be an account in Behance. For a photographer, it could be a professional Instagram profile. For a software professional like me it could be a personal website. Create a digital presence and shine ahead in your field.

Check out my personal website:

Ethiraj Srinivasan

Hi, this is Ethiraj, I'm a software developer, amateur cook, avid traveler and bibliophile hailing f...

5. Growth skills

Apart from the professional skills that we develop over the years developing skills other than work is also essential for our lifestyle. It could be cooking, photography, or dancing. I developed my reading skills and enjoyed reading some of great books like

Recently I also cultivated my writing skills and published some blogs at https://ethigeek.com/blogs.html

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Developing non-professional skills can help us in a number of ways.

Boosting creativity: New skills help us to think creatively and improve our problem-solving abilities
Better Time Management: Learning new skills requires discipline and time management and it helps us to become more efficient and productive
Network Expansion: New skills can help us to meet and interact with new people and expand our networks
Reducing Stress: Engaging in activities that we enjoy helps us to reduce stress and provides a better work-life balance
Developing transferable skills: The new skills that we learn outside of work can also helps in our professional works

6. Multiple streams of income

Relying on a single source of income can be very risky as unexpected events can happen. Having multiple sources of income can help diversify your income sources, reducing overall risk. It provides financial stability and security even during macroeconomic conditions. It can also help you to pursue your passions and interests. There are many multiple sources of income that you can try like

Rental income: investment in a rental property.
Freelancing: offer your skills and expertise as a freelancer for writing, graphic design, programming, or consulting.
Investing: invest in stocks, mutual funds, or other investment vehicles to generate passive income through dividends, capital gains, or interest payments.
Online businesses: sell digital products or offer online courses to generate income.
Affiliate marketing: earn a commission by promoting other people's products or services
E-commerce: e-commerce business by selling products through platforms such as Amazon, Etsy, or Shopify.
Passive income streams: monetizing a blog or YouTube channel through advertising, affiliate marketing, or sponsorships.

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Do try to make these as a checklist and strive them off as early as possible. I hope these can greatly change your lifestyle.