Investing, From Thirtysomething to . . .

PUBLISHED APRIL 2025

As I moved through my 30s and now into my early 40s, my perspective on wealth management has changed —both as a financial professional and, more personally, as a wife and mother. When I first began my career in wealth management, my focus was largely on the technical side: building portfolios, optimizing tax strategies, and planning for long-term goals. But life has a way of reshaping how you think about money.

I got married in my mid-30s, and not long after, my husband and I had two daughters. One of them was diagnosed with special needs. That diagnosis shifted everything for us. Suddenly, our financial planning wasn’t just about saving for college or building retirement accounts—it became about creating lifelong security for our daughter and ensuring she would be taken care of long after we’re gone. That experience gave me a deeply personal lens through which I now view wealth management.

In my 30s, like many people, I was focused on building—my career, our savings, and the foundation of our family life. Those years were marked by high earnings, career growth, and expanding responsibilities at work and at home. I was investing aggressively, taking full advantage of long-term compounding, and thinking in terms of decades. My goals were centered around maximizing retirement savings, purchasing a home, and beginning to plan for our daughters’ futures.

But with time, and especially as I entered my 40s, my priorities began to shift. My investment horizon started to feel more immediate and the reality of what I needed in retirement became more apparent. I wasn’t just asking, “How much can I grow my money?” I started asking, “Will this plan give my family the flexibility and security we need?”

Having a child with special needs also brought estate planning front and center. It wasn’t something I could put off. We needed a special-needs trust, a clear guardianship plan, and coordination with government benefits to make sure our daughter would always be cared for in a way that reflects our values and her unique needs. It was no longer about just having a plan—it was about getting the right plan in place, with layers of protection and long-term foresight.

As our daughters grow, college planning has taken on more urgency, too. We’ve been contributing to a 529 plan, but we’ve also had to get more creative and flexible in how we allocate our investments to ensure we’re prepared for different outcomes. Our financial plan now has to account for the unexpected—not just the expected.

On the investment side, while I am still a few decades away from retiring and my risk tolerance hasn’t changed per se, I do have to balance long-term investing with the unexpected demands on cash flow that can range from home maintenance, kids, cars, taxes and medical expenses (to name a few). In my 20s and 30s, there were few unexpected burdens on my cash flow and I could easily tolerate a 100 percent stock portfolio. Now, in my early 40s, I still want growth, but I’ve introduced a small allocation to less volatile investments in case there’s a need because of those unexpected events. It’s not about abandoning risk—it’s about being intentional and strategic with it.

Insurance planning also became more of a priority than I initially anticipated. Life insurance wasn’t just about income replacement—it became a key piece of our special-needs planning. The amount of insurance that we needed changed as our income and expenses increased. Monitoring and increasing our disability coverage has also become an important piece of the plan. 

Wealth management in your 30s and 40s is about more than just numbers. It’s about aligning your money with your life. For me, that means making sure our daughters are supported, that we have flexibility for life’s surprises, and that we’re building something meaningful and resilient.

My goals are still evolving. I’m thinking more about work-life balance, financial independence, and how to create time for the things that matter most. And I’ve learned that the best financial plan is one that evolves with you.

What worked in your 30s won’t necessarily work in your 40s—and that’s OK. Your life changes, and your wealth plan should, too.