5 Investments You Should Make As You Age

As I age, I’ve not only learned the important value of a dollar, but how valuable my time is and how it’s spent.

Last week, when I shared my thoughts on the old adage of age is just a number, it got me to thinking.

The way I spend my time and money is so different today than it was even five years ago.

Time seems to fly by as we age.

And how I spend my hard-earned dollars has changed as I have aged too.

Every purchase is so well-thought out that it takes months for me to pull the trigger on something.

And it doesn’t matter if it’s a service-based product that’s going to help me with my business or just something beauty or fashion-related I want to enjoy. I take a lot more time now than I did back then to research before I buy.

And considering I have champagne taste on a beer budget, sometimes price is a factor. However, the goal is to always make sure I make an informed decision before any amount of dollars are spent.

Am I perfect at making budgets?

No. I’m not there yet. But hey, as long as bills and savings come first, progress is progress, right?

Today, I wanted to get a bit more personal and share with you five things I’ve invested in as I’ve aged.

No, we’re not talking retirement funds. We’re talking about a different kind of investment. We’re talking investments that I personally wish someone had told me to put my time and money in when I was young.

WELLNESS INVESTMENTS

One of the things I wish someone told me before high school ended was to keep up with my health. I’m not going to lie. I took dance for granted. Did I enjoy it? Of course! However, I didn’t realize how flexible I was, how energized I felt, and just how strong I was until I lost it in college.

Reallocating my money into a gym membership has been the best thing I could’ve have done for my physical health, mindset, and confidence!

---

SKINCARE INVESTMENTS

Again, in high school, I had beautiful and flawless skin. Something I wish someone had told me was to invest my money and time in skincare. Instead of spending on fast fashion like Forever 21, I wish someone sat me down for an adult chat. I wish someone said, “Hey, save your money and make some investments to go to a specialist to keep your skin looking great! It’ll be worth it!”

Looking back, I would’ve told my young self to take time and get facials, treatments, and products based on my age and skin’s needs. I say that because I’m pretty sure I used Neutrogena way past my age bracket before I even realized it.

I recently dropped money on this rose quartz facial roller. And I also plan on reading as much as I can about internal beauty to get that glow from the inside out.

---

FASHION INVESTMENTS

When I was in college, I shopped based on emotion, a lot. And I spent money on shoes and handbags at places like Ross and TJ Maxx. I didn’t even use them for long either! If I could mentor my young self, I would tell her to save up to purchase high-quality handbags, shoes, and clothes that would hold up for years.

Quality > quantity all day everyday.

Knowing what I know now, I’d tell her to make a wish list and add items to save and invest in items like Dior, Chanel, and the like for her future wardrobe. What would you put on her list, you ask?

At minimum, a classic trench coat, wool camel coat, leather jacket, a pair of light and dark wash jeans, several high-end bags, a wool scarf, black pumps, sunglasses, and diamond earrings would be on the absolute main list. More on this later!

---

LEADERSHIP INVESTMENTS

I wasn’t introduced to personal development books until about six years ago.

I can definitely say that reading personal growth books have helped me increase by confidence by evolving my mindset. However, attending conferences has been one of the best investments I’ve made in recent years.

Conferences like The Global Leadership Summit have been so fun to attend. Not only am I learning to apply best practices to my life and businesses right away, I’m making life-long friendships! Learning to network and connect at events and travel all over the country doing it are just extra bonuses.

For as long as I live, I don’t ever want to stop learning and growing.

---

LIFESTYLE INVESTMENTS

Invest and spend your money to live a peace-of-mind lifestyle is what I would’ve told my younger self.

Pay yourself first. Have an emergency savings account that will cover inevitable things like replacing a set of tires, home repairs, and unexpected bills. Open other savings accounts for making investments, business (if you own one or plan to open one), birthday/wedding/baby/get-well gifting, “fun” shopping and vacations.

Speaking of vacations, travel is one of the top investments I’d tell my young self to save money to experience. The feeling of being free, to explore, to experience fully, is like nothing else.

Gain a sense of perspective and understanding is just one of the many things I enjoy about traveling. Aside from the history, I love to learn about people’s way of life and their thinking. It’s fascinating to me to just learn about a culture’s thought process.

As I live out the rest of my 30s, it’s my hope to be able to see as much of the world as I can.

To me, investing in these five things has made me SO happy.

And trust me, I’m aware. Material things don’t create happiness or bring you pure joy. It’s all temporary because we can’t take things with us when we pass away.

You have to be your own happiness.

Material things are just a bonus. For me, having my health, feeling and looking great while being able to have nice things symbolizes the time I put in to inspire others and represents the size my efforts have on my goals.

I believe that the finer things in life are okay to work hard for as long as you know that it doesn’t ultimately bring you joy. However, it doesn’t hurt to feel that I’m truly living my best life by having nice things and experiences.

What about you?

Tell me five investments you wish you could tell your younger self to put time, money, and effort into to be truly living!