People take on common expense categories as they pass through different stages of their life – student debt, home ownership, children, retirement. Each major decision you make throughout your lifetime comes with a series of financial consequences, so it’s best to establish healthy financial habits from early on. The sooner saving money becomes a routine activity, the better of you will be in the long run. Check out this article for a few smart ways to save money at every age.

Saving money is always challenging, whether you’re just starting up your career or striving to reach your retirement goal. It requires discipline, patience, and enough motivation to skip that impulse purchase you’re longing for. As years go by and your priorities shift, your saving habits need tweaking as well. You must make adjustments contingent upon your biggest decisions – what career you wish to pursue, whether you buy a home or not, the size of your family. While some of these choices may seem out of your control, you can take the necessary steps to minimize their worst financial consequences. The sooner you understand the impact of your decisions and plan your savings accordingly, the more likely you are to reach your long-term financial goals.

I’ve always been a freak when it comes to saving money. I grew up in a lower middle class household, where my parents made it a point to teach me the importance of money and financial planning from early on. When I graduated college, I already had a general idea about how my financial future should look like. I knew I wanted to start a family someday, buy a nice house, and save enough cash to retire comfortably. Thinking about these objectives shaped my financial habits for the best – I started saving for retirement as soon as I got my first “real" job and I made an effort to live more frugally during my twenties in order to afford putting down a sizeable down payment once I was ready to become a home owner.

Unfortunately, not many of my fellow graduates took a similar path. A lot of them decided to postpone saving for an unspecified time in the future, which eventually backfired. They woke up in their early thirties with a significant amount of debt they needed to tackle and they had to struggle to make ends meet. If you want to avoid this mistake and get a jump-start on your plan to achieve financial freedom, here are a few areas you should be focusing on at every age.

Twenties

According to a PayScale study, the median annual pay for college graduates at age 22 is $40,800 for men and $31,900 for women. This is the perfect time to maximize your savings, since you likely haven’t settled down and started a family yet. Here’s what you should do:

• Start by educating yourself on matters of personal finance. There are plenty of resources online that can come in handy. Alternatively, see if your financial institution doesn’t offer counseling - MetroWest Credit Union, for example, has a great Financial Wellness Program aimed to educate clients on how to achieve financial success.
• Learn how to draft an effective budget and stick to it.
• Establish an emergency fund. Ideally, it should be worth three to six months of your take-home salary, to have you covered in case any unexpected expenses pop up. Lack of an emergency fund can force you to resort to credit to pay for emergencies, which will lead to more debt.
• Start retirement savings as soon as possible. If your employer offers a 401k plan with matching contributions, strive to contribute at least enough to get the full employer match.
• Avoid credit card debt as much as possible, since it will damage your credit score. Always pay your balance in full.
• If you have student loans, these are likely low-interest. Make minimum payments so you can maximize your savings.
• Constantly look for ways to save money, but make sure you also enjoy this decade, since it’s usually the calm before the storm. Travel, spend time with your friends, strive to advance your career.

Your main financial priorities during your twenties should be to create an emergency fund, pay off any credit card debt, and start saving for retirement.

Thirties

Many of the big expenses associated with marriage, parenthood, and home buying are linked to this decade. Consequently, your financial obligations will grow. One spouse is likely to cease working after children are born, so your household income will plummet as expenses increase. This is usually the most stressful period of one’s financial life, so you need to make smart choices in order to avoid taking on too much debt. Here are a few ideas:

• Keep your emergency fund intact and expand it as much as possible. As your family grows, so does the likelihood of unexpected expenses popping up.
• As tempting as it may seem to withdraw or borrow from your retirement accounts to buy a home, don’t. Otherwise, all your previous efforts would have been for nothing. Instead, do your best to save for a down payment and keep up with your retirement contributions.
• This may also be the time to start a college savings plan for your children. Encourage other relatives to contribute as well.

The most important thing to remember during this decade is to not get discouraged. A growing family adds new responsibilities to the table, so it’s perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed from time to time. As long as you still have an emergency fund and keep matching your employer’s contribution to your 401k, you’re already doing great.

Forties and Fifties

These will likely be your peak income years, so make the most of them. Spouses who stayed home with the kids are getting back to work; now is the time to increase the savings proportion of your income to make up for the previous decade. If you didn’t save for your children’s college years, look for ways to minimize these expenses. As for retirement, save as much as your income as possible, especially if you’re behind schedule.

In order to reach your long-term financial goals, perpetual monitoring and continuous adjustment are key. Establish healthy money habits when you’re in your twenties, keep your living expenses under control, and increase your savings rate as your income grows. Follow this plan and you will be able to live a less stressful life and enjoy a comfortable retirement.