Life stages · Topic hub

Life stages.
One playbook per chapter.

UPDATED·APPLIES TOUnited States
For readers wanting the life-stage guide matching their age. Sources are listed at the bottom of the page; check their dates before acting.

Your financial strategy should change as your life does. What's optimal at 22 is wrong at 42. These six guides walk through the financial picture - debt, savings, taxes, retirement, Bitcoin - for six distinct life chapters. Pick the one you're in.

This page covers personal finance fundamentals that apply regardless of your view on Bitcoin or fiat currencyfiat currencyMoney declared legal tender by a government, not backed by a physical commodity. Its value rests on trust in the issuing government.Full definition.

This page covers US-specific accounts and tax law. Outside the US? The priority order is the same, the account names differ (ISAIndividual Savings Account (ISA)A UK tax-advantaged account where contributions are post-tax but all growth and withdrawals are tax-free.Full definition in the UK, TFSATax-Free Savings Account (TFSA)A Canadian tax-advantaged account where contributions are post-tax but all growth and withdrawals are tax-free.Full definition/RRSPRegistered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)A Canadian tax-deferred retirement account; contributions reduce taxable income and growth is tax-deferred until withdrawal.Full definition in Canada, Super in Australia, etc.).

This page routes you to one playbook for your stage. For the single-page decade-by-decade roadmap with net-worth-by-age data and savings benchmarks, see Planning by Decade.

Short answer

Good financial advice is specific to a life stage. A 22-year-old should not be optimizing for sequence-of-returns risk. A 62-year-old should not be aggressively DCADollar-cost averaging (DCA)Investing a fixed amount on a regular schedule, such as $50 every payday, regardless of price. It spreads out when money enters the market and buys more units when prices are low, but it does not guarantee a better price than investing all at once, a profit or protection against loss.Full definition'ing a volatile asset. Pick the stage that matches your reality and read that one.

Pick your chapter

STAGE 1 - AGE 18 TO 24
New graduate
First real job, first real income, first real decisions. If you start at 22 with the right order of operations, everything downstream gets easier.
STAGE 2 - AGE 25 TO 35
Early career
Income growing, decisions multiplying. Rent vs buy, marry vs not, salary negotiation. A $5K raise now beats a $50K windfall at 55.
STAGE 3 - AGE 35 TO 50
Mid career
Peak earning years. Kids, mortgages, college savings, estate planning. If you are behind, this is where catch-up happens.
STAGE 4 - AGE 50 TO 65
Pre-retirement
Final stretch. Sequence-of-returns risk, Roth conversions, Social Security timing, Bitcoin rebalancing. The decisions you make now echo for 30 years.
STAGE 5 - AGE 65+
In retirement
Living off the portfolio. Withdrawal sequencing, RMDs, healthcare, Bitcoin as inheritance or income.
STAGE 6 - ANY AGE
Irregular income
Freelancers, gig workers, entrepreneurs. Monthly budgets fail when the paycheck doesn't. Fixed-floor first, then a holding account buffer to smooth the fat and lean months.

Which one are you in?

In most cases the answer is obvious: your age tells you. A few signals that suggest you should skip ahead:

  • You have dependents, a mortgage, and retirement is 15+ years away - read mid-career even if you are 32.
  • You are 45 but started investing late - read early career first, then mid-career.
  • Your income swings 3x month-to-month - irregular income applies regardless of age.
  • You are within 10 years of retirement - pre-retirement, regardless of how old you are on paper.

Financial plans are not birthday cards. They adjust to your situation, not your age. Pick the stage that matches your circumstances.

NOT SURE WHERE TO START

Get a personalized plan

The Start Here quiz asks 11 to 21 short questions about your situation and spits out an order of operationsOrder of operationsA default sequence for spare money after essentials and minimum payments: a starter emergency fund, any employer retirement match, high-interest debt, a full emergency fund and tax-advantaged accounts (HSA, Roth IRA, more 401(k)), then taxable investing. Vesting, unstable income and near-term goals can shift it.Full definition tailored to you. It takes about two minutes and never leaves your browser.

Take the Start Here quiz ->

Life events

Things that disrupt the normal arc. Each page is a playbook for the first 30 days and the first year.

Early retirement (FIRE and before-Medicare planning)

The pages that map out a pre-65 retirement and the specific decisions that differ from a traditional retirement.

Where to go from here

Do next

Planning by Decade

The single-page decade roadmap with net-worth benchmarks.

Read next

Start Here

Interactive planner to confirm which life stage actually fits the reader.

Explore further

Sources

Figures, rates and rules change: check each source’s date before acting on it.

  1. Bogleheads wiki on life-cycle investing - bogleheads.org
  2. r/personalfinance flowchart - reddit.com
  3. IRS contribution limits - irs.gov

Last updated . Not financial advice. Do your own research. Disclosures · How pages are reviewed

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