As the year is winding down, I’ve finally taken the time to solidify my financial goals. I made a list of things, some of which I think are very doable, some of which I think will be a struggle and might be a bit more dependent on the market than I like.
So here we are, my 2008 Financial Goals.
1. Fully fund my Roth IRA for 2008 (if possible).
The plan this year is to set aside the full $5000 for my Roth IRA contribution. Because I’m not sure what’s going to happen financially, I’m not sure if I will be eligible to make the full contribution. Therefore, rather than contribute all throughout the year, I plan to set aside $5000 in a high yield savings account and then put it into the Roth IRA if I can. If not, I will have to look into other options.
2. Keep a running total of all taxable income.
This ties into goal #1. What better way to track whether or not I can make the full contribution than to keep a running total of all of my taxable income?
3. Place 3 paychecks directly into savings.
In 2008, there will be three months where I receive three paychecks. Because I’m used to budgeting with only two paychecks a month, I plan to take those extra three paychecks and put it directly into savings. Again, this may tie into goal #1, and be a relatively painless to at least partially fund my IRA.
4. Save a minimum of $400 a month outside of the above goals (not including investment income).
I think I can do much better than this.
5. Increase net worth by 20%.
This is the one that I think will be the hardest to achieve, and will be very tied to my investments. The past two months haven’t been so great for my net worth, but I believe the market will bounce back, and hey, if nothing else, it lets me start at a low point. But in all seriousness, I would like to see a significant increase in my net worth. I have been pondering buying a home in the next few years, and I want to have at least a 20% down payment for that. So some serious savings are definitely in order.
So there you have it. My five financial goals for 2008. Pretty simple, but definitely worthwhile.
[…] the past few days, I’ve been thinking about my 2009 Goals. My 2008 Goals did not go so well. Partly due to the market, partly due to some poor goal setting, and partly […]