Goals

Miss M from M is for Money asked me what my goals were once I become debt-free (next month!). I have a lot of things that I would like to do but this is what I have so far:

• $15,000 to my Emergency Fund


• $150/month to my Freedom Account which will cover car expenses, clothing, pets, and vacation


• Save up enough money for my family's trip to DisneyWorld in December; I'm aiming for about $500 so I have plenty of money. Since my parents are Disney Vacation Club Members , I get my room for free; I only have to worry about tickets, airline, and food.


• Save roughly $15,000 for my half of our trip around the United States.

I'm going to keep my list short because I don't want to get discouraged. I think this is a good list of goals so far but we'll see if anything changes.

Yay!

I just made a payment of $317 to my 1st and lowest credit card balance, this means I only owe $120.62 on that card! I'm so excited! Even though it's not going to be paid off because boyfriend owes money on it, it will be so nice knowing I can focus on paying my other credit card off! :)

My 2nd card has the highest balance at this point, but I'm still working out my amount with boyfriend's amount. I will definitely be debt-free before the end of the year, I can feel it.

I got the book Debt-Proof Living by Mary Hunt from the library on Monday (she also has a website) and I'm almost done with it. I've been devouring it everyday and learning new information everyday. If you haven't read it, I HIGHLY recommend it. She has great insight on managing debt, as she was $100,000 in debt once. YIKES! If you've read her book or are familiar with her ideals, last night I discussed with boyfriend starting our Freedom Account. This is basically a separate checking account that is used only for larger, expected (and unexpected) instances that sometimes require large amounts of money.

One designates which categories are going to be covered by the Freedom Account. I chose Clothing, Car repairs/upkeep, and Vacation. Then one figures out the yearly amounts in which to cover those categories.

• Clothing

$600/year or $50/month

• Car repairs/upkeep

$1200/year or $100/month

• Vacation

$1200/year or $100/month

So basically boyfriend and I will be paying $225/month together or $112.50 individually into this account. The cool thing about this system is that there is money to cover those things, thereby eliminating the need for a credit card or a loan. The idea is that one builds up this account so in the event of an emergency or a need, the money is there and there is no stress about coming up with $250 to make a car repair or a $375 plane ticket; it's already taken care of.

I'm really excited about starting this! I've put my credit cards on ice in the freezer and once credit card #1 is paid off, it's going to be closed. I will continue to keep #2 just because I think one should have at least ONE credit card, just in case. I feel I'm pretty well-informed on financials but after ready Ms. Hunt's book, I feel even more empowered. Check it out if you can! :)

Financial Goals for 2009

Aww. British pounds. *sigh*

I figure I should post these to make myself accountable!! But here are my financial goals from now until 12/31/09:

1. $5,000 in my emergency fund


2. All credit card debt paid in full


3. $5,000 in my "buy a nice used car" fund


4. $2,000 in a "buy a home" fund

Total: About $17,000 to save and pay in a little over a year. That will mean a lot of frugality, but I'm worth it!! *flips hair*

I also desperately want to go on a cruise with boyfriend this year. We are GOING to go on a cruise, I've determined it! I need a vacation, he needs a vacation, I think we can get this debt settled soon and then enjoy ourselves (without getting into more debt!). Even if it's just for a few days, we both need a break.

What the Christmas?

I just found out boyfriend is not going to be back for a while now. He may stay down on the border till February (!) which is wonderful because he's making really good money down there but this puts me in a predicament for the dogs. I have to board them for NINE days since I have no one else to watch them and my parents still will not let me bring them. OUCH. So this will have a great impact on my debt and put me in the hole another $224. Yikes. Thanks Mom and Dad!!

Financial goals for December:

• Pay $400 towards debt
• TRY to pay for boarding with cash ($224)
• Pay off Vitamix on layaway ($225 left)
  

I'm struggling right now with Christmas and unexpected crap. My rent takes up almost one whole paycheck so that really hurts! I really have tried to find a place similar to mine for less, but I'm finding that I'm in a very reasonable house and I'm NOT moving to an apartment (and really, an apartment isn't much less than what I pay anyway) No offense to apartment people, but I like having my backyard for my dogs. I'm just not an apartment-type person anyway.

I have 4 hours of overtime coming on this paycheck which will help, but I still have to buy a few Christmas presents for some family members so that's going to set me back more. Grr. Are the holidays over yet? With my plane ticket ($374) and boarding ($224) and gifts (??) this is getting
expensive!

Goals, i kinda need to lay them out...

like i've said before, i looove paying bills. :) makes me happy. i'm really attacking my credit card debt hardcore and with this experiment i'm hoping i can put a lot more towards my debt.

now i should start thinking about being debt free and what i want to achieve once i'm there.

here are some of my future goals:

• have at least $10,000 in savings (no touchy touchy)
• establish an emergency fund of $5,000 (car repairs, etc)
• buy a car with cash in the next 2 - 3 years ($8,000-20,000)
• have enough for a down payment on a house, about $25,000-30000

Total: $48-65,000

So if I save $1,200 a month, it will take me 40 months/3 years and 4 months to save $48,000 and 55 months/4 years and 7 months to save $65,000.

I don't think this is too unreasonable at all to achieve, provided that I'm debt-free, in fact, I think this is very attainable! I'm quite optimistic about this. :) Nothing makes me happier than planning my future financial goals.