Author Topic: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition  (Read 41762 times)

afuera

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #150 on: September 14, 2017, 02:55:30 PM »
Quote
Some of these will be stretch goals (side hustle income and spending) which will be hard for us to reach but hopefully with some hard work and creativity we will be able to check all of these off by EOY.  Good luck everybody!
2017 Goals:
-Max both 401Ks ($36K).
-Rollover Hubs' tIRA into his 401K (if his company allows).
-Max my rIRA and open rIRA for Hubs and max it ($11K).
-Max my HSA and Hubs' HSA.
-Spend <$40K for the year.
-Open a taxable investment account with Vangaurd and contribute $15K.
-Make $400/month in side hustle income.
-Pay for Hubs' Lasik/PRK surgery out of HSA (~$3.5K).
-Finally get our asses over to Madrid (pay for flights w/ travel hacking points).
Feb. Update
-Max both 401Ks ($36K). Contributions set, will max by year end.  DONE
-Rollover Hubs' tIRA into his 401K (if his company allows). Check is on its way! DONE
-Max my rIRA and open rIRA for Hubs and max it ($11K). Hubs' contributions on autopilot, will max by year end. Will max mine with my bonus mid-March .
-Max my HSA and Hubs' HSA. Contributions set, will max by year end.  DONE
-Spend <$40K for the year. Way overspent in January.  We are going to need a Frugal February to get back on track...
-Open a taxable investment account with Vanguard and contribute $15K. Will start on this once the IRA's are maxed.
-Make $400/month in side hustle income. Total: $330, Avg: $330.  Should make more in on-season months to make up for off-season months.
-Pay for Hubs' Lasik/PRK surgery out of HSA (~$3.5K). HSA is set to max and filling slowly.
-Finally get our asses over to Madrid (pay for flights w/ travel hacking points).Working towards the CSR minimum spend to get bonus.
Mar. Update
-Max both 401Ks ($36K). DONE
-Rollover Hubs' tIRA into his 401K (if his company allows). DONE
-Max my rIRA and open rIRA for Hubs and max it ($11K). Max my IRA by end of month. Hubs' IRA is on autopilot but we may max early.
-Max my HSA and Hubs' HSA. DONE
-Spend <$40K for the year. Spent 3.6K in Feb (5K in Jan :/). Will need to cut spending a bit more to make this goal.
-Open a taxable investment account with Vanguard and contribute $15K. No change.
-Make $400/month in side hustle income. Total: $780, Avg: $390.  I could pick up more games but I'm not willing to commit my entire weekend to reffing...
-Pay for Hubs' Lasik/PRK surgery out of HSA (~$3.5K). No Change.
-Finally get our asses over to Madrid (pay for flights w/ travel hacking points). CSR sign-up bonus should go through this next statement.
April Update
-Max both 401Ks ($36K). DONE
-Rollover Hubs' tIRA into his 401K (if his company allows). DONE
-Max my rIRA and open rIRA for Hubs and max it ($11K). Maxed both accounts in March thanks to a nice big bonus.DONE
-Max my HSA and Hubs' HSA. DONE
-Spend <$40K for the year. 1Q average puts us on track for 47.5K.  It doesn't look like we will make this goal but we will continue to try and lower spending.
-Open a taxable investment account with Vanguard and contribute $15K. Opened the account and contributed 3K.
-Make $400/month in side hustle income. Total: $585, Avg: $457.  Sold my first Tradeline last month for $175.  I'm only reffing a handful of games every weekend so I can still enjoy my free time as well.  This is really the perfect side hustle for me.
-Pay for Hubs' Lasik/PRK surgery out of HSA (~$3.5K). My HSA is at $3,250 and Hubs is at $760.  We found out that Hub's HSA charges a $4 maintenance fee every month for balances below 1K so we are re-evaluating how we will pay for the surgery.
-Finally get our asses over to Madrid Spain (pay for flights w/ travel hacking points). CSR statement close 4/17.  We should have the flights purchased by the end of the month.  Also, we received some advice from a friend and might go to Grenada instead...decisions decisions.
Whoops look like I forgot to post my May Update...


June Update
-Max both 401Ks ($36K). DONE
-Rollover Hubs' tIRA into his 401K (if his company allows). DONE
-Max my rIRA and open rIRA for Hubs and max it ($11K). DONE
-Max my HSA and Hubs' HSA. DONE
-Spend <$40K for the year. Working on this for the rest of year.  We are bringing down the average but maybe not enough to meet our goal.
-Open a taxable investment account with Vanguard and contribute $15K. 13K/15K
-Make $400/month in side hustle income. We are going to blow past this goal since we will have a friend moving in with us this month.  He will pay us rent which I am counting as a side hustle :)
-Pay for Hubs' Lasik/PRK surgery out of HSA (~$3.5K)[/s]. We now both have 20/15 vision! . DONE
-Finally get our asses over to Madrid Spain Taiwan (pay for flights w/ travel hacking points). Points have been awarded but a family member is going on a business trip to Taiwan so we switched gears and are going to go with them!  Tickets still not purchased though.

September Update
-Max both 401Ks ($36K). DONE
-Rollover Hubs' tIRA into his 401K (if his company allows). DONE
-Max my rIRA and open rIRA for Hubs and max it ($11K). DONE
-Max my HSA and Hubs' HSA. DONE
-Spend <$40K for the year. Hahaha, yea we are getting no where near this goal.  Our home flooded and our deductible alone is 10K. Total spend for the year is probably going to be closer to $60K.  Womp womp. FAIL
-Open a taxable investment account with Vanguard and contribute $15K. 23K/15K. DONE
-Make $400/month in side hustle income. Home flooding=no more renter.  Picking up some more soccer games so I might be able to still meet this.
-Pay for Hubs' Lasik/PRK surgery out of HSA (~$3.5K)[/s]. We now both have 20/15 vision! . DONE
-Finally get our asses over to Madrid Spain Taiwan (pay for flights w/ travel hacking points). Flights and Hotels booked.  We will be in Taiwan for 2 weeks come November. DONE

wintertell

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #151 on: September 30, 2017, 01:10:00 PM »
We just sold our house! I don't have the exact numbers in as the money is still in transit, but we will be able finally start living on incoming income, rather than draw down on our emergency fund.

Joining! Our 2017 financial goals are pretty limited, mainly about maintaining the status quo while we work through huge life transitions

Revised Goals as of June 2017:

Maintenance
- Maintain living off on last month's income YES
- Maintain a 15K emergency fund YES
- Maintain tracking expenses via YNAB YES

New
- Live off of 1 income with no new debt - YES
- Move to NC - Completed Feb. 2017.
- Sell house - Completed Jun. 2017.
-  WT find a new job in NC by EOY. In progress
-  Move to target area of NC once WT gets new job. Dependent on above.
-  HB establish business in NC. YES No income yet, though.
-  Pay off all debt - car and truck, current balance about 20K. Completed July 2017
-  Save 15% of WT salary for retirement in 401(k)- Aiming for 10% contributions, 5% company match (maybe - have to convince HB) - FAIL - Didn't convince HB but we are saving some each month in cash.
-  Save for house down payment (on hold)

Off the Wheel

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #152 on: September 30, 2017, 02:34:29 PM »
Can I join for Q4 goals?! Limited in what can be accomplished in 3 months, but here we go.

  • Pay off the $7200 in debt that's mysteriously accumulated
  • Only eat out (coffee included) at work when it's a treat/with a friend
  • Get personal (non-housing) living expenses down to $3000/month - it's a start!
  • Exercise 3x/week
  • Add at least $1500 to stash
  • Get a raise, or a commitment for a raise in Jan

marty998

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #153 on: September 30, 2017, 03:53:26 PM »
Can I join for Q4 goals?! Limited in what can be accomplished in 3 months, but here we go.

  • Pay off the $7200 in debt that's mysteriously accumulated
  • Only eat out (coffee included) at work when it's a treat/with a friend
  • Get personal (non-housing) living expenses down to $3000/month - it's a start!
  • Exercise 3x/week
  • Add at least $1500 to stash
  • Get a raise, or a commitment for a raise in Jan

Oh my god.. step 1 should be figure out how $7,200 of debt mysteriously accumulates....

Otherwise as soon as you pay it off it'll mysteriously accumulate again and you'll be back to square 1.

This game is about changing habits, not about patching things over without fixes root causes.

Off the Wheel

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #154 on: September 30, 2017, 04:02:17 PM »
Can I join for Q4 goals?! Limited in what can be accomplished in 3 months, but here we go.

  • Pay off the $7200 in debt that's mysteriously accumulated
  • Only eat out (coffee included) at work when it's a treat/with a friend
  • Get personal (non-housing) living expenses down to $3000/month - it's a start!
  • Exercise 3x/week
  • Add at least $1500 to stash
  • Get a raise, or a commitment for a raise in Jan

Oh my god.. step 1 should be figure out how $7,200 of debt mysteriously accumulates....

Otherwise as soon as you pay it off it'll mysteriously accumulate again and you'll be back to square 1.

This game is about changing habits, not about patching things over without fixes root causes.

I was being a bit facetious. The $7200 was acquired because property tax bill and home insurance bills both hit in August, and at the point we were still on one income. Then the opportunity came about to invest in the company I work for, so $10,000 went to that yesterday (reasonable valuation on that is actually closer to $20,000, but it is a higher risk investment so I won't know whether it pays off for at least 3-4 years). It's planned debt.

Step37

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #155 on: September 30, 2017, 07:46:18 PM »
I look forward to continuing to track my expenses in detail in 2017. After many years of doing it, I got away from it for several years prior to 2016. It will be great to be able to compare!

2017 Financial Goals:
1. Continue to pare down grocery spending (10%) and restaurant/alcohol (20%).
Jan-Mar, down 11% on groceries and 26% on restaurant/alcohol.
Q3 update: looking at monthly averages, have now gone slightly UP from 2016 spending on each of these. The next few months should help to reduce those numbers again, but likely not quite to the “goal” level. I am okay with this, though, as the savings rate is excellent (and these numbers weren’t crazy before).

2. Cancel unnecessary life insurance policy that I've been regretting - collect ~$1200 cash value AND save $106/mo (no dependants/no debt/no need for this foolishness).
Done!!
Q3 update: still done. No regrets!

3. Continue with no new clothes/shoes/bags/jewelry (started in 2015! Yeah!). Replacement of actual WORN OUT necessities (gym shoes and the like) is all that's permitted.
Still going very well, aside from an unneeded shirt for $30. I can live with this.
Q3 update: holding steady. Urge to shop appears to be dead. WIN.

4. Hand in hand with #3, slim down a bit and fit into quite a few "new" pairs of underutilized pants. The bigger sizes are getting worn out and this will prevent shopping. Win/win.
Going back to WW on the weekend to get my head back in the game on this. I'm a lifetime member, so this should only cost about $20 if I restate my goal weight slightly higher (I am within the range) so I can get back to "free" status really quickly.
Q3 update: yup, WeightWatchers still works. Everything fits again. Thrilled to have finally gotten back to where I’ve wanted to be, now just need to stay on top of it.

5. Get the damn TFSAs bought and maxed AND
On track! 85% there, and the balance will be added in May. I didn't want to dump it in all at once.
Q3 update: done. 2018 max contributions are set aside and ready to go in on Jan. 2.

6. Research and move RRSP accounts into lower MER funds. Dreading the effort of this but it will be well worth the PITA, I am sure.
Everything has been moved into a self-directed account. Now I just need to sell the existing, high MER mutual funds and purchase the appropriate index funds.
Q3 update: sold the high MER stuff from my account (in May, I think) and proceeded to piss around and do nothing about buying EFTs until early September. That was really stupid, but not catastrophic in the scheme of things. Have not done my husband’s account yet, but will not repeat the mistake of letting that much of a chunk of cash sit and earn ZERO. At least the high MER funds are still going up! Will take care of that this month.

Hopefully this list will keep me accountable. Good luck with your goals, everyone!

Wow, this year is going great so far. And NW is up 75k in just three months (30k of it was a company dividend, but the rest is savings and investment gains, about 50/50)! I should have made a NW goal... wait, I still can! I would like to increase another 50k at least.

Time to look at this again and update. Q3 comments inserted above...

NW update: up another 59K for a total increase of 134K in nine months. This shit really works. Savings rate roughly 75%

BeautifulDay

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #156 on: October 21, 2017, 10:00:19 PM »
1. Save EF of $8000 - $5168 won't make $8000 by year end
2.  Live on $3500 or less per month (mortgage, utilities, spending, etc).  Remaining $1500 of take home pay goes towards savings and non-mortgage debt reduction.  Will be just over $4000 for both Sept and Oct. not so good :(  we went on vacation and spent around $1000 for a trip to Washington DC. Cost was split between Sept and Oct. 
3. Auto paid down from $16,000 to $10,000 (auto pay off in 2018 - non-mortgage debt free 2019) $13,534 won't make $10,000 by year end
4. $3000 saved for new business venture. Have $500 so far. $1900 I think we will make this goal
5. Complete -we are regularly carpooling
6. Camp 1 weekend per month in April thru October. none
7. Complete- now walking several times a day
9. Increase networth from $90k to $120k $117,523

the_fixer

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #157 on: November 17, 2017, 05:35:11 PM »
Sold my clown car today! I did not put it down as a goal as I really went back and forth on selling and was not sure if I would have enough badassity to pull it off but the dead is done.

Taking the extra 11K and investing it as well as the ~ $550 per month it will free up each month.


1 - Pay off 6 months same as cash for the appliances we purchased for the new house due by April 04 17
$3800

2 – Pay off 9 months same as cash from furniture purchase due by July 17
$3100

3 – Figure out what to do with my old 401k and how to invest my new 401K
Post a case study

4 – Understand and implement either a Tira or a backdoor Roth that will best suit our situation
5 – Increase the amount we are saving / investing this year to $70,000 or more
401k maxed + matches + retirement accounts and the amount we pay down the house
6 – Learn to build points for travel by using credit cards to offset our vacation habit

Off the Wheel

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #158 on: November 19, 2017, 03:43:49 PM »
Can I join for Q4 goals?! Limited in what can be accomplished in 3 months, but here we go.

  • Pay off the $7200 in debt that's mysteriously accumulated
  • Only eat out (coffee included) at work when it's a treat/with a friend
  • Get personal (non-housing) living expenses down to $3000/month - it's a start!
  • Exercise 3x/week
  • Add at least $1500 to stash
  • Get a raise, or a commitment for a raise in Jan

Update!

Pay off the $7200 in debt (that I accrued when investing into my company) --> down to $3000. On track to pay off by EOY.
Only eat out (coffee included) at work when it's a treat/with a friend --> 95% there!
Get personal (non-housing) living expenses down to $3000/month - it's a start! --> yes!
Exercise 3x/week --> barring a couple weeks taken down by the flu, yes!
Add at least $1500 to stash --> this will happen after I pay off #1, but it may inadvertently happen through nothing of my own doing if some unexpected family money comes through.
Get a raise, or a commitment for a raise in Jan --> asked for it (+$13k), boss agreed, need to get it in writing/determine timing.


Nangirl17

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #159 on: November 26, 2017, 06:08:39 PM »
Hi Everyone!
Here is my end of year report (because realistically I won't be reporting over the Christmas season!)

You've all inspired me to declare some goals for 2017!

- Continue to max RRSP and TFSA, and invest $1K/mo in Open investment account  DONE!
- Open a Vanguard style investing account and invest my tax refund here. This will take some research as I have no idea how to go about this!! DONE!
- Spend none of my money on my expensive hobby (I already have lots, and between my birthday and mother's day I should get what I 'need'!) almost ... I spent less than $30

All in all, a great year.
I hope there will be a 2018 version - it has been encouraging seeing people's progress!

Off the Wheel

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #160 on: December 16, 2017, 12:53:27 PM »
Only a few weeks left!

Pay off the $7200 in debt (that I accrued when investing into my company) --> down to $2000. Christmas spending made it hard. Will be paid off by EOY.
Only eat out (coffee included) at work when it's a treat/with a friend --> 75% there.
Get personal (non-housing) living expenses down to $3000/month - it's a start! --> yes!
Exercise 3x/week --> barring a couple weeks taken down by the flu, yes!
Add at least $1500 to stash --> this will happen after I pay off #1, but it may inadvertently happen through nothing of my own doing if some unexpected family money comes through. --> unlikely to happen until January.
Get a raise, or a commitment for a raise in Jan --> asked for it (+$13k), boss agreed, need to get it in writing/determine timing. January 1!

BeautifulDay

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #161 on: December 16, 2017, 09:13:57 PM »
Don't think much will change by the end of the month, so here are my final figures.

1. Save EF of $8000 - $6104 coming in short, but so thankful that I can live two months on my efund.  Never been able to say that before
2.  Live on $3500 or less per month (mortgage, utilities, spending, etc).  Remaining $1500 of take home pay goes towards savings and non-mortgage debt reduction.  Well this was ambitious. made this goal right after buying a house and didn't know how new expenses would pan out.  $3800 is probably a more realistic goal. $3500 or even $3000 is doable, but uncomfortable. Will adjust goal for 2018.
3. Auto paid down from $16,000 to $10,000 (auto pay off in 2018 - non-mortgage debt free 2019) $12,840 won't make $10,000 by year end
4. $3000 saved for new business venture. $3750.
5. Complete -we are regularly carpooling
6. Camp 1 weekend per month in April thru October. none
7. Complete- now walking several times a day
9. Increase networth from $90k to $120k mint has us at $130,188.

All in all, I'm proud of the progress made in 2017.  This was a very hard year. Lots of change and stress.  But the year is ending well and I expect 2018 to be even better.

2018 goals

1. Save EF of $13000 - top priority but I have a feeling that we will have to replace the AC next summer. If so, I'll come up short on this.  In which case my goal will be $9000.
2. Live on $3800 or less per month (mortgage, utilities, spending, etc.)
3. Max Roth IRA and Open DH's Roth IRA.
4. $9000 saved for new business venture by July.
5. Camp 1 weekend per month in April thru October.
6. Increase networth from $130k to $170k
7. Pay down auto from $12,840 to $8,000. - right now I'm prioritizing saving over debt reduction. Has a really low interest rate.

*Modified with final figures for the year
« Last Edit: December 30, 2017, 09:47:47 PM by BeautifulDay »

afuera

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #162 on: December 18, 2017, 09:30:53 AM »
Quote
Some of these will be stretch goals (side hustle income and spending) which will be hard for us to reach but hopefully with some hard work and creativity we will be able to check all of these off by EOY.  Good luck everybody!
2017 Goals:
-Max both 401Ks ($36K).
-Rollover Hubs' tIRA into his 401K (if his company allows).
-Max my rIRA and open rIRA for Hubs and max it ($11K).
-Max my HSA and Hubs' HSA.
-Spend <$40K for the year.
-Open a taxable investment account with Vangaurd and contribute $15K.
-Make $400/month in side hustle income.
-Pay for Hubs' Lasik/PRK surgery out of HSA (~$3.5K).
-Finally get our asses over to Madrid (pay for flights w/ travel hacking points).
Feb. Update
-Max both 401Ks ($36K). Contributions set, will max by year end.  DONE
-Rollover Hubs' tIRA into his 401K (if his company allows). Check is on its way! DONE
-Max my rIRA and open rIRA for Hubs and max it ($11K). Hubs' contributions on autopilot, will max by year end. Will max mine with my bonus mid-March .
-Max my HSA and Hubs' HSA. Contributions set, will max by year end.  DONE
-Spend <$40K for the year. Way overspent in January.  We are going to need a Frugal February to get back on track...
-Open a taxable investment account with Vanguard and contribute $15K. Will start on this once the IRA's are maxed.
-Make $400/month in side hustle income. Total: $330, Avg: $330.  Should make more in on-season months to make up for off-season months.
-Pay for Hubs' Lasik/PRK surgery out of HSA (~$3.5K). HSA is set to max and filling slowly.
-Finally get our asses over to Madrid (pay for flights w/ travel hacking points).Working towards the CSR minimum spend to get bonus.
Mar. Update
-Max both 401Ks ($36K). DONE
-Rollover Hubs' tIRA into his 401K (if his company allows). DONE
-Max my rIRA and open rIRA for Hubs and max it ($11K). Max my IRA by end of month. Hubs' IRA is on autopilot but we may max early.
-Max my HSA and Hubs' HSA. DONE
-Spend <$40K for the year. Spent 3.6K in Feb (5K in Jan :/). Will need to cut spending a bit more to make this goal.
-Open a taxable investment account with Vanguard and contribute $15K. No change.
-Make $400/month in side hustle income. Total: $780, Avg: $390.  I could pick up more games but I'm not willing to commit my entire weekend to reffing...
-Pay for Hubs' Lasik/PRK surgery out of HSA (~$3.5K). No Change.
-Finally get our asses over to Madrid (pay for flights w/ travel hacking points). CSR sign-up bonus should go through this next statement.
April Update
-Max both 401Ks ($36K). DONE
-Rollover Hubs' tIRA into his 401K (if his company allows). DONE
-Max my rIRA and open rIRA for Hubs and max it ($11K). Maxed both accounts in March thanks to a nice big bonus.DONE
-Max my HSA and Hubs' HSA. DONE
-Spend <$40K for the year. 1Q average puts us on track for 47.5K.  It doesn't look like we will make this goal but we will continue to try and lower spending.
-Open a taxable investment account with Vanguard and contribute $15K. Opened the account and contributed 3K.
-Make $400/month in side hustle income. Total: $585, Avg: $457.  Sold my first Tradeline last month for $175.  I'm only reffing a handful of games every weekend so I can still enjoy my free time as well.  This is really the perfect side hustle for me.
-Pay for Hubs' Lasik/PRK surgery out of HSA (~$3.5K). My HSA is at $3,250 and Hubs is at $760.  We found out that Hub's HSA charges a $4 maintenance fee every month for balances below 1K so we are re-evaluating how we will pay for the surgery.
-Finally get our asses over to Madrid Spain (pay for flights w/ travel hacking points). CSR statement close 4/17.  We should have the flights purchased by the end of the month.  Also, we received some advice from a friend and might go to Grenada instead...decisions decisions.
Whoops look like I forgot to post my May Update...


June Update
-Max both 401Ks ($36K). DONE
-Rollover Hubs' tIRA into his 401K (if his company allows). DONE
-Max my rIRA and open rIRA for Hubs and max it ($11K). DONE
-Max my HSA and Hubs' HSA. DONE
-Spend <$40K for the year. Working on this for the rest of year.  We are bringing down the average but maybe not enough to meet our goal.
-Open a taxable investment account with Vanguard and contribute $15K. 13K/15K
-Make $400/month in side hustle income. We are going to blow past this goal since we will have a friend moving in with us this month.  He will pay us rent which I am counting as a side hustle :)
-Pay for Hubs' Lasik/PRK surgery out of HSA (~$3.5K)[/s]. We now both have 20/15 vision! . DONE
-Finally get our asses over to Madrid Spain Taiwan (pay for flights w/ travel hacking points). Points have been awarded but a family member is going on a business trip to Taiwan so we switched gears and are going to go with them!  Tickets still not purchased though.

September Update
-Max both 401Ks ($36K). DONE
-Rollover Hubs' tIRA into his 401K (if his company allows). DONE
-Max my rIRA and open rIRA for Hubs and max it ($11K). DONE
-Max my HSA and Hubs' HSA. DONE
-Spend <$40K for the year. Hahaha, yea we are getting no where near this goal.  Our home flooded and our deductible alone is 10K. Total spend for the year is probably going to be closer to $60K.  Womp womp. FAIL
-Open a taxable investment account with Vanguard and contribute $15K. 23K/15K. DONE
-Make $400/month in side hustle income. Home flooding=no more renter.  Picking up some more soccer games so I might be able to still meet this.
-Pay for Hubs' Lasik/PRK surgery out of HSA (~$3.5K). We now both have 20/15 vision! . DONE
-Finally get our asses over to Madrid Spain Taiwan (pay for flights w/ travel hacking points). Flights and Hotels booked.  We will be in Taiwan for 2 weeks come November. DONE

EOY Update
-Max both 401Ks ($36K). DONE
-Rollover Hubs' tIRA into his 401K (if his company allows). DONE
-Max my rIRA and open rIRA for Hubs and max it ($11K). DONE
-Max my HSA and Hubs' HSA. DONE
-Spend <$40K for the year. Year end total has us at $63526 which includes 10K deductible, 4 months of rent (on top of our mortgage) and other various flood expenses (new mattress, dehumidifiers, cleanup/demo materials). FAIL
-Open a taxable investment account with Vanguard and contribute $15K. 25K/15K. DONE
-Make $400/month in side hustle income. Combination of refereeing, TL sales, 2 months renting brings us to ~$475/mo average DONE
-Pay for Hubs' Lasik/PRK surgery out of HSA (~$3.5K). We now both have 20/15 vision! DONE
-Finally get our asses over to Madrid Spain Taiwan (pay for flights w/ travel hacking points). DONE

We were able to accomplish almost everything except for the spending goal which we mostly exceeded due to the flood.   All of our savings, investing, and side incomes are pretty much automated/scheduled at this point.  We have consolidated all of our accounts and we don't have any big upcoming planned medical expenses for next year.  At this point, our main goal for next year is just to focus on our spending.  We won't be able to get close to the 40K target since we still have to buy appliances and furniture for the house and we still have to pay 3 months of rent in 2018 but we still have fat to trim so maybe 50K would be a good target.

lemonverbena

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #163 on: December 19, 2017, 12:25:08 PM »
2017 goals:

continue doing Uber Frugal Month challenges OFF AND ON
enroll spouse in free employer health insurance plan DONE
enroll spouse in free employer cell phone plan DONE
pay off car loan $7825 by June end of year APR 2018
stop paying for preschool $396/month by June DONE
grow most of our veggies and fruits EH, WELL, WE GROW A LOT OF FRUIT ANYWAY
buy leftover roofing materials on Craigslist, DIY new roof this summer NOT HAPPENING
DIY mold removal this summer MIGHT BE UNNECESSARY
start working at a paying job (I'm currently a full-time parent) in September HIRED
set up tIRA DONE
and contribute to reduce MAGI to qualify for healthcare stipend "extra savings" level CONTRIBUTED SOME, BUT DOUBT I'LL QUALIFY
Additional goals:
move $1,000 into separate emergency account DONE
cancel landline no longer needed for side-gig DONE
cancel Microsoft Office no longer needed for side-gig DONE
set up HSA DON'T QUALIFY
pay off roof replacement loan by June end of year JANUARY 2018
Max out SEP IRA, then rollover to tIRA CONTRIBUTED SOME, BUT WON'T MAX, WILL ROLLOVER BEFORE TAX TIME

2017 saw a major health diagnosis for my spouse (plus the accompanying medical bills) and the change from SAHP to part-time/low-paying but highly-satisfying employment for me (plus side gigs). Hoping to see more slow but steady upward financial progress in 2018!

Also hoping to join you all for a 2018 version of this thread!!

wintertell

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #164 on: December 29, 2017, 07:27:38 AM »
Final check in of the year!

Revised 2017 Goals:
Maintenance
- Maintain living off on last month's income - Went over some months but do this in general.
- Maintain a 15K emergency fund - YES
- Maintain tracking expenses via YNAB - YES

New
- Live off of 1 income with no new debt - YES
- Move to NC - Completed Feb. 2017.
- Sell house - Completed Jun. 2017.
- WT find a new job in NC - Completed Dec 2017
- Move to target area of NC once WT gets new job. -  In progress, complete by Jan 1
-  HB establish business in NC.- Has done the paperwork but needs to focus on getting in income.
-  Pay off all debt - car and truck, current balance about 20K. - Completed July 2017
-  Save 15% of WT salary for retirement in 401(k)- Aiming for 10% contributions, 5% company match (maybe - have to convince HB) - Nope, HB didn't go for it.
-  Save for house down payment (on hold)

We just sold our house! I don't have the exact numbers in as the money is still in transit, but we will be able finally start living on incoming income, rather than draw down on our emergency fund.

Joining! Our 2017 financial goals are pretty limited, mainly about maintaining the status quo while we work through huge life transitions

Maintenance
- Maintain living off on last month's income  - Starting in July
- Maintain a 16K emergency fund - About 4 months expenses - Replenish with house funds
- Maintain tracking expenses via YNAB - YES

New
- Live off of 1 income with no new debt  - YES
- Move to NC - Completed Feb. 2017.
- WT find a new job in NC by EOY. - In progress but picking up the pace of applications
-  HB establish business in NC. - In progress
-  Save for house down payment - Not sure of exact figure needed but likely will do this from sale of mobile home - Will have about 20/45-50k in a downpayment, but house goal is likely on hold for a while.
-  Save 10% of WT salary for retirement in 401(k)- Bumped contributions up to 6%, 4% match in January. - YES - Trying to convince HB to bump it up to 15% total and keep it there for the foreseeable future. My company bumped their match up to 5% so we are currently contributing 11% to retirement.

Maybe
- Pay off truck - current balance around ~6200, but loan is at 1.99% - Paying the truck and the car off with house funds. We will be debt free in a matter of a week or two!

Revised 2017 Goals:

Maintenance
- Maintain living off on last month's income
- Maintain a 15K emergency fund
- Maintain tracking expenses via YNAB

New
- Live off of 1 income with no new debt - Ongoing
- Move to NC - Completed Feb. 2017.
-  Sell house - Completed Jun. 2017.
-  WT find a new job in NC by EOY.
-  Move to target area of NC once WT gets new job.
-  HB establish business in NC.
-  Pay off all debt - car and truck, current balance about 20K.
-  Save 15% of WT salary for retirement in 401(k)- Aiming for 10% contributions, 5% company match (maybe - have to convince HB)
-  Save for house down payment (on hold)
« Last Edit: December 29, 2017, 07:43:49 AM by wintertell »

monstermonster

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #165 on: December 29, 2017, 11:52:48 AM »
Verdict on Financial Goals 2017


First and foremost and hardest: grow the business so it's enough to live and save off of. Earn $60,000 total between W2 job ($27,000) and business ($33,000). Did not happen-  but I did earn $25K gross from the business, so I could've done worse.

Live on less than $20,000 for the year, including medical premiums (2016 with two weeks left: $17,559) - on track  - Not quite, but my total came to $22K including premiums, and I will get ~$2.4K back from health care subsidy at tax time because my income was so low, so ALMOST.

Max out Roth IRA - did not earn enough, but put away $2,000

Contribute $10,000 to a Solo 401K - did not earn enough

Reduce overall alcohol-related spending from 2016 (Total spending for 2016 was $854.43, which is $71/month). - Spent $69.39 for the entire year, did not drink alcohol at all.

Reduce overall fitness-related spending from 2016 (Total spending for 2016 was $829, which is $69/month) - success, spent $754.89

Continue to track expenses & publish monthly reports - did so

Travel on trans-siberian railway and in Russia/China for 3 weeks without spending >$1000[/li][/list] - No, I spent over $3,000 and added 11 countries to the itinerary, turns out my estimated expenses were overestimates

Stop spending business expenses out of personal accounts/cards - done

recklesslysober

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #166 on: December 30, 2017, 11:04:57 AM »
I'm only 6 weeks in - love the peach fuzz title!

My goals:
Pay off at least $20,000.00 of my remaining $119,000.00 student loan debt. Paid off $30,000!
Reduce meals out spending by 50% by focusing on making more meals at home. Reduced by 85%!
Reduce clothing/entertainment/shopping spending by at least 50% by finding free ways to entertain myself and by addressing the psychological issues behind my shopping habits. Reduced by 30%. Would have been more but I ended up replacing both my cell phone and my laptop this year. I exceeded my debt payoff goal so I'm happy with my progress!

This is the first year that I'll have a full year of data to look back on. Very excited to start a new year in YNAB and be able to compare spending to track improvement. :)


Step37

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #167 on: December 31, 2017, 12:23:32 AM »
I look forward to continuing to track my expenses in detail in 2017. After many years of doing it, I got away from it for several years prior to 2016. It will be great to be able to compare!

2017 Financial Goals:
1. Continue to pare down grocery spending (10%) and restaurant/alcohol (20%).
Jan-Mar, down 11% on groceries and 26% on restaurant/alcohol.
Q3 update: looking at monthly averages, have now gone slightly UP from 2016 spending on each of these. The next few months should help to reduce those numbers again, but likely not quite to the “goal” level. I am okay with this, though, as the savings rate is excellent (and these numbers weren’t crazy before).
YE: groceries up 1% and restaurant/alcohol/entertainment UP 19% - FAIL!

2. Cancel unnecessary life insurance policy that I've been regretting - collect ~$1200 cash value AND save $106/mo (no dependants/no debt/no need for this foolishness).
Done!!
Q3 update: still done. No regrets!
YE: 2016, spent $4938 on life and LTD; 2017, received $1387 refund on the life policy (LTD was canceled partway through 2016)

3. Continue with no new clothes/shoes/bags/jewelry (started in 2015! Yeah!). Replacement of actual WORN OUT necessities (gym shoes and the like) is all that's permitted.
Still going very well, aside from an unneeded shirt for $30. I can live with this.
Q3 update: holding steady. Urge to shop appears to be dead. WIN.
YE: replaced gym shoes today. Have joined 2018 No Clothes Buying thread to stay strong (it’s not difficult, but it is nice to discuss with and motivate like-minded people).

4. Hand in hand with #3, slim down a bit and fit into quite a few "new" pairs of underutilized pants. The bigger sizes are getting worn out and this will prevent shopping. Win/win.
Going back to WW on the weekend to get my head back in the game on this. I'm a lifetime member, so this should only cost about $20 if I restate my goal weight slightly higher (I am within the range) so I can get back to "free" status really quickly.
Q3 update: yup, WeightWatchers still works. Everything fits again. Thrilled to have finally gotten back to where I’ve wanted to be, now just need to stay on top of it.
YE: still attending WW meetings as many weeks as possible to keep this a top priority (and my weight is staying at my goal). It’s well worth the small time commitment.

5. Get the damn TFSAs bought and maxed AND
On track! 85% there, and the balance will be added in May. I didn't want to dump it in all at once.
Q3 update: done. 2018 max contributions are set aside and ready to go in on Jan. 2.
YE: still done.

6. Research and move RRSP accounts into lower MER funds. Dreading the effort of this but it will be well worth the PITA, I am sure.
Everything has been moved into a self-directed account. Now I just need to sell the existing, high MER mutual funds and purchase the appropriate index funds.
Q3 update: sold the high MER stuff from my account (in May, I think) and proceeded to piss around and do nothing about buying EFTs until early September. That was really stupid, but not catastrophic in the scheme of things. Have not done my husband’s account yet, but will not repeat the mistake of letting that much of a chunk of cash sit and earn ZERO. At least the high MER funds are still going up! Will take care of that this month.
YE: JUST got husband’s high MER funds sold/EFTs bought this week. Later than I wanted, but still got done in 2017!

Hopefully this list will keep me accountable. Good luck with your goals, everyone!

Wow, this year is going great so far. And NW is up 75k in just three months (30k of it was a company dividend, but the rest is savings and investment gains, about 50/50)! I should have made a NW goal... wait, I still can! I would like to increase another 50k at least.

Time to look at this again and update. Q3 comments inserted above...

NW update: up another 59K for a total increase of 134K in nine months. This shit really works. Savings rate roughly 75%

YE: NW up nearly 210K - 30% market gains and 70% saved from income and personal company dividend. 72% savings rate. Great year.

beantown

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #168 on: January 09, 2018, 08:55:25 AM »
Wanted to close out my 2017 goals. Results below:

Goal 1: Maintain a 60% savings rate using the definition of (pre-tax savings + matches + post-tax savings + debt repayment)/ (gross income - taxes). In 2016 I had an average of around 45%, but I've received a raise and will get 401k matching next year, so hopefully can bump this up
Result: Did not make 60% as my partner's job situation changed, but came in at 54% for the year
Goal 2: Reach 75K in net worth by EOY. I'm starting Jan with about a 16K net worth.
Result: Crazy market helped me reach $98K, which was totally unexpected
Goal 3: Pay back at least 24K to my mother, who helped pay for grad school.
Result: Paid back $20K - still have another $20K to go
Goal 4: Donate 1% of net income. As someone who has only haphazardly donated in the past, I want to determine what causes I care about and start getting in the habit of donating more regularly.
Result: This fell off the rails towards the second half of the year... I think it might have ended up being more like 0.3% or something for the year.

Overall I would give myself a B+ for last year - I think there were financial situations I couldn't control or anticipate but ultimately my net worth still went up far higher than I expected

mommad

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Re: 2017 Financial Goals - Peach Fuzz Edition
« Reply #169 on: February 16, 2018, 07:35:10 AM »
2017 seems like it will be awesome.

1. I'd like to start a solo 401k.  My job doesn't have one and I do a lot of 1099 work. I got a new job with a 401k so i was able to max my contributions
2. I'd like to pay down my 403b loan to less than 20k.  currently 36,000I brought it down to 13k last month
3.  I'd like to save 10k for a new roof. currently i'm ok but I don't know when it may leak.roofer looked at it and rec cleaning it
4. I'd like to increase my investment taxable account to 20 k currently 6 k.got it to 17k
5.  I'd like to contribute to my Roth IRA up to max. unable to contribute
6.  I'd like to get central heat in my home currently we have space heater. unable to complete
7. I'd like to lose at least 13 pounds and I'd be extremely happy if I got down a full 21!gained 2 pounds
8.  I'd like to teach my kid her letters and numbers. still has trouble with end of alphabet and 7-10 but not bad for 3
9.  I'd like to spend less this year than last year.  I was able to do this in 2016 despite extensive house remodeling. 24k reduction
10.  I'd like to give at least 4ki gave 6k including family
overall a great year

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!