Looks like I'm gonna need a new list!!
Here is my financial checklist (July 2009):
1) Pay off land
That one's been marked off for a while now. Funny, sometimes I forget about it. I mean when there is no bill in the mail each month for it, its easier to slip your mind.
Jay and I aren't sure we're going to build on it any more. We love our current house so much (and got such a good deal on it) we're considering making it our forever home. If that's the case we'll have to do some updates (adding a garage, completely revamping the bathroom, buying the neighboring lots).
For now, we're hanging on to the land, just in case.
2) Get life insurance
Done. We were already working on that when I created this list. Now I don't have to think about it any more until the bill shows up in my mailbox once a year.
3) Open a Roth IRA
This was the most recent item marked off the list. We did it April of this year, right before the tax deadline - which is also the deadline to contribute money to retirement funds for 2009. We decided that way would leave us open to adding more for 2010, but that if business for Jay wasn't as good we would still at least have retirement started.
4) Save for a down payment for a house
As you know, we not only saved for a house - we've found one and are settled in.
Okay so now that Fiscal Year 2010 is wrapping up and FY 2011 is starting (at least at my work place) I'd like to set some goals for the coming year.
1) Save up the cash for a bath remodel
I'd like to rip out the jetted tub & tiny shower in the master bath and replace it with a claw foot tub. I hate that tiny shower!
2) Fully fund our Roth IRAs for 2010
3) Save up for a new vehicle for Jay
Hopefully his Durango has a bit more life left in it, but its not a spring chicken, and he's hard on vehicles. Dave Ramsey says never buy a car from a Real Estate agent and I agree with him! (Unless of course, you're interested in a Maroon Dodge Durango with over 150,000 miles on it.)
4) Begin to pay off our home early
Jay and I have a 5 year goal of having our house completely paid for. That's a lofty one. It would mean saving up $20K each year just to put towards the house (not including retirement, vacation, or other savings).
Dream big right? After all most people thought I was crazy jumping from a 5K to a half marathon and I pulled that one out. Maybe, just maybe, we can make this one work too.
How are you doing with your financial goals. You do have goals. Right? Talk to me!
That is awesome...you kicked that lists butt!
ReplyDeleteI am doing good on my financial goals this year, got 2 credit cards paid off and will pay off another one this month. The money we used to pay towards those are going into savings for our kitchen remodel we hope to do next by spring!
Good for you! It feels great to complete goals and to have your ducks in a row especially in this economy!
ReplyDeleteGood job on crossing off your list!! We're slowly hacking away at Baby Step #2 here; but once we get that done we'll have much more freedom to do some more investing & such! Ugh ~ we have learned a lot about debt & are trying to teach the kids! They both have a 3-6 month emergency fund ~ though 9 & 11 year olds don't have financial emergencies, & that fund is only in the $100's! But still, they're in the habit of increasing it each time they get a "raise". If they keep it up, their possibilities are endless! Y'all will do so good with your children some day! :)
ReplyDeleteNice!!! Isn't it great to have goals accomplished?
ReplyDeleteWe really only have one financial goal right now: pay our land off. And if hubby's job goes FT this fall, we should have it paid off in less than a year! =D
Ahh! Lovely checking those things off, huh?
ReplyDeleteOne goal...We've got a good bit of cash in a savings account that we don't know what to do with (as it is, it's more or less losing money due to nasty inflation and what not). We are looking at several different options, but nothing seems stable right now. So the goal is to find a safe home for the money! :)
You sound like you are doing some great things with the money ;)
ReplyDeleteYOU ARE AWESOME!!! I wish I was as disciplined as you!
ReplyDeleteI am putting this list on my to-do list ;)
Girlfriend, you're doing great!! You should be proud of your accomplishments...not many young people these days have nearly accomplished as much as you have!
ReplyDeleteWe did really well with our financial goals last year...paid off our mini-van so now we own both cars, paid off all our credit card debt so now the only debt we have is our mortgage. I followed Dave Ramsay's advice on all of that and the guy is a genius!
We were considering putting extra money towards our mortgage but we really need to focus on our retirement accounts. Both of us are in our early 40's and have very little saved. It scares me!
So that's my next goal...for us to contribute more to those accounts!
AWESOME!! Way go to by completing your list. And I love the new look. I will probably be hit or miss this week. World Series baseball. Several games a day. And it's our last week and then no more ball. I'm gonna be lost. :)
ReplyDeleteway to go on yalls goals!!! I totally agree---go big or go home!!!
ReplyDeleteOh I need financial goals! Way to go on completing so many!!!
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