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General Discussion => Throw Down the Gauntlet => Topic started by: Slow road to freedom on December 02, 2017, 04:04:51 PM

Title: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Slow road to freedom on December 02, 2017, 04:04:51 PM
Is it too early to think about 2018?

I’ve heard many times that it’s easy to overestimate what can be achieved in one year, and underestimate what can be achieved in ten years. Well, I think ten years is too long for me. So I will focus on 2018 to accelerate / catapult me into a great position.

I’m about halfway to achieving FI. At a base level. I’ve plumped for the 2023 Cohort, a great bunch, but I would dearly love to say ‘hi’ to the 2022 Cohort. To do that, by my calculations, I need to save £80,000 in 2018. It’s possible. It’s a challenge. But boy, am I determined...

That’s the big one for me.

I would also love to lose a little weight (well, ok, body fat), spend more time helping my kids at school - and develop their own mini Mustache - and read some well-crafted books.

What’s your big one for 2018?
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: TartanTallulah on December 02, 2017, 04:15:45 PM
I can afford to retire at the end of June 2018 if I want to. That's my big one for the year. Much else depends on whether I actually pull the plug.

Otherwise, aim to keep our total savings rate, including DB pensions, well above 50% for as long as I'm working.

Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Slow road to freedom on December 02, 2017, 04:23:18 PM
I can afford to retire at the end of June 2018 if I want to. That's my big one for the year. Much else depends on whether I actually pull the plug.

Otherwise, aim to keep our total savings rate, including DB pensions, well above 50% for as long as I'm working.

That’s pretty big. Good going.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Mr Griz on December 02, 2017, 05:14:50 PM
I plan to FIRE in 2018. Late August most likely. Depends on exactly when some RSUs vest.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Cookie78 on December 02, 2017, 07:30:21 PM
My ONLY priority goal for 2018 is to sell my rental house. I call this Freedom phase 2 (Phase 1 of course being FIRE).

Other secondary goals are:
Continuing to get in better shape
Canoe trip leg 3
Max TFSA
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Slow road to freedom on December 03, 2017, 01:17:38 AM
Canoe trip leg 3

That sounds fun - what river are you going back for more to?
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: facepalm on December 03, 2017, 09:21:07 AM
I'm going to make an attempt to sock away $100,000. I have No Idea how I will do it. I managed to set aside $72,000 this year so I may be able to make it happen. Second job, sell a kidney . . .
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Morning Glory on December 03, 2017, 04:34:32 PM
My goal is to work less in 2018, and still grow my stache on a lower income. I would like to at least max out my 403b, my Roth IRA, and hubby's Roth IRA. It was easy this year because I worked .9 at my nursing job plus taught 2 semesters of clinical. We just had a new baby, so I am going to take the spring semester off from clinical (unpaid) then possibly cut down the nursing job to .75 when the fall semester starts. I am on paid leave from the nursing job until February.

Other goals are to lose the pregnancy weight , get my abs back (for strength, not just looks), and possibly run a half marathon.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: rjbf65 on December 04, 2017, 11:48:51 AM
Goal is to get to a 50% savings rate, 2017 will end up around 47%.  Would have been ~60% but my wife had aspirations of getting her Masters and we paid out $9K in tuition this year.  I counted that as an expense but it will pay off in the future.  Only debt we have is her student loan but I have counted the entire payment as an expense instead of only the interest portion like MMM does.  So I could argue that our SR is better than 47%.  But that's just splitting hairs really.

Also hope to max out several tax advantaged accounts.  Will throw remainder at finishing off student loan debt and after tax investing.

Gross income is around $120K but "True Take Home" pay is around $106K.  True take home is Gross - taxes + any matches.   

With all of this I hope our NW to grow by $70 or $80K or so if we can get decent market returns for another year.  But honestly, I wouldn't mind for it to crash and but some stocks on sale as we are still relatively young.   
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Cookie78 on December 04, 2017, 03:17:55 PM
Canoe trip leg 3

That sounds fun - what river are you going back for more to?

The total trip is Hudson's Hope BC to Inuvik NWT (and now that  the new road is open probably Tuktoyutuk). Peace, Slave, and Mackenzie Rivers, a little along the coast of Great Slave Lake, and a tiny bit of Arctic Ocean if Tuktoyutuk works out.

Leg three is between Ft Vermilion AB and Fort Smith NWT. I'm hoping to do it in June, which is a little early, but selling the house that summer is priority and I don't want to list it, then take off and be out of contact for 2+ weeks mid-summer. Plus my dad really wants to come on this leg too and he's busy late June through late July.

Here are some pics from leg 2 if you are curious.
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/journals/six-months-to-go!/msg1669423/#msg1669423
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: asauer on December 05, 2017, 06:45:30 AM
I always set 1-3 "Impossible" goals for the year.  2017 was "do an ultramarathon"- did it!  So...2018.  Here are my 3 Impossible goals:
1. Grow my 'stache by 150k (only 70k of that will come from job salaries)
2. Do a half marathon every month
3. Get promoted at work (I've only worked here a year so it feel impossible)

Not really sure how I will do this but I'm smart and I can learn stuff so I'll figure it out.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: haypug16 on December 05, 2017, 10:18:09 AM
Never too early to start setting goals for the upcoming year! I love goals. Here are mine for 2018;

1. Pay off all Credit Debt (looking like April)
2. Max out 401k by year end
3. Reach $50k in Retirement accounts
4. Get yearly expenses to $21,600 or less ($1,800 per month)
5. Ride bike to work

Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Daisy on December 05, 2017, 05:24:50 PM
I will be FIREd up about being FIREd.! I'm a fresh FIRE from the Class of 2017.

I am still in a haze to what the day to day activities will be, but I am planning some cool trips. I've tip-toed into looking at some volunteer things in the community, but haven't figured out what I'd like to do yet.

I need to roll over my pre-tax and post-tax 401k to an existing IRA and Roth IRAs. I'm trying to decide whether to put it with my other accounts in Ameritrade or go directly with Vanguard.

I need to finally set up my guest room for guests. I have other home organization projects to work on.

Tying in to the travel planned, it is mostly active stuff so I am currently and will continue on into 2018, ramp up my exercise routines. So far the ski prep is going well.

I may need to swap out my high maintenance, although economical to drive, car. I'd like to find a gently used Honda, NIssan, or Toyota to replace it.

I hope to continue to help my elderly parents who aren't doing too well and need some attention.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: TheWifeHalf on December 05, 2017, 06:19:00 PM
I have to stain and finish the cupboard upstairs that's destined to hold my quilt fabric. When that's finished we have to finish staining and finishing the stairs.
Oh, TheHusbandHalf said he's going to retire on Jan 4, 1919 so I suppose there will be things to do to ready for that.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Slow road to freedom on December 05, 2017, 11:11:06 PM
Oh, TheHusbandHalf said he's going to retire on Jan 4, 1919 so I suppose there will be things to do to ready for that.

That feels ambitious to me, but time travel should be within the grasp of MMMers. After all, we are not mere mortals. Good luck to TheHusbandHalf in his quest.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Loren Ver on December 06, 2017, 09:39:20 AM
I'm in!  Some things that will happen and something that will be big stretches based on history.

Goals for me:
Max out all tax advantaged accounts for the first time for both adults! (HSA, ROTH, 401Ks).

Rock my new job role by being engaged, actively learning, and always helpful.

Super stretch - finish the dining room/kitchen renovation.  It was started, 2-3 years ago.  The big stuff got done, but the little stuff is being ignored (base molding, touch up painting, caulking etc).

Odd stretch - Get DH in shape.  He said he wants to do it.  I'll make the plan and provide the expertise if he will put in the effort.  My part of the goal is to make sure I am providing the right level of challenge to keep him motivated.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: NevermindScrooge on December 06, 2017, 10:20:46 AM
I love lists!

My plans for 2018 are:

- buy a house in the vicinity of some woods*
- dig up my running shoes and start running in those woods
- start a garden! (the house will be chosen to have a garden so I can grow raspberries**)
- get promoted at work (or find a new job if the bullying boss doesn't start behaving)***

*we are already making progress; we have found a house that ticks all the boxes, we only need to start bidding *nervous*
** and all kinds of other lovely fruit and veg of course. But my first 'adoption' will be a raspberry bush :-)
*** there are other job opportunities for me in the area and my SO loves his stable job. I think it will be low risk to buy a house now
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Livingthedream55 on December 06, 2017, 10:49:31 AM
February - April: Volunteer as a tax preparer for low-income families.
April: Make last payment for daughter's college.
May: Take said daughter on celebratory trip from USA to London (her 21st birthday)
Year Long: Bulk up the emergency fund in the hopes of maybe FIReing in 2018 instead on 2019.
Year Long: Continue with healthy eating/exercise/ weight loss (lost 30 pounds in 2017 so far!)

Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Livingthedream55 on December 06, 2017, 10:52:02 AM
I love lists!

My plans for 2018 are:

- buy a house in the vicinity of some woods*
- dig up my running shoes and start running in those woods
- start a garden! (the house will be chosen to have a garden so I can grow raspberries**)
- get promoted at work (or find a new job if the bullying boss doesn't start behaving)***

*we are already making progress; we have found a house that ticks all the boxes, we only need to start bidding *nervous*
** and all kinds of other lovely fruit and veg of course. But my first 'adoption' will be a raspberry bush :-)
*** there are other job opportunities for me in the area and my SO loves his stable job. I think it will be low risk to buy a house now

Sending you good MMM vibes for your dream house!! : 0 )
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Cookie78 on December 06, 2017, 11:11:09 AM
My ONLY priority goal for 2018 is to sell my rental house. I call this Freedom phase 2 (Phase 1 of course being FIRE).

Other secondary goals are:
Continuing to get in better shape
Canoe trip leg 3
Max TFSA

I forgot anther one!

Build outrigger sailing canoe
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Linea_Norway on December 06, 2017, 11:22:48 AM
My big things in 2018:

We need DH to get cured from his knee problem. It could take up to a year, so it should definitively not take more than the end of 2018. As he is injured for half a year already, he might get better in sommer 2018.

Save 96K USD, in today's dollar course.
Depending on the parameters in my FIRE excel sheet and my calculations being correct, this might mean that we can start working 50% in 2019 and retire a year later.

Getting the previous owner of our house sued to pay for repair for the faulty drainage system that he built himself. So that we can bring the clown house in a good state to sell without loss.

Get a good financial deal with the neighbours from whom we are since a month receiving warm water straight into our CV, without a contract in place. The goal is to save 50% or more on what we spend on warm water (floor heating and shower). This percentage was promised and confirmed by email by previous owner of house. Otherwise, sue him for that too.

Starting to earn a bit of money with a side-gig that is my hobby. This is in the order of maximum 1100 USD a year to stay below having to pay income tax.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: ardrum on December 06, 2017, 11:53:06 AM
I want to hit $100k net worth in 2018, which is extremely doable even if the market drops a ton next year.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: NevermindScrooge on December 06, 2017, 12:19:57 PM
Thank you Livingthedream55! I was just thinking that I felt a pleasant tingling in my house muscles ;-)

Hope you and your daughter have a nice trip to the UK!
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Slow road to freedom on December 06, 2017, 01:58:00 PM
May: Take said daughter on celebratory trip from USA to London (her 21st birthday)

I love lists too!

Enjoy London in May - if you'd like something organised PM me - I'm in London every week :-)
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Livingthedream55 on December 07, 2017, 07:01:11 AM
May: Take said daughter on celebratory trip from USA to London (her 21st birthday)

I love lists too!

Enjoy London in May - if you'd like something organised PM me - I'm in London every week :-)

Thank you - very kind!
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: NinetyFour on December 07, 2017, 07:19:21 AM
RETIREMENT!!!!  :D
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: davisgang90 on December 07, 2017, 09:34:30 AM
Spring - buy home in Roanoke, VA
June 15th - retirement ceremony from the Navy
June 16th-Aug 30 - Temporary additional duty and terminal leave
1 Sep - official retirement
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: kaypinkHH on December 07, 2017, 12:43:30 PM
2018 will be a big year of change.

1. Having our first baby May 2018!!
2. Selling our HCOL home, closes end of Jan 2018, moving into a Lower COL area home (and cheaper home) hopefully in Jan 2018.
3. Liquidating assets from HCOL home. Deciding what we want to do with some of it now that we have maxed out tax advantaged accounts.
4. Mr.HH starts a new job, and before I leave for Mat leave, plan to save an additional ~20k just from his income in the few months we will have a dual income. (We live on one income and save the rest..and then some). Goal would be to have a savings of 50k this year, even with 1 income for 2/3rd of the year.

Smaller things: Having a garden!
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: itchyfeet on December 08, 2017, 12:52:01 PM
Man I feel inadequate. Well done to all of you highly motivated folk.

I have no goals for 2018, and have extremely vague notions of what I’ll do when I FIRE in 2019.

In January ill have my annual performance review and will be asked yet again “where do you see your career heading?” I’ll have to lie again.

I am really just treading water for now, waiting for what comes next.

I have been in this frozen stasis for the past year or two. Waiting, day dreaming of life post FIRE. I still don’t know what I’ll do with my time when I am free of corporate slavery.

What I really want for 2018 is to find the energy to stop waiting and to start driving my life forward again. I used to be so driven. Now I am so lazy.... and have piled on so much wait over the past 3 years....purely a bi-product of not having somewhere important to be, sojust lazing on the sofa.

I am not sure what “stopping waiting” entails, but it will certainly mean less time lying on the sofa watching tv and faffing on the net. Maybe my goal for 2018 will be to sit on my sofa less than 7 hours per week. I prob spent 7 hours there today alone.

I think what I would like to do is to start to build a small hustle for post FIRE that will keep the mind busy, and maybe spin a few bob.

I want to come up with something where I have more or lessfull control of the hours. Even better would be a hustle where I have a hustle partner or partners to engage with. I get energised from sharing ideas and working in a team..... hmmm.... how to trigger that lightbulb moment??

On the being very fat side of things, it’s prob time to address that too.

Getting off the sofa would do the trick I am sure.... but I prob need some sort of physical challenge to work towards as well. DW and I cycled from Germany to Budapest last summer, which was awesome, but it was flat and I didn’t need to be in shape...luckily....

Maybe I need to find a nice long hilly cycle tour for next summer. Ideas anyone? We’d prob ride 60-100kms a day for 2-3 weeks, so a ride of around 1,000 to 1,500kms.... not massively hilly mind, and no massive mountain ranges, but not pancake flat either. I want to be mildly scared of what I am committing to, but confident we will enjoy the journey and not suffer too much... just remember I am very out of shape and whilst DW is in great shape, she doesn’t have a lot of time for long bike rides during the week. She mainly runs for fitness (my knees are to shot to join her) and does a bit of yoga. We’d prob need to rent the touring bikes too. I don’t think we’re willing to invest in touring bikes.... but it’s possible...We have old road bikes for training on, but they’re not suited to carrying gear nor touring at a relaxed pace.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: runbikerun on December 09, 2017, 03:25:46 AM
Itchyfeet: if you enjoy cycling and you want to lose weight, I'd suggest going in the opposite direction to a long and leisurely cycle tour. You'll get better and more lasting results by absolutely drilling yourself into the ground for short periods than by doing long rides at a comfortable pace. Doing high-intensity interval sessions will have the biggest effect:  you can get a turbo trainer for about a hundred dollars (probably less secondhand), pick a training video on YouTube, and just follow the instructions. And instead of a long and relaxed biking tour, find a duathlon with a relay option and focus on doing the 20k or 40k as fast as you can physically manage so your wife has the biggest possible advantage for the final leg.

That said,  I'm a huge fan of discomfort. It's how I know I'm pushing myself: otherwise I find it way too easy to slip into lazy habits.

My goals for 2018 are partially work-related, partially FIRE-related, and partially fitness-related:
1: finish the graduate diploma I signed up for through work, and do well enough to convince my bosses to finance the additional modules in 2019 that will convert it to a full MSc;
2: get bored in work. I was told by a boss some time ago that I should move roles every 18 months unless I found something I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing, as just about every non-professional role should be possible to learn in 18 months. If I find myself getting bored towards the end of 2018, that means I'm right on schedule and ready to look for the next challenge.
3: get to a large enough savings figure to cover six months' expenses independent of any state assistance, then meet with my workplace pensions advisor to max out my pension tax benefits.
4: knock another minute off my 10k time. I'm down to 42:49, which is already ahead of the sub-44 I wanted to get to by April 2018, so the new goal is 41:XX by this time next year.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Slow road to freedom on December 09, 2017, 04:34:02 AM
Itchyfeet: if you enjoy cycling and you want to lose weight, I'd suggest going in the opposite direction to a long and leisurely cycle tour.

I agree. I used to run but when my body said ‘no more’ - well, my feet screamed that - I took up spinning to get the aerobic fix. Mixing exercise with music works for me, and I find it a very efficient way of keeping fit. Once / week is fine for base fitness, more = I usually feel likely a finely tuned athlete. Plus it’s social, which is more encouraging than being lonely in the gym.

I’m not a gym bunny, can you tell?

Good luck finding something you are interested in.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: itchyfeet on December 09, 2017, 10:02:42 AM
Itchyfeet: if you enjoy cycling and you want to lose weight, I'd suggest going in the opposite direction to a long and leisurely cycle tour.

I agree. I used to run but when my body said ‘no more’ - well, my feet screamed that - I took up spinning to get the aerobic fix. Mixing exercise with music works for me, and I find it a very efficient way of keeping fit. Once / week is fine for base fitness, more = I usually feel likely a finely tuned athlete. Plus it’s social, which is more encouraging than being lonely in the gym.

I’m not a gym bunny, can you tell?

Good luck finding something you are interested in.

I also agree that the best way to lose weight is to smash oneself. And you are right, the long leisurely ride we did this year didn’t do much for our fitness. But I love riding, and the trip gave DW confidence to do another more challenging cycle tour. I want to follow up on last year’s success. But you are right, I need to man up and set my horizons a bit higher.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: runbikerun on December 09, 2017, 10:10:53 AM
There's nothing stopping you doing both - you could find a cheap turbo, bury yourself on it twice a week all spring, race a relay duathlon with your wife, and then head on your leisurely bike tour.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: MaybeBabyMustache on December 09, 2017, 05:14:49 PM
I'm excited about 2018! Here's what's on the list:

1) FIRE in June
2) Have a relaxing & fun summer with the kids
3) Run a half marathon (I've done 4 before, but not in a few years, and not with lupus.)
4) Save another $130K before I FIRE
5) Lose 15 lbs
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: kissthesky on December 09, 2017, 08:07:08 PM
I'm going to make an attempt to sock away $100,000. I have No Idea how I will do it. I managed to set aside $72,000 this year so I may be able to make it happen. Second job, sell a kidney . . .

I love this goal. Count me in too! Hopefully kidneys will stay though.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Jenny Wren on December 10, 2017, 09:46:49 AM
What perfect timing for discovering this thread! I've been in goal setting mode the last few days:

1) Sock away 25% of our very modest income. Stretch goal is 30%.

2) Get the house ready  so it can be listed in spring 2019.

3) Lose the remaining 30 lbs of extra weight (I lost the first 25 this year).

4) Maintain my GPA so I don't lose any of my scholarships, since doing so would blow goal #1.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Jaayse on December 10, 2017, 01:19:52 PM
A few goals, hopefully all completed in 2018:

1) Hit 325k in my investments (at 225k right now, single person)

2) Sell my condo after the litigation ends and hopefully before any housing market fall

3) Re-designate to Human Resources Officer

4) Get into better shape

5) Travel a lot more of Europe while I'm living here without having too big of an impact on my savings

6) Max my TSP and IRA (combined total of 24k)

To be continued...
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: itchyfeet on December 10, 2017, 09:22:43 PM
There's nothing stopping you doing both - you could find a cheap turbo, bury yourself on it twice a week all spring, race a relay duathlon with your wife, and then head on your leisurely bike tour.

Sounds like a good plan. We’d enjoy doing that together.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: nawhite on December 11, 2017, 10:47:39 AM
1) Selling our rental. We have rented it for 2 years so far and so this year we either sell it or lose the "primary residence exclusion" on capital gains taxes from the sale. It's looking to be about $30k in saved taxes by selling in 2018 vs later so this year it goes.

2) Starting a second job/personal business as a kayak instructor. My goal is $5000/year in revenue in the first year. Ideally I'm about 2-3 years from FIRE and I'd like to turn this into my "job" in "retirement". I know I'm going to have OMY syndrome bad so something like this will be great to have something to think about going to, instead of just thinking about leaving.

3) Volunteering more. I've done some with a couple organizations off and on over the past 10 years but usually just when things fell in my lap through a big work volunteer push or something. For 2018 I'm registered to volunteer with Junior Achievement (ja.org, financial education for kids) and trying to sign up with VITA (Income Tax prep help for low income people).
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: appleseed on December 11, 2017, 01:13:24 PM
I've started think about my 2018 goals, too, so I'll post my initial thoughts.

1) max husband's SEP account (for 2017 and 2018 - once we get taxes together I'll know how much I can put in for 2017 and can  plan for 2018)

2) increase my freelance income /start corresponding SEP account for me

3) Reduce student loans from current $24900 to under $10,000 by end of 2018

4) Consolidate belongings and declutter - and help my mom/in laws do the same

5) Every month complete a creative project that's in progress that's stalled (mostly sewing projects)

6) Travel to new museums, parks, etc using discounts/passes/library benefits/NARM/ASTEC so affordable but interesting for adults and kids

7) Start couch to 5k again in spring (last time I completed and ran a 5k was 2 years ago before getting pregnant with my 3rd child); by end of year run a 10k

8) read more books than 2017 (currently at 36, probably 3-4 more this year)

9) Write more letters (real ones, not email)

Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk

Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: littlelykke on December 11, 2017, 02:57:28 PM
We will be moving in 2018. So our priority will be with moving and fixing up that house.

Apart from that, our goal is to pay down 10,000 on our mortgage. We'll end up with a slightly bigger mortgage than we'd like, so we'll use 2018 to free up some extra budget in the future, by making some extra payments.
But, we don't want our savings 'buffer' to shrink, so we'll try to keep that at the level it's currently at.

And with that, we're good. If we stick to our budget, this should be realistic and achievable.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: zeli2033 on December 11, 2017, 08:36:33 PM
Goals for 2018:

1) Max out DH's and my 401ks and Roth IRAs; stretch to include HSA but we'll see
2) Reduce Student Loans from ~$64k to less than $40k
3) Choose next fitness goal to accomplish
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Carrie on December 11, 2017, 08:57:12 PM
I would love to see networth hit 1mil.
I hope to get one major home project done (cash of course)
I want to spend more time making things - furniture,  home improvements, garden, clothes, quilts.
Several smaller money goals: roll an old retirement account, figure out allocation, maybe drum up some self employed income to fund an individual 401k .
Mostly just want to enjoy my family, live frugally, be kind, entertain & cook for neighbors & friends.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: frizzywhiskers on December 11, 2017, 09:27:49 PM
So FIRED up for 2018 - goals for the year are:

- Reach $1M Net Worth - January 2018
- Pay off the Mortgage - September 2018
- Enjoy 3 Fun Vacations this year - skiing, Vegas, Hawaii
- Focus on my health and gratitude this year
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Llewellyn2006 on December 12, 2017, 03:15:51 AM
At the beginning of every year I make a list of goals and I go back and assess how I did with the previous years. My list for 2018 so far is:

1. Keep our savings rate over 50% every month.
2. Reduce my weight to below 73kg and keep it there.
3. Spend less time on the internet.
4. I've also had enough of one of my business colleagues so I'll be leaving the company at the end of 2018.
5. I'm going to start my own Swedish Death Cleaning programme

There'll be others that I think of before the end of this year.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Linea_Norway on December 12, 2017, 03:59:18 AM
<...>
5. I'm going to start my own Swedish Death Cleaning programme

There I learned a new expression. This is what a lot of people on this site are already doing and calling it decluttering and minimizing. I try to do it as well, but it is not a clear goal for me, just a project.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Loren Ver on December 13, 2017, 12:55:37 PM
I love that there are people posting here that are going to be catching FIRE in 2018.  That is sooo totally awesome!

:D.

LV
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: GnomeErcy on December 13, 2017, 01:47:37 PM
Goal is to be earning $600/mo more than today to help work toward 2019 goals :) If we can do that I'll be a happy camper. Haven't had compensation reviews or anything yet to know what next year will look like so this might be too low, or we might need to work on it a bit if they don't go very well.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: appleseed on December 18, 2018, 10:44:31 AM
I've started think about my 2018 goals, too, so I'll post my initial thoughts.

1) max husband's SEP account (for 2017 and 2018 - once we get taxes together I'll know how much I can put in for 2017 and can  plan for 2018)

2) increase my freelance income /start corresponding SEP account for me

3) Reduce student loans from current $24900 to under $10,000 by end of 2018

4) Consolidate belongings and declutter - and help my mom/in laws do the same

5) Every month complete a creative project that's in progress that's stalled (mostly sewing projects)

6) Travel to new museums, parks, etc using discounts/passes/library benefits/NARM/ASTEC so affordable but interesting for adults and kids

7) Start couch to 5k again in spring (last time I completed and ran a 5k was 2 years ago before getting pregnant with my 3rd child); by end of year run a 10k

8) read more books than 2017 (currently at 36, probably 3-4 more this year)

9) Write more letters (real ones, not email)

Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk
So how did everyone do? I realized this list was the most detailed I made for goals this year, so I went back to sum up progress.

1) max husband's SEP account (for 2017 and 2018 - once we get taxes together I'll know how much I can put in for 2017 and can  plan for 2018)

- on track for these to max 2018 sep before April.

2) increase my freelance income /start corresponding SEP account for me

- this one has been a huge accomplishment this year, and I'm happy to  report my success!

3) Reduce student loans from current $24900 to under $10,000 by end of 2018

- I'll send an extra $1k at the end of the year to meet this one.

4) Consolidate belongings and declutter - and help my mom/in laws do the same

- gave a lot of baby stuff away. Still have a lot to do next year.

5) Every month complete a creative project that's in progress that's stalled (mostly sewing projects)

- working has made this difficult, but I'm hopeful with planning and organization, I'll be more successful in 2019.

6) Travel to new museums, parks, etc using discounts/passes/library benefits/NARM/ASTEC so affordable but interesting for adults and kids

- did a lot of this during the summer. Saved a ton on museums and kid activities and kept everyone entertained.

7) Start couch to 5k again in spring (last time I completed and ran a 5k was 2 years ago before getting pregnant with my 3rd child); by end of year run a 10k

- on week 6 of 5k to 10k, but pretty won't finish until early January.

8) read more books than 2017 (currently at 36, probably 3-4 more this year)

- completely failed. Read some good books, but need to find the reading mojo again.

9) Write more letters (real ones, not email)

- also failed. Will try again in 2019

If you're reading this post, how'd you do on your goals?
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: frizzywhiskers on December 18, 2018, 08:20:20 PM
So FIRED up for 2018 - goals for the year are:

- Reach $1M Net Worth - January 2018
- Pay off the Mortgage - September 2018
- Enjoy 3 Fun Vacations this year - skiing, Vegas, Hawaii
- Focus on my health and gratitude this year

Thanks for reviving this post!  I was feeling down today but after rereading my goals from a year ago I have a lot to be proud of! 

- Reach $1M Net Worth - January 2018 - Success!  Almost at 1.3 M net worth!
- Pay off the Mortgage - September 2018 -Success! Mortgage Mutilated!
- Enjoy 3 Fun Vacations this year - skiing, Vegas, Hawaii - partial success!  Hawaii didn’t happen due to family pet becoming ill!
- Focus on my health and gratitude this year - work in progress always!
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Hirondelle on December 19, 2018, 02:24:04 AM
Easy goals:
- Visit 2 countries I've never been (in case I happen to travel to the US, a state I've never been) Made it! 2 new countries and several new places in countries I'd already been
- Loose 5 kgs - not particularly easy but I've just started exercising again so the first pounds should get off easily. Nop. Not sure where I'm at now but it's no more than 1 kg.
- Make friends in my new city Worked out pretty well! Socially life is getting better by the week lately :)

Challenging goals:
- Get to 30k net worth (25k is the easy one - 30k will require more frugality and a bit of luck with the markets) Made it thanks to a forgotten windfall. Without windfall I'd probably be there after my last salary of the year (if markets don't tank further).
- Be able to do a full split Still as far off as I used to be
- Move into a better apartment Didn't happen and I'm actually quite happy with the current one so not planning on moving within the next year
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: zeli2033 on December 19, 2018, 07:59:03 AM
Goals for 2018:

1) Max out DH's and my 401ks and Roth IRAs; stretch to include HSA but we'll see
2) Reduce Student Loans from ~$64k to less than $40k
3) Choose next fitness goal to accomplish

1) Almost accomplished! Due to when DH was able to start contributing tp these accounts, we will be just a couple grand shy of maxing both 401ks and the HSA. Which is pretty great, we thought it'd be a stretch to get this far!
2) Done! Right around 38k, hoping to get it around 35k by end of year if possible
3)Erm...completely didn't think about this all year! Although did meet some new 1RMs for some key lifts
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Jaayse on December 19, 2018, 12:49:35 PM
A few goals, hopefully all completed in 2018:

1) Hit 325k in my investments (at 225k right now, single person).  Done with help from the sale of the condo, I'm at 370k but would have been more like 310k without the 60k from the condo.

2) Sell my condo after the litigation ends and hopefully before any housing market fall.  Done as noted above, bought at 295k and sold at 319k.

3) Re-designate to Human Resources Officer.  Done, but due to the re-designation I am now in the process of moving early to my new job.  Good for continuing in the career, bad for losing out on the great overseas pay and travel opportunities.

4) Get into better shape.  About a net wash, I will work on this more next year.

5) Travel a lot more of Europe while I'm living here without having too big of an impact on my savings.  In 2018 I went to the UK, Spain, Djibouti, Israel, Netherlands, Bahrain, Austria, Czek Republic, Germany, and of course Italy.

6) Max my TSP and IRA (combined total of 24k).  Completed.

To be continued...
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Cookie78 on December 19, 2018, 02:02:02 PM
My ONLY priority goal for 2018 is to sell my rental house. I call this Freedom phase 2 (Phase 1 of course being FIRE).

Other secondary goals are:
Continuing to get in better shape
Canoe trip leg 3
Max TFSA

I forgot anther one!

Build outrigger sailing canoe


Failed on the main goal. Hopefully next year. I say hopefully, I mean almost certainly. Even if the market stays as bad as it is, I will have an extra year of saving under my belt and can sell anyway, at a lower price.

Canoe trip was partly successful. The weather didn't cooperate and we only made it about half way.

TFSA goal was easy peasy.

Getting in shape goal still needs some work. :p
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: haypug16 on December 21, 2018, 07:53:07 AM
Year end update;

1. Pay off all Credit Debt (looking like April) - Done
2. Max out 401k by year end - Got closer but not maxed yet. I'm about 75% of the way there I think
3. Reach $50k in Retirement accounts - Nope, with the market taking a couple down turns this year I was not able to reach this goal but I did continue to invest so I'm hoping next year I'll blow past this mark and hit $75K
4. Get yearly expenses to $21,600 or less ($1,800 per month) - Coming in around $30K for the year. $21,600 was just way to low, I'm setting my 2019 number to $25K
5. Ride bike to work - I did this a few times this year. Not nearly enough. I'll be changing my work schedule next year as I'm having a baby so biking to work will not be possible but I'll only be driving 3 days a week so there's that.

Looking forward to 2019 and hitting some more goals.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Morning Glory on December 21, 2018, 08:38:54 AM
My goal is to work less in 2018, and still grow my stache on a lower income. I would like to at least max out my 403b, my Roth IRA, and hubby's Roth IRA. It was easy this year because I worked .9 at my nursing job plus taught 2 semesters of clinical. We just had a new baby, so I am going to take the spring semester off from clinical (unpaid) then possibly cut down the nursing job to .75 when the fall semester starts. I am on paid leave from the nursing job until February.

Other goals are to lose the pregnancy weight , get my abs back (for strength, not just looks), and possibly run a half marathon.

Funny, I didn't even remember this post until the thread was revived, but I did meet most of the goals. My 403b is set up to Max on the last paycheck (I lose the match if I do it early), my Roth IRA is fully funded, and hubby's is almost there. I put 3k in my son's 529 first to get a state tax credit because I have until March to fill the IRA.
My weight is back to pre pregnancy level s and my abs are better but not quite there. I have slowed down on running in favor of strength training so I do feel much stronger.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: Slow road to freedom on December 21, 2018, 02:29:52 PM
Is it too early to think about 2018?

I’ve heard many times that it’s easy to overestimate what can be achieved in one year, and underestimate what can be achieved in ten years. Well, I think ten years is too long for me. So I will focus on 2018 to accelerate / catapult me into a great position.

I’m about halfway to achieving FI. At a base level. I’ve plumped for the 2023 Cohort, a great bunch, but I would dearly love to say ‘hi’ to the 2022 Cohort. To do that, by my calculations, I need to save £80,000 in 2018. It’s possible. It’s a challenge. But boy, am I determined...

That’s the big one for me.

I would also love to lose a little weight (well, ok, body fat), spend more time helping my kids at school - and develop their own mini Mustache - and read some well-crafted books.

What’s your big one for 2018?

Funny .... I forgot about this post. But something must’ve happened this year, because:
- Saving £80,000 ... tick
- Losing a little weight ... tick (thanks DietBet!)
- Helping kids ... well, not sure they needed it - doing well without my help
- Reading book ... not so much

Oh, and paid off our mortgage - officially debt free!

Yep, pretty happy with 2018.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: nawhite on December 31, 2018, 08:30:25 AM
1) Selling our rental. We have rented it for 2 years so far and so this year we either sell it or lose the "primary residence exclusion" on capital gains taxes from the sale. It's looking to be about $30k in saved taxes by selling in 2018 vs later so this year it goes.

2) Starting a second job/personal business as a kayak instructor. My goal is $5000/year in revenue in the first year. Ideally I'm about 2-3 years from FIRE and I'd like to turn this into my "job" in "retirement". I know I'm going to have OMY syndrome bad so something like this will be great to have something to think about going to, instead of just thinking about leaving.

3) Volunteering more. I've done some with a couple organizations off and on over the past 10 years but usually just when things fell in my lap through a big work volunteer push or something. For 2018 I'm registered to volunteer with Junior Achievement (ja.org, financial education for kids) and trying to sign up with VITA (Income Tax prep help for low income people).

1) Sold! That said, the sale sucked. We ended up needing to do about $20k in asbestos mitigation to get it sold and the way we did the contracts for doing that made it much more of a hassle than it needed to be. But it's gone now and we paid off the last of the student loans and I've been dollar cost averaging the remainder into the stock market for the past 3 months and will continue for another 4 months or so (thank god we didn't just put everything in the market once the sale settled in October).

2) Starting a kayak instruction business was fun and eye opening and I did make about $5000 in revenue (which basically all went to insurance and buying new boats and other gear :-) ). The biggest surprise has been the ability to leverage the "I own a kayak school" fact into other things that I (unknowingly) wanted even more than to own the school itself. A) I was invited to teach at the most prestigious kayak schools in the country for a week which is now an awesome resume point but I also learned a ton about the state of the art in teaching techniques. B) I've gotten a seat at the table to help manage the local section of river that I'm passionate about.

3) I did volunteer with JA which was a good experience but I don't know that I'm cut out for working with large groups of students. Going to need to come up with a different way to have that impact. And VITA again didn't return any of my calls. Too bad for them.
Title: Re: 2018 - What will you be FIREd up about?
Post by: runbikerun on January 01, 2019, 02:07:15 PM
My goals for 2018 are partially work-related, partially FIRE-related, and partially fitness-related:
1: finish the graduate diploma I signed up for through work, and do well enough to convince my bosses to finance the additional modules in 2019 that will convert it to a full MSc;
2: get bored in work. I was told by a boss some time ago that I should move roles every 18 months unless I found something I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing, as just about every non-professional role should be possible to learn in 18 months. If I find myself getting bored towards the end of 2018, that means I'm right on schedule and ready to look for the next challenge.
3: get to a large enough savings figure to cover six months' expenses independent of any state assistance, then meet with my workplace pensions advisor to max out my pension tax benefits.
4: knock another minute off my 10k time. I'm down to 42:49, which is already ahead of the sub-44 I wanted to get to by April 2018, so the new goal is 41:XX by this time next year.

Partial credit for these:
1. Graduate diploma has been finished, and I'm hopeful that mid-January will confirm that I managed to hold onto my 3.8 GPA. I will not, however, be moving onto the MSc: I was at lectures or exams on twenty Saturdays this year while also working full-time, on top of frequent solo and group assignments, and I'm exhausted. The option remains to go forward with the last three modules in a year's time, but for the moment I'm quite happy where I am academically.
2. Did just a bit too well on this front. After my job became a bit routine, I successfully transferred to a related role over the summer, and it's been a baptism of fire. Hoping to get bored by the end of the year, but I sure as hell am not bored at the moment.
3. Have made it to the six months' expenses in an emergency account, but have yet to max out my pension contributions. Planning to do so before April.
4. This one was a casualty of my academic work. All those Saturday lectures and evenings spent working on assignments meant that I didn't train nearly as much as I should have, and my 42:49 from late 2017 remains my personal best. I still have three months to go before my April target for a sub-42, so we shall wait and see on that front.