{"id":92500,"date":"2026-05-04T14:45:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T19:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bricktowntom.com\/blog\/?p=92500"},"modified":"2026-05-04T14:45:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T19:45:10","slug":"5-best-money-moves-to-make-in-your-40s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bricktowntom.com\/blog\/05\/5-best-money-moves-to-make-in-your-40s.html","title":{"rendered":"5 Best Money Moves to Make in Your 40s"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Money
Wow, what a great 40th birthday cake!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yes, I know the title of the blog is Retire By 40. However, many of our readers are in their 40s and 50s and they are planning to retire soon. You don\u2019t have to be under 40 to read this blog. Maybe I should rename the blog to Retire between 40 and 59…<\/p>\n

*Originally written when I was 41. Now that I’m almost 50, it is time to review this post. <\/p>\n

Being in your 40s is a bit strange. I don\u2019t feel young anymore, but I don\u2019t feel old either, except when I\u2019m trying to keep up with our son. Life should be a little smoother at this point. The 20s and 30s can be very hectic as we try to figure out career, family, and money. Hopefully, our 40s will be a little calmer and we can just stay the course. All this is assuming you\u2019ve got it figured out, of course. If you\u2019re still struggling with money and life in your 40s, then you might need to get some professional help.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m trying to figure out how I should prioritize our finance over the next decade and I thought this would be useful to many of our readers too. As I alluded to above, we won\u2019t have to make many big changes in this decade of our lives. Here are the 5 things I’ll be working on in my 40s.<\/p>\n

1) Minimize Lifestyle Inflation<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s so easy to spend more money in your 40s. We\u2019re not starving students anymore and we have grown accustomed to a more comfortable lifestyle. Most people enter their peak earning period in their 40s and it\u2019s natural to spend more money at this point in our lives. It takes a lot of money to maintain a house, kids, cars, social life, and entertain ourselves. However, you\u2019re not young anymore and you need to seriously plan for retirement.<\/p>\n

Retirement can last 30+ years these days. In my case, I\u2019ll be in semi-retirement for 20 years and then full retirement for another 20+ years. If you minimize lifestyle inflation, then you\u2019ll have more money to use later. Also, your core expenses will be more affordable. Over the last few years, we saved over $50,000 per year in our tax-advantaged accounts<\/a>, so we just need to focus on minimizing lifestyle inflation. If we can keep lifestyle inflation down, then we will continue to save and we\u2019ll be in a great financial position in 15 years.<\/p>\n

*Update <\/strong>– We have been very successful at minimizing lifestyle inflation. We moved into our rental duplex and reduce our housing expenses. I drive very little and cook our meals mostly at home. Covid kept us in locked down for 2 years now and we haven’t spent much. Our annual expenses are less than in 2015! Of course, back then we had to pay for preschool and various other childcare-related expenses. <\/p>\n

2) Increase income<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s easy to increase your income when you\u2019re in your 20s. I got a 20% raise one year and it was fantastic. I think most of us probably are in a comfortable spot in our 40s and it will be harder to increase our income much year over year. Although, some people will be in their prime earning years and make a lot more money in their 40s. <\/p>\n

For us, I\u2019m hoping to at least beat inflation every year. Mrs. RB40 is still working and she\u2019ll see a little raise annually. She is still making good progress in her career so she will probably get one or two promotions this decade. My online income on the other hand can be up and down. It will be tough to increase it much unless I invest a lot more time and money into the business. I think when RB40 junior starts school full time, then I\u2019ll be able to focus better and try to earn more money online.<\/p>\n

Also, don\u2019t forget passive income. Invest all the extra money you can and get your passive income streams rolling<\/a>. Here are our plans for passive income.<\/p>\n