Author Topic: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition  (Read 64674 times)

Ebrat

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 239
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #50 on: January 08, 2016, 12:36:18 PM »
I just found MMM a couple weeks ago, but we had about a 45% savings rate last year.  With a slightly higher income and more conscious spending this year, I'd like to get over 50% (hmmm...seems like we should be able to do better than that...).  I'm also determined to get rid of PMI on our house.

ETA: Actually, I was counting the money we get from our property management company as income and the rental mortgage and water bill as expenses.  If I just treat the rental income as net income (rent collected minus expenses; it usually breaks about even), it's almost 45% for 2015 and about 58% for 2016.  Makes me motivated to push for 60% this year!
« Last Edit: January 08, 2016, 12:43:57 PM by Ebrat »

Astreja

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 46
  • Location: Winnipeg, Canada
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #51 on: January 10, 2016, 09:13:59 PM »
My 2016 goals:

- Pay off mortgage (as of tomorrow, just under $4000 left).

- Finally get into investing -- I'm leaning towards self-directed, as the last time I met with a financial adviser he just wanted to sell me whole-life insurance -- but I would consider hiring a pro to get me started.

- Sock away $5000 in savings.

halyahs

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 6
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #52 on: January 10, 2016, 10:29:37 PM »
No dept (except an interest free student loan so I dont count that)
so...

2016 Goals
1) Monitor fortnightly grocery budget/ start effective meal planning
2) Put 1k per month towards home deposit (already at 37k)
3) Open up index fund account(s) and add 1k per month
4) Increase saving rate from ~60% up to ~70%
5) Always pay CC in full at end of the month (almost always manage but do miss it due to inattention sometimes)
6) Learn how to sew on old machine DH gave me for Xmas
« Last Edit: January 10, 2016, 10:32:00 PM by halyahs »

OvertheRainbow

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 58
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #53 on: January 10, 2016, 10:35:39 PM »
My new 2016 financial goal is to open a 401k and try to max it out or at least put 25% of my wages into it (approximately 14k) and to stay out of debt.

FausseBourgeoise

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 56
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #54 on: January 11, 2016, 12:05:15 PM »
I have been in school until recently and have unused contribution room in my TFSA and RRSP equivalent to a year's worth of my gross pay. I am currently participating in my institution's pension plan, and feel that playing catch-up is a little bit overwhelming. I think that 'what to do' with money set aside is less important than setting aside a giant lump. Once the giant lump is there I can figure out where it goes.
With that in mind, my goal is to set aside $15k this year. A stretch goal is to set aside an amount that matches my available RRSP deductions (regardless of whether it ends up in RRSP).

dogboyslim

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 526
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #55 on: January 13, 2016, 02:14:57 PM »
1. Stay employed
2. Maximize contribution to roth 401k (~18k)
3. Pay off Mortgage (~34k)
4. Not buy a new(or used) car
5. Only purchase wear items for bikes/fitness
6. Get down to 1 gym membership (Choosing the Y since kids swim there) (will be done by End of Jan)
7. add $18k to emergency cash fund (currently at 6 months, want to get this to 12, then begin more investment)
8. Investigate ways to put more tax deferred money away (No roth due to income, no backdoor roth due to pro-rata rule and $900k in traditional IRA from 401k rollover, no HSA since my health plan doesn't qualify me)

kaleidoscopicalkris

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 61
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #56 on: January 13, 2016, 04:26:48 PM »
1. Build emergency fund to 2k.
2. Continue hitting employer match on 401k each month.
3. Keep food bill under 350/month.

Small goals, but doable ones!

RamonaQ

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 877
  • Age: 47
  • Location: Midwest
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #57 on: January 15, 2016, 07:44:16 AM »
Baby step: I just got my first paycheck of the year and received a small raise (~$35 more take home pay every two weeks).  I've been living just fine without it, so that's getting moved directly into savings.

pancakes

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1338
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #58 on: January 16, 2016, 09:33:08 PM »
Increase savings rate from 40% to 50%
Move wealth from cash into investments. Currently approx. only 10% is in investments...
« Last Edit: January 16, 2016, 09:39:14 PM by pancakes »

Rosy

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2742
  • Location: Florida
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #59 on: January 20, 2016, 07:52:02 PM »
Cat whiskers here:)

By February - add 2K to my 10K car replacement fund and keep driving my old reliable as long as possible:)

New goals for 2016

1. Develop a better retirement strategy for Mr. R. - take a look at 401K allocations and re-balance, change to automatic re-balance.
Talk to Mr. R. about increasing 401K and stepping up savings.
2. Save 3K for vacation - by April 1
3. I will not purchase any jewelry for the next three months
4. Consider getting YNAB
5. Double the income from sidehustles
6. Keep saving 100% of one of my retirement income streams to fund upcoming expenses
7. Keep paying off credit cards every month
9. Keep looking for opportunities to slash the budget and keep reading up on finance. Keep coming here for motivation and challenges.

 Good luck everyone:)
« Last Edit: January 22, 2016, 07:56:04 AM by Rosy »

Mongoose

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2461
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #60 on: January 24, 2016, 10:14:37 AM »
Major goal for 2016: Increase income (promotion for DH and/or add part time job) to stop negative cash flow.

We've made a bit of progress I guess. I have a 6 month part-time contract that is getting us near breaking even through June. I may be able to extend it but its a bit of a long shot. The nice thing is that we can switch off with our youngest child so we haven't had to add child care.

DH has applied for two open management positions at his box store. He is currently clearing only $1000-$1200 per month (45 hours...includes overtime and weekend higher pay rates). This salary is making me nuts! They have talked a good game of him moving up and seem to like the job he is doing but are going to be interviewing people from other locations so I'm concerned he won't get the promotion. If they pass him over, he will start looking for better paying positions immediately. I almost want him to look now but he likes the work and there is a decent possibility of the promotion. His take home should go up to ~$2400 per month if he gets into management. They probably won't decide until March. Ugh! I am not patient and hate waiting.

Our business is still growing, albeit slowly. We posted a profit last quarter (yay! We had losses previously because we were adding equipment), but aren't paying ourselves yet (building a small business emergency/equipment repair fund first). We are pushing this like crazy as it is (we feel) our best chance to FI in the near term. I'm really hoping to pay at least one of us half time by the end of the second quarter 2016. I'm not sure how realistic this goal is but we're pushing for it anyway.

RamonaQ

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 877
  • Age: 47
  • Location: Midwest
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #61 on: January 31, 2016, 09:21:01 AM »
After one month of the year, I'm making real progress.

One of my goals was to get grocery spending under $400/mo.  For January I spent under $200!  Shopping at the cheap produce store and at Aldi made a huge difference.

Also, I paid off my car insurance for the year.  I can pay monthly instead of in a lump sum, but they charge a $5 "convenience fee" every time you do that.  So I scraped together $650ish and got it paid in full.

One setback: I got a $150 ticket.  I haven't gotten a ticket in probably about 20 years and I was totally at fault, so I have no one to blame but myself.  But it still stunk.

beantown

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 43
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #62 on: February 03, 2016, 12:12:51 PM »
Since January is over, I'd like to report out how I'm doing to keep motivated:

Goal 1: Pay off $4k in credit card debt (will do so with my tax refund) -filed my taxes, expecting $7k back so should be able to hit this in Feb
Goal 2: Pay off $18k in federal student loans -Loan balance is at $17,900 now
Goal 3: Max out 401k for the year ($18k) -Contributed $2040 to my 401k in Jan
Goal 4: Save $6k in emergency fund -Now have $650 in E Fund

OmahaSteph

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 670
  • Location: Omaha
    • Journal: The Slow Lane to FIRE
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #63 on: February 03, 2016, 01:21:13 PM »
Since January is over, I'd like to report out how I'm doing to keep motivated:

Goal 1: Pay off $4k in credit card debt (will do so with my tax refund) -filed my taxes, expecting $7k back so should be able to hit this in Feb
Goal 2: Pay off $18k in federal student loans -Loan balance is at $17,900 now
Goal 3: Max out 401k for the year ($18k) -Contributed $2040 to my 401k in Jan
Goal 4: Save $6k in emergency fund -Now have $650 in E Fund

What are you planning to do with the other $3,000 you'll be getting back?

beantown

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 43
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #64 on: February 03, 2016, 02:00:19 PM »
I think I'm going to throw half at the efund and half at the student loans.

Mongoose

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2461
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #65 on: February 06, 2016, 07:06:51 AM »
DH has an interview for a management position this coming week. If he gets the position, it should solidify our goal of getting to positive cash flow (covering our basic expenses not using the emergency fund). Fingers crossed!

Migs

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 23
  • Age: 39
  • Location: DFW
  • That'll do, pig. That'll do.
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #66 on: February 06, 2016, 08:08:26 AM »
Migs 2016 Goals
  • Continue to max out my TIRA and put any merit raises I get this year (if any) into 457(b)
  • Get bf to rollover old retirement accounts into an IRA and start maxing out contributions
  • Reduce dining out spending and get back to cooking meals at home - get this down to $350/month from ~$435 last month
  • Shop for cheaper car insurance and put away enough $ to pay the 6 months up front

headwinds

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 228
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #67 on: February 06, 2016, 11:19:36 AM »
Liking this thread. We all start from where we are!

Goals (in order):

-Pay off CC ($2K) and maintain 0 balance
-Pay off student loans ($35k)
-Contribute to IRA
-Contribute to 457(b)


Means to an end:

-Bicycle to work
-Cook inexpensive food at home
-Sell my truck and get a more fuel efficient vehicle
-Work some overtime when available
-Curtail spending on nonessential items
-Oh, and, quit smoking

AmandaS1989

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1545
  • Age: 35
  • Location: North Carolina
  • Ferocious Accounting Beast
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #68 on: February 12, 2016, 08:15:47 AM »
I've already posted on the other thread but I'll post here too as I am also a noob at this.

1. Build savings account up to $1500

2. Up 401k contribution to 6%

3. Pay off PLUS loan

4. Pay off phone and change to cheaper carrier

5. Pay off the couple hundred I charged for Christmas gifts (one of those gifts being a new box spring and mattress for my folks)

6. Pay off personal loan

7. Maybe work on writing an ebook for publication (If I don't wimp out)

Goal update:

As for raising my 401k contribution to 6% I haven't done it yet as that would drop my take-home too low for my comfort right now.

If I get a raise in May at my yearly review I might up it then.

I'm doing my taxes this weekend so hopefully I can get my refund money by Mid-March and pay off that PLUS loan.

Only $370 left in CC debt from Christmas. Payoff is in sight!

coolistdude

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 199
  • Age: 34
    • Retirement Tree (Same One I Use):
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #69 on: February 12, 2016, 09:04:02 AM »
2016 goals

1. Start 403(b) contribution and up to 20% of my income (not company match)
2. Save $6k for house
3. Up saving percent to 35%
4. Change to cheaper phone carrier
5. Get promoted and a raise.
6. Get garden to reduce grocery budget $25/month
7. Push out board game for beta testing (not likely to sell like a super start, but is just for fun)
8. Rough draft half of novel.

OmahaSteph

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 670
  • Location: Omaha
    • Journal: The Slow Lane to FIRE
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #70 on: February 18, 2016, 09:09:07 AM »
CHECK-IN TIME! How's everyone doing on their goals, roughly two months into the year? Enough time has passed to establish some good habits (and break unhelpful ones).

Here's mine:

Quote
In 2016:

*Pay off other credit card [UPDATE: making good progress on this]
*Start throwing massive payments at auto loan [UPDATE: not so worried about this since the interest rate is low]
*Pay back parents for loan (for relocation and crooked divorce attorney) [UPDATE: haven't made a payment yet, but tax return will go to parents]
*Move to more Mustachian apartment when current lease is up [UPDATE: Still researching areas and tracking offerings. Lease is up in July. Also savings so I can pay cash for deposit and moving expenses]
*Take work clothes to a tailor to be tweaked instead of buying new [UPDATE: Haven't bought anything new and have taken two pairs of shoes to be repaired]
*Buy a bike and trailer for me and begin doing errands [UPDATE: Still saving up for a bike and have been browsing Craigslist religiously]
*Cut gas consumption in half [UPDATE: SO moved to 2nd shift so he now bike commutes. This cut my gas consumption in half. BOOM.]
*Slowly and gently convince SO to forgo hedonistic purchases in favor of paying off his debt [UPDATE: It's slow-going but he's theoretically on board.]
*Publish another novel and pimp others to increase royalties (second income) [UPDATE: Haven't written a word. :( ]
*Research investment options for when high-interest debt is paid off and become more financially literate in general [UPDATE: Reading "The Millionaire Next Door" and have decided that index funds are fine. Very little research needed and it's not fun for me. Causes stress. I'm still learning financial literary, but not so concerned about the investing aspect yet.]


* * *

After reading all y'all's (yes, that it grammatically and punctuationally correct for the South) goals, I've revised mine a bit, mostly to be more specific. The auto loan isn't high interest, so that can go on the back burner. I've looked at options - like selling it and getting a cheaper car - but financially and realistically it's a bad move.

Added/amended the following:

*Limit restaurant spending to <$50 / month [UPDATE: Have mostly been able to stick to this, or close.]
*Take shoes/boots to a repair place instead of buying new [Yep, did it twice now - no new purchases]
*Meal prep [UPDATE: This is hit or miss, but I always pack a lunch.]
*Get net worth out of the red and into the black (*cue Neil Young*) [UPDATE: It's moving in the right direction.]
*Use gift cards from bank/phone/"relationship" rewards to fund Christmas 2016 [UPDATE: Right now I only have $10 worth of free reward gift cards.]
*earn [certain amount] in royalties [UPDATE: This is not looking good.]
*start an emergency fund [UPDATE: This is going very well! I've been able to put more aside than I thought!]
*pay cash for moving expenses [UPDATE: Saving for this. I have until July-ish.]

Non-financial:

*bench press > 150 lbs; squat >100 lbs; deadlift >160 lbs. [I was diagnosed with mono and doctor said no gym/lifting for 6 weeks. I have 2 more to go.]
*read 10 books (used to do this in one month, but ... life) [UPDATE: I think I've read half a book? Maybe?]
*sort out some personal baggage [UPDATE: HA! I found a therapist I'd like to talk to, but there's little time or money.]
« Last Edit: February 18, 2016, 09:44:29 AM by OmahaSteph »

merlin7676

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 214
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #71 on: February 18, 2016, 03:20:04 PM »
Love this. I already wrote mine out about a week and a half ago.

1) pay off last CC
2) create a $1500 emergency fund
3) max IRA
4) increase car payment amount
5) increase 401K contributions from 6% to 7 or 8% (no company match but do get quarterly deposits from them)

1) Managed to up pay off date from July to May
2) $550 so far
3) Up contributions to $140/paycheck. Will up the rest of the way after CC is gone
4) Decided to sell the car in september and take bus to/from work
5) Not even close to this one yet

frugalfanny

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 70
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #72 on: February 19, 2016, 01:13:24 PM »
A check in is a good idea. Here goes:

Total noob here.

My 2016 goals:

-Reduce student loan balance from $35,000 to $25,000 (this is really my main goal... I wish I could pay the whole thing this year.) Down to $33,682.
-Use my budgeting spreadsheet to track expenses This is now an established habit.
-Switch to cheaper car insurance (currently $82/month) No action on this.
-Switch to cheaper phone plan (currently $60/month) No action on this.
-Reach a total of $50,000 in my retirement accounts I'm really hoping for better return this year, although it's not looking great. Down from $46,000 to $43,000

Additional goals:

-Hike 2x a month
-Take a walking break (~15 minutes) 5 times a week
-Keep snacks stocked in the car and at work to prevent fast food binges
-Bring lunch everyday (no fast food) (save $70/month)
-Cancel gym membership in February (save $12/month)
-Put extra money to student loan payment ($70+$12+$50 raise=$132)
-Step back in other budget categories to bring total student loan payment from $1100 to $1300

SuperSaver

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 170
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #73 on: February 20, 2016, 07:40:24 AM »
1. Payoff car ($5k left)
2. Continue stashing 6% of salary in 401k and get 4% match.
3. Beg fiance to open his 401k and get 4% match.
4. Save $7,000 cash for wedding (130+ people, Sunday afternoon in 2017)
5. Save $3,000 for Aruba Honeymoon (Southwest CC will get us free flights)
6. Fluff up Emergency Fund (currently it's at 2 months expenses) and then all extra money goes towards Student Loans

1) just sent in final payoff amount for car
2) have my 401k set up that way and not touching
2b) I decided to withhold an extra $20 a paycheck as well on w4 so I will get like a $15 refund next year instead of owing $450.

clarkfan1979

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3352
  • Age: 44
  • Location: Pueblo West, CO
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #74 on: February 20, 2016, 10:42:01 AM »
My modest goals would be have our net worth increase from 350K to 400K. I would also like to make $10,000 worth of student loans payments during the year. With about $2,000 going toward interest, $8,000 would be knocked off of the principal from $43,000 to $35,000.

Mongoose

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2461
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #75 on: February 21, 2016, 11:10:51 AM »
We have officially temporarily met our goal of increasing income to cover our basic expenses. Last month income-expenses was zero (including an extra $200 towards our debt). Yay!

Next goal, solidify income levels to make this a stable situation.

wtrfre

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 55
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #76 on: February 21, 2016, 02:21:08 PM »
I would like to follow.
I have a boring first goal of paying off the third student loan, of four. 

Rhoon

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 145
  • Age: 2019
  • Location: South East U.S.
    • Multifamily and Apartment Investments
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #77 on: February 21, 2016, 08:24:48 PM »
- Max out 401K ($18K)
- Max out tIRA for both my wife and I ($11k)
- Increased payments to DWs student loans to $600 month, payoff is roughly 5 years ($34K)
- Pay off truck ($45K), yeah, we bought a new one; I used my escrow overage check to make a couple of extra payments and reduced the payoff to 5 years from 6.
- Get solar panels installed to eliminate power bill ($24K -$8k federal tax credit). Payoff in 5 years by making larger payments, which don't exceed my current power bill. Free power in 5 years.
- Spend more time outside with my son
- lose 20 lbs
- increase e fund by 5% (currently at $19K)
- Shop for lower costing house insurance


In short, in 5 years we'll be debt free other than our mortgage. Looking to be FI in 10 years.

OmahaSteph

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 670
  • Location: Omaha
    • Journal: The Slow Lane to FIRE
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #78 on: February 22, 2016, 09:25:45 AM »
We have officially temporarily met our goal of increasing income to cover our basic expenses. Last month income-expenses was zero (including an extra $200 towards our debt). Yay!

Next goal, solidify income levels to make this a stable situation.

Woohoo! Congratulations! *fistbump*

dogboyslim

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 526
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #79 on: February 22, 2016, 06:14:15 PM »
Update through February.
1. Stay employed So far so good.
2. Maximize contribution to roth 401k (~18k) ~$7,800 through Feb
3. Pay off Mortgage (~34k) DONE!  Paid off as of 2/22
4. Not buy a new(or used) car So far so good.  This is a danger item for me
5. Only purchase wear items for bikes/fitness FAIL!  I purchased a set of rollers
6. Get down to 1 gym membership (Choosing the Y since kids swim there) (will be done by End of Jan) DONE!
7. add $18k to emergency cash fund (currently at 6 months, want to get this to 12, then begin more investment) Mtg Money will go here starting next month
8. Investigate ways to put more tax deferred money away (No roth due to income, no backdoor roth due to pro-rata rule and $900k in traditional IRA from 401k rollover, no HSA since my health plan doesn't qualify me) FAIL!  Not sure we have many options here.

arpies

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 32
  • Location: The Pas, MB, Canada
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #80 on: February 23, 2016, 01:08:57 PM »
Not sure if I qualify as a noob, but I don't think I'm quite worthy of some of the more advanced categories yet either.

So my goals of 2016:
Full student loan repayment. (~24.6k estimated June) Slightly ahead of schedule, down to 16.8 and will be dumping my whole tax refund on it
Reduce monthly expenditures to 1500/mo (not sure I can do much better than that, it's a relatively high COL area) Still hovering around 2k, living luxuriously and making a lot of one-time purchases
Catch up on my back RRSP contribution room ~18,000 (think 401k for Canadians) Haven't started yet, will do after SL
Finish watching Renegade, the series. Lorenzo Llamas might not have a mustache, but damn does he have fabulous hair. Onto season 3/5!

Dsteadma

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 36
  • Location: Nebraska
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #81 on: February 25, 2016, 07:01:48 PM »
I want to get from 42k to 30k in student debt by December. That's about a quarter of my income.

OmahaSteph

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 670
  • Location: Omaha
    • Journal: The Slow Lane to FIRE
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #82 on: February 26, 2016, 11:14:05 AM »
I want to get from 42k to 30k in student debt by December. That's about a quarter of my income.

You can do eeeeeeet!!!

beantown

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 43
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #83 on: February 28, 2016, 08:45:11 AM »
Good job everyone! It looks like we're all getting the ball rolling on our goals. Continue to track to my goals for Feb:

Goal 1: Pay off $4k in credit card debt (will do so with my tax refund) -Done. Killed. No more $50 a month interest charges!
Goal 2: Pay off $18k in federal student loans -Loan balance is at $15,500 now
Goal 3: Max out 401k for the year ($18k) -Contributed $4375 to my 401k so far in 2016 (Trying to front load then shift more of my "saving" to paying off student loans at end of year)
Goal 4: Save $6k in emergency fund -Now have $3k in E Fund (I think I will raise this amount by end of year)

A lot of my goals were helped with the $7K in tax refunds I received, but I did manage to "save" $3.5K on top of that so happy with the end results! And in other happy news, my partner started a job in Jan and can start contributing to our household expenses! Yay more saving!

RamonaQ

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 877
  • Age: 47
  • Location: Midwest
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #84 on: March 02, 2016, 12:44:43 PM »
Checking in through the end of February:

1. Save at least $3000 in an emergency fund
Have saved $2000 so far

2. Increase my Roth contributions
Have increased it once (to $40 per pay period) will increase it again after EF is funded

3. Decrease spending on groceries/household supplies (first goal - get it under $400/mo, then go from there)
Barely squeaked in under goal for February, but that included stocking up on some protein bars that were on a major sale.

4. Improve communication with my significant other about his/my/our finances
Still need to work on this.  Daily stuff is fine, but I want to discuss more big picture stuff.

Rosy

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2742
  • Location: Florida
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #85 on: March 02, 2016, 01:18:16 PM »
By February - add 2K to my 10K car replacement fund and keep driving my old reliable as long as possible:) - DONE

New goals for 2016

1. Develop a better retirement strategy for Mr. R. - take a look at 401K allocations and re-balance, change to automatic re-balance.
Talk to Mr. R. about increasing 401K and stepping up savings.
2. Save 3K for vacation eye surgery - by April 1 - CHANGED from vacay to eye surgery
3. I will not purchase any jewelry for the next three months - ON TRACK - have not bought one shiny little thing:)
4. Consider getting YNAB - Decided against YNAB - found a spreadsheet I will use instead
5. Double the income from sidehustles - ON TRACK
6. Keep saving 100% of one of my retirement income streams to fund upcoming expenses - ON TRACK
7. Keep paying off credit cards every month - ON TRACK
9. Keep looking for opportunities to slash the budget and keep reading up on finance. Keep coming here for motivation and challenges.
ON TRACK

GOALS REACHED since finding MMM:
1. 5K Emergency Fund
2. 12K Car Fund
3. 1K immediate emergency fund
NEXT GOAL
3. 6K total eye surgeries - plan is to save at least $1.5K mo - Mar to Jun - put $6K on 0% card and pay off in full in June (card is good for 0% interest until September)

Improvements in 2016
*Reduced car insurance by $104 annually.
*Side hustles already at $600 plus vs approx $1000 in all of 2015 - working on it:)
*Working on my spreadsheet skills
*Will talk RE strategy with Mr. R. this weekend
*Working on my last will and testament:)
*Due to no spending on jewelry or shiny objects PLUS sidehustles - I managed an extra $1000 to savings in both Jan and Feb - YAY*** this will not be sustainable in March, April and May - since I'm planning on some excursions and shows and home and garden improvements and will have extra medical expenses.

OvertheRainbow

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 58
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #86 on: March 15, 2016, 04:11:04 AM »
My new 2016 financial goal is to open a 401k and try to max it out or at least put 25% of my wages into it (approximately 14k) and to stay out of debt.


So I have opened up my 403b and have a savings percent of 20. So far I have contributed 977 dollars and it is valued over 1k.

Progress is slow.

AmandaS1989

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1545
  • Age: 35
  • Location: North Carolina
  • Ferocious Accounting Beast
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #87 on: March 15, 2016, 05:57:56 AM »
Its still progress though.

I am almost done with the PLUS loan. Only one more payment of around ~338 and I will be done with it. Currently have $250 put back for WT surgery at the end of May. I will have $300 once today's paycheck clears my bank account.

Tiny steps forward are still steps in the right direction. :)

JordanOfGilead

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 426
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #88 on: March 15, 2016, 08:27:17 AM »
An update:

1) Maintain zero credit card balance from month to month So far so good.
2) Find a house with DW to get out of blowing money on rent (100k houses are going for 30-40k in our area, so it's somewhat of a buyer's market) We closed on a nice ~1000 sq foot house with a full basement, big back yard for the dog, privacy fence, and 2 car garage for 55k at the end of January.
3) Stay the course on paying off my college debt (student loans, car, personal loan) Also, so far so good. I've got a spreadsheet set up to enter my pay stub info and calculate how much extra I can throw at my student loans. I've even trimmed the fat enough to be able to get out of debt almost a year ahead of schedule according to my calculations
4) Reduce wasteful and "hobby" spending (eating out, buying car parts, etc.) by at least 20% Not doing so great on this front. This last month has been a very expensive, spendy-pants month
5) Become proficient with a profitable skill. I picked up welding about a month ago and would like to see a return on my initial investment of equipment and materials plus some profit in the next year. I can now weld well enough to make two pieces of metal stick together reliably and look pretty, but haven't had the free time to dedicate to making money off of it. Maybe now that it has warmed up I will spend more time outside / in the garage.

OmahaSteph

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 670
  • Location: Omaha
    • Journal: The Slow Lane to FIRE
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #89 on: March 15, 2016, 09:46:18 AM »
Aww, everyone's doing so well! Yep, small steps that feel like they take forever, but we'll all better off now than we were on NYE, right?

I'm looking at a house to rent this weekend, so I'll be moving toward my goal of getting out of my craptastic apartment AND I have enough money put away to put down a sizeable deposit.
Bought a bike. Have not used it. *hangs head*
Started an e-fund
Sent parents a large check toward repaying them
Have not bought any clothes.
Have only bought kids consignment store clothes using gift money from their grandmother
The credit card balance is coming down.

Still a long way to go, but the above are some of the positives.

jrubin

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 15
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #90 on: March 16, 2016, 01:57:17 PM »
Because I am a noob - it seems like a good place to ask a "starter question" with less embarassment. I often see how folks increase their savings from 20% to 40% or something like that. Can I ask - how exactly are most folks calculating this percentage?
Say for example (using round/even numbers for ease) that my salary is $3000 per month and I "take-home" $2000 per month - this is after taxes, insurance, and contributing 5% to my 401K through work. Would I then say I'm saving 5% of my salary towards retirement - because I'm contributing 5% to my 401K?
If in addition to this - I also save/invest half of my take-home pay - so another $1000 - would this be considered a savings rate of 33% (of my salary) or 50% (of my take-home).
I guess I'm trying to determine my current/future savings rate - but not sure how since part is pre-tax through the 401K at work, and some is after tax whatever leftover I can stash from my take-home pay each month.
Thanks for your help guys!

Rhoon

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 145
  • Age: 2019
  • Location: South East U.S.
    • Multifamily and Apartment Investments
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #91 on: March 16, 2016, 07:02:54 PM »
Can I ask - how exactly are most folks calculating this percentage?

I'm sure there are a couple of ways to do this, but I add up total saved (pre and post tax) and then divide that out by Gross (Salary) or net (Take home) and arrive at both numbers.

So, total saved in your scenario is: $1000 + $150 (5% of $3000).

Gross Savings: $1150/$3000 = 38.8%
Net Savings: $1150/$2000 = 57.5%


afuera

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 565
  • Age: 32
  • Location: Charm City
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #92 on: March 17, 2016, 02:54:56 PM »
The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. We've all gotta start somewhere right? And I forgot to add:

8. Put back $500 for wisdom teeth surgery in May
I'm about to get my wisdom teeth out and it's gonna cost me ~$900. 

I'll join the challenge.  Now that I look at it, I have been kicking butt financially in 2016 so far.
Goals Accomplished since January:
Pay off Mercedes.  We used some money from online savings to pay off our loan, sold the car for 23K once we had the title in hand, and then bought a used '07 Toyota Highlander off craigslist.  Saved 13K
Lower cell phone bill (switched from ATT to Project Fi)-Saving $70/month
Max out Roth IRA for 2015.  Used some money from selling the Merc.
Rebalance 401k asset allocation

Goals for the remainder of the year:
Help husband find a job (laid of 1/25/16).  He's a Mechanical Engineer in Houston so if y'all know of anything... ;)
Spend less than 40K in 2016.
Increase online savings from 50K to 63K (max down payment we could need)
Max out Roth IRA for 2016.
Save 4K in HSA for Lasik (self).  My hubby will have to wait till 2017 for Lasik.
Save 5K for a trip to Madrid in the Fall.
Increase NW to 200K (currently ~125K)



« Last Edit: March 17, 2016, 03:14:41 PM by trappedinmyoffice »

Jschange

  • Guest
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #93 on: March 18, 2016, 05:58:49 AM »
Everyone is doing great! So far I've saved up first and last rent, over a thousand on my emergency fund, and got the government to pay the interest on my student loans (my required payment is set to $0 for six months, but everything I pay will go to principal.

flashart03

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 4
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #94 on: March 19, 2016, 11:53:12 PM »
I'm joining a little late but am in for the challenge!

2016 goals:
- Pay off credit cards (which I should be able to do with my next two paychecks)
- Keep grocery/ food expenditure to under $400/ mo (for two people)
- Max out Roth IRA in 2016 ($5,500)
- Save $10,000 in an emergency fund
- Save $3,000 in a car fund
- Earn some extra income from side hustles
- Optimize expenses/ accounts

This should keep me plenty busy for the year =)  Looking forward to seeing the 'stache grow!

GoConfidently

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 244
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #95 on: March 20, 2016, 10:52:08 PM »
I'll join! My 2016 goals are:
Pay off credit card balance by April 30 (7,000)
Pay off 80% of student loans (20,000) by December 31
Increase side hustle income
Run a 5k (not financial, but I wanted to include it)

Simple, but that will be a big step in the right direction for me. 2016 is going to be my year!

The end of March is a good time for an update.

I've paid off $8500 of debt since January 1. That feels so good to say! It's been hard but looking at my original goals, I'm hoping that I'll be able to put an additional $5000 toward the student loans. I also need to pad some emergency savings now that I'm bringing my checking account to nearly 0 every month.

I took on some extra work in February and March for an extra $500. Not a ton but I usually turn those jobs down. I also sent off several paintings to a retail shop to sale and started an Etsy shop. Making art is non-negotiable, but I did put a hold on all new art supply purchases until I use up some of my reserves. I'm looking for some more local shops because I honestly don't have much hope for Etsy (but at 20 cents a listing it's a low risk trial).

Running isn't going so well. I took a week off to nurse a twisted ankle and I just can't seem to get back in the groove. I still have 9 months to sort that out.

So far, so good! I'm grateful for firums like these that keep me motivated and accountable.

OmahaSteph

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 670
  • Location: Omaha
    • Journal: The Slow Lane to FIRE
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #96 on: March 21, 2016, 09:09:59 AM »
I'll join! My 2016 goals are:
Pay off credit card balance by April 30 (7,000)
Pay off 80% of student loans (20,000) by December 31
Increase side hustle income
Run a 5k (not financial, but I wanted to include it)

Simple, but that will be a big step in the right direction for me. 2016 is going to be my year!

The end of March is a good time for an update.

I've paid off $8500 of debt since January 1. That feels so good to say! It's been hard but looking at my original goals, I'm hoping that I'll be able to put an additional $5000 toward the student loans. I also need to pad some emergency savings now that I'm bringing my checking account to nearly 0 every month.

I took on some extra work in February and March for an extra $500. Not a ton but I usually turn those jobs down. I also sent off several paintings to a retail shop to sale and started an Etsy shop. Making art is non-negotiable, but I did put a hold on all new art supply purchases until I use up some of my reserves. I'm looking for some more local shops because I honestly don't have much hope for Etsy (but at 20 cents a listing it's a low risk trial).

Running isn't going so well. I took a week off to nurse a twisted ankle and I just can't seem to get back in the groove. I still have 9 months to sort that out.

So far, so good! I'm grateful for firums like these that keep me motivated and accountable.

I'm in a similar boat. I get one thing dialed in, and something else goes haywire or shoved to the side. My finances are going pretty darn well, but a mono diagnosis (enlarged liver and spleen) derailed my gym routine - no heavy lifting for 6 weeks as per the doc. Well, it's been closer to 8-9 weeks and I just can't get motivated again and the weight has ballooned, despite more Mustachian and healthier cooking. Ugh.

dogboyslim

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 526
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #97 on: March 29, 2016, 11:36:26 AM »
Update through March.
1. Stay employed So far so good.
2. Maximize contribution to roth 401k (~18k) ~$9,500 through Mar
3. Pay off Mortgage (~34k) DONE!  Paid off as of 2/22
4. Not buy a new(or used) car So far so good.
5. Only purchase wear items for bikes/fitness FAIL!  I purchased a set of rollers in Feb, but nothing else
6. Get down to 1 gym membership (Choosing the Y since kids swim there) (will be done by End of Jan) DONE!
7. add $18k to emergency cash fund (currently at 6 months, want to get this to 12, then begin more investment) $3k/$18k through March
8. Investigate ways to put more tax deferred money away (No roth due to income, no backdoor roth due to pro-rata rule and $900k in traditional IRA from 401k rollover, no HSA since my health plan doesn't qualify me) FAIL! Now focused on tax efficient AT investment strategies

JordanOfGilead

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 426
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #98 on: March 29, 2016, 11:46:40 AM »
Update through March.
1. Stay employed So far so good.
2. Maximize contribution to roth 401k (~18k) ~$9,500 through Mar
3. Pay off Mortgage (~34k) DONE!  Paid off as of 2/22
4. Not buy a new(or used) car So far so good.
5. Only purchase wear items for bikes/fitness FAIL!  I purchased a set of rollers in Feb, but nothing else
6. Get down to 1 gym membership (Choosing the Y since kids swim there) (will be done by End of Jan) DONE!
7. add $18k to emergency cash fund (currently at 6 months, want to get this to 12, then begin more investment) $3k/$18k through March
8. Investigate ways to put more tax deferred money away (No roth due to income, no backdoor roth due to pro-rata rule and $900k in traditional IRA from 401k rollover, no HSA since my health plan doesn't qualify me) FAIL! Now focused on tax efficient AT investment strategies
Dude ... That's $46.5k put toward your goals in 3 months. I'll be lucky if I manage that for the year.
If you won't mind me asking, what is your gross income?

RamonaQ

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 877
  • Age: 47
  • Location: Midwest
Re: 2016 Financial Goals - Peach fuzz (noob) edition
« Reply #99 on: March 29, 2016, 11:56:52 AM »
Update through the first quarter of 2016 (a few days early):

1. Save at least $3000 in an emergency fund
DONE! Now working on saving for a full 6 months of expenses

2. Increase my Roth contributions
Increased to $50 per pay period, plan to increase again after each month of expenses added to EF

3. Decrease spending on groceries/household supplies (first goal - get it under $400/mo, then go from there)
Average is still under $400/mo, but exceeded goal for March.  I chose to stock up on some items that were on a super sale this weekend, so that put me over.

4. Improve communication with my significant other about his/my/our finances
Started talking, but still have a long way to go.  He feels that he needs over $4 million to even think about retiring.  For himself only.  In today's dollars.  He also loves investing but hates budgeting, where I'm pretty much the exact opposite.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!