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This year I'll be working overseas and earning my income in foreign currency (GBP) so I'll have to learn a lot about international taxes and savings, not to mention a much higher cost of living. If I navigate this year and come out ahead it'll be a miracle. I wasn't doing a Roth IRA because of the lack of company match but I just opened one up so that I can make a couple of contributions before I move, which will apparently enable me to contribute from overseas. My 401k is finished from a contributions stand-point (obviously I can't make any pre-tax contributions when another country is withholding taxes) but at least I will continue in my vesting schedule, which is good because the company match has been significant. I wish I'd known that this move was going to happen years ago and had put more effort into the Roth instead. If only I'd known about BFC... Since I'm planning for this move to be permanent I'm going to want to gain a good understanding of all these various aspects. I expect to sell my house after the move but I'm pretty sure I'm protected from any taxes there (plus it'll be a huge loss from the purchase price in 2005 anyway) and will hopefully use the remainder for a downpayment in my new home town at some point, along with some cash I have stuffed in a mattress. The move is going to be wildly expensive but I socked it away and I'm getting some assistance, so it should be ok. But yeah, navigating an entirely different financial system, making pension fund contributions and hopefully Roth IRA contributions while still paying the wildly expensive rents in the UK should make for an interesting and challenging year... The move is just days away at this point.
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Jan 26, 2014 06:14
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| # ? May 26, 2024 00:56 |
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Get my wife to pay off her $500-$1K in credit card debt with the $1K or so in share dividends she'll get around February from her current and previous jobs. Get her to keep better track of her spending so she stays in budget (will be easier when most of every paycheque isn't going onto the credit card). Pay off the plane tickets to my brother's wedding in July before we actually make the trip (about $3K over 6 months; most of our savings but doable) Start my Post-Doc around September and earn a salary that isn't poverty wages (about $34K after tax from around $21K); increase monthly expenses by no more than $300 of that $1,100 increase. Use the extra money to pay back the $3K or so we owe to my parents before year's end. Thereafter (probably getting into 2015 territory here): add $4K to our measly $1K emergency fund; start putting retirement money away into a tax free savings account.
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Jan 26, 2014 09:14
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* Save 50% of my pre-tax income, working towards a goal of partial retirement/allowing periods of long travel within a few years -under this: establish a working budget with Mint + YNAB -figure out a good place to invest money which will give flexibility with said savings -cultivate better financial habits * Set up credit cards and appropriate rewards schemes with airlines + hotels.
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Jan 26, 2014 09:33
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Well-Defined Goals + Pay off $3600 in CC debt (pre-marriage wife's spending habits debt, she is very good now). + Start paying on all our student loans, $20,000. (Deferred some, others we don't have to pay due to current enrollment.) + Pay into 401K to maximize the employee match. ---- Other Goals + Spend 55% of the commission portion of my paycheck on paying down additional debt. (Hopefully around 4K depending on structure changes and how well the year goes.) + Both continue to work on increasing our incomes while keeping our expenses in check to clear our slate of the debt we have over the next 2-3 years.
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Jan 27, 2014 05:49
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My goals: 1. Continue saving as much as humanly possible and not let savings drop below $10k 2. Pay off credit cards ($2k. Very easily done) 3. Fix Credit The fix credit goal has been a constant struggle of mine. The only debt I have is credit card and $11k on my car, but it seems like no matter what I do I keep getting screwed. My score was poo poo because (according to experian) I wasn't utilizing my credit, so I carefully used a bit of my credit and payed it off monthly or bi-monthly, only to see my credit score take a dive because I am "Using too much credit." I just don't understand where to go from here. Its been this back and forth for years now. I make $75k a year and have $13k in total debt, that to me seems like a very reasonable number. Seems pretty stupid that your credit score doesn't take into account your income. Edit: Also, I need to stop checking my credit so often, as all it does is enrage me. Bojanglesworth fucked around with this message at 22:13 on Jan 29, 2014 |
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Jan 29, 2014 17:36
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Bojanglesworth posted:My goals: Can't you get a joint credit card with someone you know + trust with a good score? I don't really know how this works.
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Jan 30, 2014 02:43
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Finish paying off my credit card ($700) - should be done by the end of the month. Get 3k in savings (currently tossing 3-400 at my credit card per paycheck, once that's done I'll start on this). Start cooking at home more to save money (I'm estimating between $100-200 savings/month here).
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Feb 4, 2014 19:38
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I'm fairly new to having a decent income, the husband and I have 3 kids and were a single income family until 2011 when I finally finished studying and landed a Good Job. Having two wages was such a big change that for a while we kind of went nuts and wasted the second income buying stuff like brand name food and clothes that had never been worn before and then an xbox 360 and a ps3 and a secondhand car that was closer in age to our kids than to us. That was fun for a bit, and then I realised that we needed to make some serious changes and start paying down debt and creating savings. Last year we tackled the credit cards; we had three with a combined balance of around $14,000 and have since paid off two cards, and owe $1200 on the remaining one. My goal for 2014 is to pay off that $1200 as soon as possible and to stick to the budget that will see me to pay off my car loan by October 2015. I will also continue to save $700 a month and more importantly, not touch my savings account this year.
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Feb 15, 2014 01:25
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Here are our goals: 1) Pay off one of our credit cards that has a $4,000 balance. 2) If time allows (I'll explain in a minute), start paying down our other two credit cards that have ~2,000 each on them. 3) Get $5,000 into savings. My husband is getting med boarded out of the military, so time is an unknown. We think it will be 6-8 months more before he's out, but we really don't know. It could be as soon as May if they were to give him a decision next week that he accepted. If he appeals, months more get added on. 4) (only if he is out before 2014 ends, otherwise this is a 2015 goal) We want to do a long term backpacking trip through Central America. I have a work at home job, so I can pull in steady income anywhere in the world. Hopefully for my husband, VA payments start within a few months of being out. With VA payments plus my job, and by staying at hostels/eating street food/allowing for extra in the budget for fun things like scuba diving, we could get by on probably $700/month while traveling while hopefully clearing just over $1,000/month for income. We want to do this for 3-6 months before getting re-settled in the US.
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Feb 16, 2014 04:12
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Buy a block of land to build on, or even go all out with a house and land package. After going through uni together, moving around for work for a while (well I moved around, the wife's a nurse, and in Australia with our public health care she can get a job pretty much anywhere with a public hospital within 1-2 months) and now after paying for our last big expense (getting married) we're in a very comfortable position with a household income around the $160k mark and saving money hand over fist because we're both pretty basic people who don't see the need for most luxuries. Anyway, pretty excited to possibly have a place of my own by the end of the year.
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Feb 16, 2014 10:11
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DJCobol posted:Up my 401(k) contributions from 8% to 10%. Do this ASAP, in fact double the change and make it 12% (as long as it doesn't put you over the max) and I promise you won't notice it and you will be thanking yourself later. I went from 8% to 15% and it is crazy how fast pre-tax money adds up! To contribute: - Pay off student loans ($60+k in less than 4 years!!!). I am down to about $30k right now but I have just about that in cash so I just need to build a couple months' emergency fund and I will be good to go. - Getting married, have fiancee and self max out married 401k/403b contributions - Save at least 15% of post-tax/post-retirement income
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Feb 17, 2014 06:29
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Hopefully save up enough to buy an Xbox or PlayStation with a few good games. Either that or an upgraded computer so I can play my MMORPGs on.
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Feb 17, 2014 10:26
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1. Get out of my house and move somewhere cheaper: I'm actually in the process of doing this. 2. Stop eating out during the work week: Once again in the process of doing this. Last week I only spent $5 bucks the whole week eating outside. My wife and I still like to get stuff on the weekends though but most of my over-spending comes from doing this during the week so I need to stop there first. 3. Pay off new medical debt: It's only $1200 so this will be easy. 4. Save.
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Feb 17, 2014 14:44
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I planned to do quarterly updates for my goals to try and track how it is going and see what needs to be done to improve. So look for that the first week of April and anyone else wants to join please do.
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Mar 14, 2014 04:53
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Just wanted to update that I crossed one of my goals off the list. After getting our tax return, had the flexibility to pay off the balance on my auto loan. Mailed the check last Friday. Now the only outstanding debt between my wife and I will be our house.
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Mar 17, 2014 16:10
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I have pretty much one financial goal for this year. Start an RRSP, and get it up to 17k to max out employer matching. Might involve being a bit more frugal. Other side goals I've already achieved earlier this year: 1. Open an investing account inside a TFSA (similar to a Roth IRA), which will hold low MER index funds. 2. Open a "high" interest saving account, holding a 3.5k emergency fund. Last year I got debt free, which was nice.
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Mar 21, 2014 03:35
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Setup a portfolio of mostly stocks to invest in that I can hold like Warren Buffet and not worry if we have a 10% or greater market correction this year, or any year. I'll keep some cash on the side in case we do get that correction. I tried developing swing-trading strategies the last two years but could not come up with anything to run with that would take less than a few hours a week to manage. You have to be careful with stock picks this year since we are at all time highs, again. Of course, I was too careful last year and not fully invested and look what happened 
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Mar 23, 2014 06:25
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Golluk posted:I have pretty much one financial goal for this year. Start an RRSP, and get it up to 17k to max out employer matching. Might involve being a bit more frugal. If you have enough income to fill out a 17k RRSP, 3.5k is on the small side for an emergency fund. I think the general BFC opinion is to keep 3 months of expenses; I personally prefer six because I've had unreliable employment in the past.
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Mar 23, 2014 21:16
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spwrozek posted:1)Pay $35,000 in student loans. This is a bit tricky and will depend on my bonus and maybe my wife's bonus. (Ultimate goal of all paid off before I am 30, in 27 months, which is $70k currently) Well three months in and here is how we are doing: 1)So far we have paid down $10200 on the student loans. Not counting the bonus I got we paid down $5808. That only puts us on a pace for about $28K leaving me $7K short of the goal. Boo on $1068 in interest paid though. I did get a nice raise and my wife is going to ask for one as well, plus she should get a bonus later this year. I think we can still make it just have to buckle down a bit and see how the next 3 months go. 2) So far we have saved $3908 but it is a bit misleading because the carry over from other categories is lumped in there. We should be at $2250 which is what we have if I run all the numbers out. So far so good. I generally feel like we are doing well this year, hopefully it continues. E: Forgot about my wife getting 2 'bonus checks' that are not part of our budget, so that will add about $3200 to the loans. Getting closer... spwrozek fucked around with this message at 05:34 on Apr 1, 2014 |
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Apr 1, 2014 04:34
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Cicero posted:Now that I have a new job offer, my main financial goal for 2014 is to negotiate more money. Following that, my primary financial goal will be to not screw it up by being a lazy idiot on the job. Unfortunately we can't stay with my parents any longer, so starting very soon we'll have to pay Silicon Valley-level rent, which will hurt a bunch. Still should be able to save a lot, though.
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Apr 1, 2014 05:05
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handbanana125 posted:Must: Update: 4 months in Must: Should: Want to: Have enough left over to max out Roth IRA Projected for 10/14
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Apr 3, 2014 17:00
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handbanana125 posted:Should: Welcome to the world of home ownership, remodeling, annoying neighbors, etc.
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Apr 3, 2014 17:07
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Sundae posted:Goals for 2014: 1Q2014 Update: -Side-job growth is doing well, not quite on pace for doubling yet. $17K in the first quarter. I have a lot of chances to make up ground this year, still, so no real complaints. -CHALLENGE COMPLETE: My student loans are all dead. -No progress on wife's student loans yet. I didn't expect it, though, since I was focusing on my own loans for the first quarter. I need to rebuild my savings buffer now that the loans are wiped, and then I'll start hitting this guy hard around June. -Still in day job, still deciding which way to go. I'm leaning toward waiting it out one more year just to avoid having to pay out my indenture contract, using the extra money to fund a full year's expenses in reserve, and then quitting in October 2015. -No kids, no house, no problem. 
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Apr 3, 2014 17:18
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1st quarter update:  moana posted:Goals for 2014: - first quarter was $58k, next quarter will be less, more like $30k (payments are a quarter delayed). Still, on track! - Done! - went up to visit norcal and checked out a few different properties. Not knowing what my $$ range is slows this process down a bit, so taking it easy for now.
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Apr 4, 2014 05:50
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Fantastic, Moana. I'm glad the writing's exploding for you. 
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Apr 4, 2014 15:38
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If you don't mind me asking, what's the point of keeping the day job if your side business is pulling in that kind of money on presumably part-time hours?
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Apr 4, 2014 16:57
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SlapActionJackson posted:If you don't mind me asking, what's the point of keeping the day job if your side business is pulling in that kind of money on presumably part-time hours? - My job pays $72k plus bonuses + a 3% 401k match + health ins + cell phone. And a office dog and great co-workers. So... silver handcuffs. I also only work at the office 3 days a week, so it's kind of a part time job anyway. - Amazon is a bag of dicks and can change poo poo around at any time. A subscription service like Spotify for books would kill me. - I have a mortgage and an unemployed fiance, and we want a kid soon. Having all my income be so variable is rough. I had a $25k October and a $7k January. THE SWINGS! - I'm building out multiple other streams of income and would like another one to lean on before I quit. - I have carpal tunnel and can't write a ton more than I already do. That said, I'm considering it. It's just hard to pull the trigger. Feel free to mock me until I do.
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Apr 5, 2014 03:01
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Totally TWISTED posted:Well-Defined Goals + 33% CC reduction, now at $2400. - This won't hit for another month or two and due to me not understanding that my commission check will come two months after I hit commission (this month) I don't have the extra money to put into this. - I need to find this money but unexpected expenses have been cropping up and avoiding additional debt is currently my priority.
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Apr 5, 2014 03:21
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moana posted:
This is BFC. I'd never mock someone making bank and not spending it foolishly. How hard would it be to resume your day job after a couple year hiatus? That might be your escape plan if Amazon derails your gravy train.
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Apr 7, 2014 03:38
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Tentative plan right now is to ask the boss for an extended sabbatical when I have my yearly review this June and see where that goes. I'd probably come back to a $75/hr consulting position instead of the salary I have now, but it's certainly not terrible.
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Apr 7, 2014 05:14
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Now that I have a steady job with an adult-level salary for the first time in my life I can actually set financial goals other than "survive". In no particular order- Pay off at least one credit card (have two in the $7-800 range right now) Obtain a different car, either by buying outright or getting something with a monthly payment Sell most of my old video games Buy an engagement ring before the end of September (  )Eat out 6 times/month max
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Apr 7, 2014 05:53
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OneWhoKnows posted:We have one main goal: Just a small update, if anyone cares: we hit our goal, put in an offer over the weekend for the farm and it has been accepted! Closing date is going to be July 16th. As somebody who has only ever worked in the tech field, this is very exciting. 
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May 27, 2014 16:06
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OneWhoKnows posted:Just a small update, if anyone cares: we hit our goal, put in an offer over the weekend for the farm and it has been accepted! Closing date is going to be July 16th. As somebody who has only ever worked in the tech field, this is very exciting. Oh man. Oh man. This is awesome.
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May 27, 2014 19:05
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corkskroo posted:But yeah, navigating an entirely different financial system, making pension fund contributions and hopefully Roth IRA contributions while still paying the wildly expensive rents in the UK should make for an interesting and challenging year... The move is just days away at this point. Good luck! I don't have any resources for more complicated expat tax type things, but for the day-to-day UK finance related stuff http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ is an excellent website. It's written for the layperson so should be pretty easy for you to digest even without prior knowledge of UK norms and terminology. They review the market constantly and keep updated pages ranking domestic products (bank accounts, insurance, utilities, whatever), it's my first port of call whenever I'm researching anything like that. If you're looking into investments and pensions in more detail, I'm a big fan of the blog at http://monevator.com/ which caters to the UK market.
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Jun 6, 2014 17:02
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I want to: - max out my Roth IRA - have at least $20k in savings by the end of the year, this is actually doable and I'm shocked - pay off my private student loan (only $5k left out of $20k!) - continue putting the $10 "I don't need this..." money into a vacation fund. It's basically "oh a glass of wine? ehhh that's $10, I don't need to spend that" put in a dumb glass jar that we're saving to go on a pretty rad vacation. Amazing how quickly it adds up. I hope to have at least $2k in there by the time my friend gets married in Ireland this October.  OneWhoKnows posted:Just a small update, if anyone cares: we hit our goal, put in an offer over the weekend for the farm and it has been accepted! Closing date is going to be July 16th. As somebody who has only ever worked in the tech field, this is very exciting. This is awesome, congratulations!
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Jun 7, 2014 06:14
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spinst posted:This could be the year I finally make $50k. Halfway through the year check in! Goals: Gross 50k On track to gross $47.5k. Close! This will be a $3.5k improvement over last year, but a little short of the goal. Pay extra on car loan - be 6 months ahead I am 5 months ahead, and should be 9 months ahead by year's end. Aw yes. 10% pre-tax into 401(a) Yup. $100 into Roth Yup. $4200 emergency fund Currently at $2890. Should be able to hit the goal no problem! Moving My boyfriend and I broke up, so I put the moving fund into the e-fund. I might be moving next month, so I may take that money back out to help cover the costs. So far so good.
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Jun 21, 2014 21:51
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Checking in because I need some measurable poo poo to work towards: Goals for the end of the year are: 1) Restart retirement savings, which is like a $1K payment plus an ongoing 4% of salary. 2) Take less sick days - less unproductive hours means more $ to play with 3) Pay last $5k owing on car, and have $10k for the next one ready to go in savings. 4) A bunch of personal poo poo (fitness, sport, work-related, etc) 5) Keep up the good habits I've picked up so far with managing money. Let's see how the next few months go.
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Jun 22, 2014 05:24
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100 HOGS AGREE posted:
Also I consolidated the high interest loans a couple months ago and got all my private loans down to 4.9%. Oh and I just checked my spending in YNAB, I've paid $5,807.20 towards all my debt this year so far... A solid 54% of my total spending  Thinking about it, I know exactly what this new wage is going to feel like because a big portion of the first quarter this year I was working almost constant 50+ hour weeks and my take home pay was about where my pay is going to be at the new job.
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Jun 22, 2014 16:14
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GAYS FOR DAYS posted:
With a 3 paycheck month coming up, I'll be putting my entire third pay check towards one of my loans and that should pay it off in its entirety. I've also managed to get my emergency fund up to 3.5k, and will continue throwing money into it. I've gotten a second raise this year, first was just the standard 3% at the beginning of the year, but I also got a completely unexpected 7% raise this month, so I've also upped my 401(k) contribution up past the employer match.
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Jun 22, 2014 17:24
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Butt Wizard posted:2) Take less sick days - less unproductive hours means more $ to play with Be proud of me thread, I unpaid sick leave on Tuesday but have been billing an extra 2 hours a day to make up for it. One more day and I've made up for it completely. No dent in pay packet, another few $$ towards other objectives.
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Jun 26, 2014 08:44
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