Your Finance: Money milestones for every decade

Life spans are long, and there are financial milestones that it helps to hit at every stage.

Here is my list, by decade. If you are late on a few, that's no big deal. If you're early, that's great.

Make important decisions about which college to attend and what to study -- with realistic finances in mind.

Keep your credit report clean by not defaulting on debt or paying bills late. As soon as you have children, buy life insurance.

If you haven't already, switch your various insurance policies to high-deductible plans - you'll save money every month on premiums and should have accumulated enough savings by now to cover the deductibles. Build your investing expertise by learning about exchange-traded funds, individual stocks and bonds. Diversify your investments to make sure you have some money in some of these categories: real estate, commodities, foreign stocks. Boost your skills - either by pursuing an advanced degree, or taking courses, or spending money on the tools that will make you more employable. Follow the performance of your investments in a portfolio-tracking program.

Prepare yourself psychologically for the withdraw-and-spend phase of life, after a lifetime of working and saving. Start serious estate planning.

Use more of your money to live comfortably; don't stint on the hearing aids, household help or handrails that keep you active and safe.