Financial Goals 2016: Saving for babby's first SA account

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George H.W. Cunt: Oct 6, 2010

SaltLick posted:

2016

-Get certified in IT things and get a better paying job. Passed first test of my MCSA. Two more to go. Update: ~~Potential job from a friend incoming.~~ Job was a bust. Decided I am keeping job until March 31st and quitting.

-Have a positive net worth (Currently -$8000) Done! Just hit positive by 20 bux. Stretch goal positive worth of 5,000 Update: Networth of 6000 and growing! Yeehaw

->50% 2016 IRA contribution limit. On track. Currently throwing $450 a month into IRA savings and may get full funding. Updated: This is on track still but I am also planning on fully paying the 5500.

-Cut eating out spending by $1000 So far so good. Eating out less and sticking to budget better Update: This is going well.

New goal: Quitting job March 31st and hiking the Appalachian Trail.

-Savings goal: 10,000 for when I return from trip jobless
-AT Goal: Budget 6,300 for trip.

# ? Aug 23, 2016 22:00

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# ? May 5, 2024 17:36

Potrzebie: Apr 6, 2010; I may not know what I'm talking about, but I sure love cops! ^^ Boy, but that boot is just yummy!; Lipstick Apathy

Update time!

quote:

Monetary Goals:

~~Increase salary by 10%~~ Success! 14% higher pay. Also better benefits.
~~Reduce car commutes by 20%, replace with public transit or bike.~~ Not biking lately, but still not using the car more than 1-2 times a week and with the open water season over, I never need to take the car. Still will occationally, because I linger in bed for too long
Grow portfolio by 10% -10% YTD. Shrink is the new grow! Still on the right path from almost -30% at bottom.
~~Increase monthly savings from 20% of salary to 30%.~~ Done!
code:
Savings as part of salary
Jan 16,07%
Feb 7,14%
Mar 23,21%
Apr 23,21%
May 23,44%
Jun 39,06%
Jul 67,19%
Aug 35,94%
The 67% is due to one time income in June and July. February was splurge month. Baby might make this look less impressive soon.

Stretch goals:
Increase salary by 20%. We'll see. If I am still employed come November my position will roll over to a permanent one, giving me an opportunity to negotiate for a raise.
~~New, better job closer to home so I never need to take the god damned car.~~ Success! New job at 35 min commute by bike/buss, or 10 minutes by car.

Other goals:

~~Make baby~~ Baby made. ETA 18: September
~~Become a boss at open water swimming on the company dime.~~ Boss level unlocked.
~~Have a net surplus on the happiness account.~~ I am net happy by quite a lot right now
~~Delete Facebook account.~~ Success? Deactivated. Not sure delete is an option.

Potrzebie fucked around with this message at 13:53 on Aug 29, 2016

# ? Aug 29, 2016 13:50

Grumpwagon: May 6, 2007; I am a giant assfuck who needs to harden the fuck up.

August update inline. It wasn't a great month, but the fact that a not great month still means paying big chunks of the loan and losing some weight is really encouraging. Paid off our last =5% student loan, now everything is 4.25 or 3.15!! Bought a car also, details inline.

Grumpwagon posted:

Major goals
1) Increase income 20% - Accepted a job starting 2/15 for a 33% increase (thanks negotiation thread!)
2) No wedding debt - Wedding 5/15, paid in all cash, goal successful!
3) Pay off $29k of student loans (all but the ~3% interest loans). Stretch: pay off all $41k for 0 debt. - "Only" ~$3k to the loans this month. $6200/$29000 remaining to be paid off. We did find out that the wife's last student loan group, which consists of a 4.25 and a 3.15 loan are able to be paid separately, despite many employees telling us that wasn't the case. Since the stretch goal of $41k is very unlikely, paying the additional ~$2.5k 4.25% loan would be a good mini-stretch, and should be very doable.

"Keep good habits" goals
4) Keep constant on YNAB (started 1/1/2015) - On track. Increased wife's spending money a bit, but still well within what we can afford.
5) "never have a baby, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever... ever..." - On track *knocks on wood*
6) Don't buy a house this year - On track.
7) Don't buy a car unless the new job requires it, and if it does, buy something sensible and inexpensive. - Sort of failed? We bought a car, but it is a replacement for the wife's car. This goal was aimed at not becoming a 2 car family. We currently have 2 cars, but I am prepping the old car to sell. Should get ~$1000-$1500 for it. The new car is a 2008 Nissan Versa with 88k miles for $3300, so not exactly breaking the bank. The other costs (registration, insurance, etc) were what held us down on our loan payments.
8) Keep 401(k) contributions to at least 10% each. - On track.
9) Lose 20 pounds and keep it off. Stretch: 30 pounds (goal weight) - Not a great month. Lost 1-2 pounds. I am encouraged that a bad month is a small loss rather than a gain, like in the past.

# ? Aug 31, 2016 18:39

overdesigned: Apr 10, 2003; We are compassion...; Lipstick Apathy

overdesigned posted:

1) Get emergency fund up to 10k (adding 6500)
2) Resume (and max out) 401k/TSP contributions
3) Pay off approx $8700 of unsecured loan (at 3%)
4) Get at least $5k saved up for wedding (stretch goal: $10k)

End of August update:

1) Dipped into then repaid, so still at $10k. Still a month ahead in YNAB so I'm not cheating either :v:

2) Still contributing $950/mo. At this rate won't hit the $18k cap this year but will break $50k in the account which I guess is an acceptable un-stretch goal.
3) Paid $680 on this, down to $2350 remaining. Should have no problem hitting the goal by end of year.
4) Added $500, up to 1750. Can't slack on this or I won't make it, stretch goal also not happening at this rate.

Of note, this was the first month where I overspent in YNAB. Normally I can do some massaging and fuckery to hide evil red numbers but this time I couldn't (or, well, I hit my limit of what I'd accept)...so yeah, overspent by $5.24. Shame, etc. Generally, losing my roommate has sucked, and going back to spending $400-500 a month on travel to see my fiance also sucks (for the finances, not for anything else though).

# ? Aug 31, 2016 21:28

CaptainRat: Apr 18, 2003; It seems the secret to your success is a combination of boundless energy and enthusiastic insolence...

CaptainRat posted:

1) Grow my emergency fund to $3,000 Complete

2) Pay off $10K student loan debt On track - Loan 1 of 4 paid off

3) Be prepared for trips and holidays. On track

4) Eat out less and stick to my current restaurant / food budget On track

5) (Optional/stretch goal) Get 1 month ahead in my checking account On hold

I hit positive net worth in July, and am still on track with paying down my debt. My boss is getting me involved in a new project at work that will hopefully lead to a title bump (and maaaaybe a raise? we'll see) so at the very least my job is secure.

I did a cheat week during a deload because I was feeling run down from eating at a calorie deficit for so long; I had a little spike in weight and spent a little more on food than normal (covered from other budget categories) but once I went back to the lower calorie level I was at before I dropped down to my lowest weight in a long, long time.

# ? Aug 31, 2016 23:38

spinst: Jul 14, 2012

Goals:

1. Raise my net worth from $55k to $70k. $65k. Whoa! Maybe I will hit this one!

2. Pay off $5.4k of my car loan, which has $6.6k remaining. $4480/$5400. I'm going to murder this goal.

~~3. Do something vacation-y this summer without taking on debt. I haven't been on a vacation in 4 years and I need one desperately!~~ DONE! Took very short but relaxing vacay on San Juan Island.

~~4. Pay for my last semester of grad school in cash. $3k.~~ DONE

5. No credit card debt. On track.

~~6. Stretch Goal: Start saving for a house. A nominal amount, say $1500, just to get my morale going while I finish paying off the car.~~ $1800/$1500. DONE! Aw yeah - gonna keep going.

# ? Sep 1, 2016 03:16

Good-Natured Filth: Jun 8, 2008; Do you think I've got the goods Bubblegum? Cuz I am INTO this stuff!

Nothing changed really. Again.

2016 Goals (Aug. update)

- ~~Adjust my W4 now that I have a kid~~
- ~~Create a will~~ Still need it signed...
- ~~Migrate to a budgeting tool (YNAB or Every Dollar) and away from my half-assed Excel sheet that tracks spending but doesn't budget~~
- ~~Open a Roth IRA for myself (have one for the wife, but only using my 401k at work for me)~~
- Move most of the funds in our checking account to appropriate interest-accruing vehicles
- ~~Re-evaluate emergency fund (30k might be a bit much and a small part of that could be used better elsewhere)~~
- ~~Put 50/month into my daughter's 529~~
- ~~Put 2k into our HSA~~
- ~~Fix up our living room and get actual furniture (a decade on junky "college kid" furniture is enough)~~
- Take a vacation Heading to a cabin in the Smokies next week!
- Release two iPhone apps

Stretches

- ~~Max out both IRAs~~
- ~~Pay off my student loans (~5000 @ 3%)~~
- Pay off my car (~12000 @ 2%)
- ~~Prep to sell my wife's car in 2017 and plan to purchase a mini-van or other appropriate "family" vehicle~~

# ? Sep 5, 2016 16:24

Referee: Aug 25, 2004; "Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday."
(Wilma Rudolph)

Went to quote my August update and somehow edited it. Dang it. Anyway:

August was a good month. In addition to the below, I paid back a loan not accounted for when these goals were made for $2,000, and paid my brother $1,250 for his half of the Jetta which also occurred after the goals were established. Down to two debt accounts!

IllegallySober posted:

IllegallySober's 2016 Financial Goals (AKA Operation: Freedom)

Target: Eliminate a total of $28,768.12 in debt and reduce total debt to $0 by December 31, 2016.

1. Pay off Credit Card #1 (already closed), eliminating $3,266.28 of debt. (Interest Rate: 8.90%)

Target Completion Date: January 31, 2016 or sooner. COMPLETED 1/14/16

2. Pay off Car Loan, eliminating $4,304.46 of debt. (Interest Rate: 8.25%)

Target Completion Date: May 30, 2016 or sooner. COMPLETED 8/9/16

]3. Pay off Student Loans, eliminating $7,040.64 of debt. (Interest Rate: approximately 5.05% average between the two loans)

Target Completion Date: October 31, 2016 or sooner. IN PROGRESS- CURRENT BALANCE $6,853.91

4. Stretch Goal: Pay off Credit Card #2, eliminating $14,156.74 of debt. (Interest Rate: 8.90%)

Target Completion Date: December 31, 2016 or sooner. IN PROGRESS- CURRENT BALANCE $13,624.50

Other 2016 Goals

- Update YNAB on a every-other-day basis or more ON TARGET
- Run 12 5K events in 2016 BEHIND PACE- 2 OF 12 COMPLETED
- Learn to be a better cook and drastically reduce eating at restaurants BEHIND PACE- August was a little better but September needs to be a great month if I'm going to hit Goal 3
~~- Move in with girlfriend~~ BROKE UP WITH THAT GIRLFRIEND- HAVE A NEW ONE BUT NO PLANS FOR CO-HABITATION YET
- Do not have a child or any other expensive habits/experiences ON TARGET

September and October will be spent working a lot of football games so that the check I get for it in December will account for 50% or more of the student loan bill. Plus, the more I work, the less I spend. Goal 4 is looking like a 2017 goal at this juncture.

# ? Sep 7, 2016 07:37

alnilam: Nov 10, 2009

Sorry about your gf / congrats about your gf

# ? Sep 7, 2016 15:24

C-Euro: Mar 20, 2010; Soiled Meat

C-Euro posted:

Original post.

1. Completely pay off all miscellaneous debt ($1800 at start of year). - On track.
2. Finally move my 401k from my previous employer over to my new one.
3. Pay 25% of my current student loan debt back into it. Stretch goal of 30%. - On track.
4. Cut the money owed to my parents in half. - Skipped my June deposit due to required spending elsewhere, need to set aside $500/mo for the rest of the year (see #7)
5. Save up $2000 by next fall for planned overseas trip Christmas 2016. - Money in the bank.
~~6. Start contributing to our joint savings account.~~ - COMPLETE (Jan)
7. Hit at least $6750/mo in my current side job. - Thanks to the raise I received last month, I was over $1100 for June And am already sniffing $1000 for July thanks to a couple of lucrative and well-timed assignments Gonna bump this up to $750 as I need to save $500 each month for the rest of the year to hit goal #3.

Things that would be nice to do:
8. Merge back accounts with my wife.
~~9. Save up for a new computer.~~ - COMPLETE (Feb)
10. Set up actual budgets for both myself and my wife.
~~11. Take a trip somewhere.~~ - NO CONTEST (Jan)
12. Get my wife a job.
13. NEW GOAL- Apply for one new job a week. - I've been at my current position a little over a year, and I don't like it at all. However, due to the possibility of extended overseas living in the near future I'm torn as to what to do about it. I can stick with a job I dislike to have a better-looking resume and an easier time moving overseas next year, or jump to a job that I might like more and choose between having a bunch of sub-1.5 year job entries on my resume and putting the overseas thing on ice, perhaps permanently. So I'm just going to do a little light job-hunting to keep my resume fresh, and on the off-chance I find something dope.

Haven't bothered to post in a couple months but since then I have-
Paid off everything except my car and student loans (#1)
Saved up the $2500 I promised my parents for this year (#4)
Not only bought the plane ticket for #5, but came in $600 under what I had budgeted
Managed to do an overnight getaway with my wife (#11)

I even opened up the website for my previous employer's 401k, maybe next time I post I'll have actually moved it into my new one! :v:

Feels good man.

# ? Sep 19, 2016 00:03

Not a Children: Oct 9, 2012; Don't need a holster if you never stop shooting.

Not a Children posted:

DESIRED ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
- Increase gross income to $[redacted]k ($[redacted+10k] with reimbursements). Surprise raise got me there!
- Put $10,000 in 401k (edited down from $15,000 12/30, I'm looking for new, more expensive, but more tenable living arrangements) On Track.
- Max ROTH IRA. Done.
- Take and pass the EIT exam. Done, and came with the surprise raise.
- Move to a place closer to work while keeping my total housing expenses under $1.3k/mo. Done!
- Take a dang vacation without feeling guilty. Done!
- Stay the hell outta debt. Done!
- Finish 4 more classes with Bs or better for that sweet sweet free education On Track.

ONGOING GOALS:
- Date without breaking the bank (subjective). So far so good!
- Limit alcohol spending to $30/month. I've stocked a liquor cabinet in a new place, so FAILURE
- Limit video game spending to $25/month. Back on track with this one.
- Limit Fast Food to 1 Purchase per month. On track.
- Keep constant on YNAB -- 18 months and counting! My streak is now 26 months!

STRETCH GOALS:
- Max out 401k I can ostensibly do comfortably this now!
- Put another $10,000 towards general savings (house in 2017? We shall see) Gonna be close, but I'll keep tryin'
- Reach $[redacted]k net worth I forgot what this number was. Let's say.... probably.
- Keep my 4.0 GPA Nope.

# ? Sep 21, 2016 15:42

pig slut lisa: Mar 5, 2012; irl is good

Not a Children posted:

what's in the liquor cabinet

# ? Sep 21, 2016 15:42

Potrzebie: Apr 6, 2010; I may not know what I'm talking about, but I sure love cops! ^^ Boy, but that boot is just yummy!; Lipstick Apathy

pig slut lisa posted:

what's in the liquor cabinet

# ? Sep 21, 2016 16:46

Not a Children: Oct 9, 2012; Don't need a holster if you never stop shooting.

pig slut lisa posted:

what's in the liquor cabinet

Handles of: Hendricks, Titos

Fifths of: Olmeca Altos (I refuse to splurge on tequila), Sailor Jerry, Dimple Pinch

Beer of: Shiner Prickly Pear (12 pack), Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin' (6 pack), Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot (4 pack)

Wine of: Red, white (2 bottles each)

# ? Sep 22, 2016 18:23

Jeffrey of YOSPOS: Dec 22, 2005; GET LOSE, YOU CAN'T COMPARE WITH MY POWERS

I have one bottle of angry orchard cider, one bottle of leffe brown, and two bottles of chartreuse, one green and one yellow.

# ? Sep 23, 2016 02:38

pig slut lisa: Mar 5, 2012; irl is good

Not a Children posted:

Handles of: Hendricks, Titos

Fifths of: Olmeca Altos (I refuse to splurge on tequila), Sailor Jerry, Dimple Pinch

Beer of: Shiner Prickly Pear (12 pack), Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin' (6 pack), Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot (4 pack)

Wine of: Red, white (2 bottles each)

I like the way you do wine :hfive:

# ? Sep 23, 2016 03:44

Devian666: Aug 20, 2008; Take some advice Chris.; Fun Shoe

All I have is one bottle of Black Absinthe. One of my goals was not to have lots of bottles of spirits everywhere (so I drink them).

# ? Sep 23, 2016 04:03

overdesigned: Apr 10, 2003; We are compassion...; Lipstick Apathy

overdesigned posted:

1) Get emergency fund up to 10k (adding 6500)
2) Resume (and max out) 401k/TSP contributions
3) Pay off approx $8700 of unsecured loan (at 3%)
4) Get at least $5k saved up for wedding (stretch goal: $10k) [ed note: spent $1k on wedding, so want 4k balance]

End of September update:

1) Dipped into then repaid, again, still at 10k, again, still a month ahead, again. Gonna try and break this habit this month.
2) Still contributing $950/mo. Gonna hit my $50k balance un-stretch goal barring any big market crashes.
3) Paid $450, down to 1950, on track to finish this with my December 1st payment.
4) Added $250, putting me around $2500. Stretch goal is laughably not happening.

This month I ended up buying airfare for Columbus Day to do some wedding planning/engagement photography and also Thanksgiving, so I overspent a little bit, again. Good news is that I got really really great deals on the tickets, and shouldn't be buying any more airfare until Christmas (which looks to be cheap as well). Still confident I can get $1500 more in the wedding fund by the end of the year and hit that goal.

COOL THIRD QUARTER YTD STAT THAT MAKES ME FEEL GOOD:
Net worth increased by about $30,000 so far!

# ? Sep 28, 2016 18:35

Potrzebie: Apr 6, 2010; I may not know what I'm talking about, but I sure love cops! ^^ Boy, but that boot is just yummy!; Lipstick Apathy

Boy, this investment is sure to grow and make me FIRE any day!!

# ? Sep 28, 2016 21:15

moana: Jun 18, 2005; one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web

adorable chubby babby :3:

Mine ended up with an extra $700 in pediatrician visits and $750 for a tongue tie release, and that's just the first month. I decided to quit working and semi-retire when she came along, but I'm thinking I might go back to work in five or ten years. We'll see!

# ? Sep 29, 2016 02:33

spinst: Jul 14, 2012

babieeeees

Goals:

1. Raise my net worth from $55k to $70k. $66.9k.

2. Pay off $5.4k of my car loan, which has $6.6k remaining. $5080/$5400. I think I'm going to pay the car off by the end of the year.

~~3. Do something vacation-y this summer without taking on debt. I haven't been on a vacation in 4 years and I need one desperately!~~ DONE! Took very short but relaxing vacay on San Juan Island.

~~4. Pay for my last semester of grad school in cash. $3k.~~ DONE

5. No credit card debt. On track.

~~6. Stretch Goal: Start saving for a house. A nominal amount, say $1500, just to get my morale going while I finish paying off the car.~~ $2100/$1500. DONE! Aw yeah - gonna keep going.

Go me!

spinst fucked around with this message at 14:09 on Sep 30, 2016

# ? Sep 29, 2016 02:52

Grumpwagon: May 6, 2007; I am a giant assfuck who needs to harden the fuck up.

September update inline. Boring month. Wife got a small raise, we stayed in line in all categories.

Grumpwagon posted:

Major goals
1) Increase income 20% - Accepted a job starting 2/15 for a 33% increase (thanks negotiation thread!)
2) No wedding debt - Wedding 5/15, paid in all cash, goal successful!
3) Pay off $29k of student loans (all but the ~3% interest loans). Stretch: pay off all $41k for 0 debt. - In line to put $4.3k to the loans this month thanks to low spending and the wife's raise. That would put us at roughly $2000/$29000 remaining to be paid off.

"Keep good habits" goals
4) Keep constant on YNAB (started 1/1/2015) - On track.
5) "never have a baby, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever... ever..." - On track *knocks on wood*. I like other people's babies though!
6) Don't buy a house this year - On track.
7) Don't buy a car unless the new job requires it, and if it does, buy something sensible and inexpensive. - As mentioned last month, we did buy a car, but it was a cheap replacement for my wife's car, not one for me. I'm probably going to change this goal to sell the other car before the end of the year. It needs some work first, and a friend is borrowing it at the moment though, so no movement yet.
8) Keep 401(k) contributions to at least 10% each. - On track.
9) Lose 20 pounds and keep it off. Stretch: 30 pounds (goal weight) - I'm better at budgeting than I am at weight loss, but I'm now 6 pounds away from my goal weight. It hasn't been clean or straightforward, but the trend line has been mostly down since late May.

Grumpwagon fucked around with this message at 14:50 on Oct 1, 2016

# ? Oct 1, 2016 14:47

dreesemonkey: May 14, 2008; Pillbug

dreesemonkey posted:

Half year update
~~1. Incrementally increase Roth / 529 savings~~ Incremental indeed, but it's something. About 8% of our take home total goes into post-tax Roth/529s.
2. Save for a bathroom remodel (approximately $4000) - Slowly plugging away, got some scope creep so I have no idea when we'll actually get to it and/or how much more we're going to need to save.
3. Contribute more to our HSA (currently $50/pay) - Increased to $75/pay.
~~4. Settle our "surprise" $2400 medical bill from 2014 that we just received~~ - Paid
5. Stretch goal: Make additional $1200 principal-only payments on our mortgage - $500 paid so far. I think I'll be able to hit this as we should be pretty close to hitting some other savings goals early and we'll have another 3 check month sometime this year.

3rd quarter update
~~1. Incrementally increase Roth / 529 savings~~
2. Save for a bathroom remodel (approximately $4000) - Have ~$2100 saved, but aforementioned scope creep is making us reconsider.
~~3. Contribute more to our HSA~~
~~4. Settle our "surprise" $2400 medical bill from 2014 that we just received~~
5. Stretch goal: Make additional $1200 principal-only payments on our mortgage - Up to $700, probably won't be much/any more this year due to priority changes.

Priority changes:
1. Saving for a new vehicle for me for next year at this time. Looking for a gently used fullsize truck in the $25k range, hoping to have to only finance about half of it. So far saved $3300.
2. Our well may need re-drilled at some point ~$4000 (have this in emergency fund when the time comes)
3. Neighbor mentioned maybe being interested in selling the small parcel of woods next to our house (probably ~.5 acre). Would love to buy it, but who knows how serious he was and if we're talking the same ballpark financially (hoping for the "several thousand" range).

# ? Oct 3, 2016 19:25

Moneyball: Jul 11, 2005; It's a problem you think we need to explain ourselves.

Moneyball posted:

2016 goal: Be worthless*

*$24,400 combined debt repayment/savings and I will have a net worth of $0.

Last year I think I put a little too much E/N and too many numbers in to my first post. And I changed my focus a few times mid-year. This year, my goals are a little more clear.

Until I lose my 0% APR on my credit cards, I have around $3,000 a month income to play around with, with few expenses.

In order that I believe I can complete them:

1. Max out 2015 Roth IRA. (Mid-April)

2. Pay off my $8,800 @ 7.29 car loan. At that rate, I would get this done first, but have to meet the April 15th deadline for the IRA. I'll still knock it down by a lot before concentrating on the IRA, then resume paying it off. (May)

3. Pay off $4,000 credit card debt before the introductory 0% APR is up. $1,000 in October, rest at the end of 2016. (Technically, mid-January)

4. Max 2016 HSA. ($2,850 due to $500 employer contribution) (By last paycheck of year)

5. Stretch goal: Pay down student loans by $18,750 to only have 3.15% interest loans. (Leftover)

That's $21,150 not including the student loans, or $813 of my $1,400 paycheck. Even if I only start hacking away at my student loans, I'll be quite pleased.

Non-monetary goals:

1. Complete CPA

2. Get new job with CPA qualification.

1: Abandoned for 2016
2. Paid
3. Down to $2,000 or so. Should be done by November
4. Done
5. Done with 6.8% loans with the next payment. The rest is 3.15%

Still haven't gotten a new job or finished the CPA, but I'm voluntarily leaving my full time job soon to focus on studying.

But best of all is.. I'm no longer worthless! :v:

Though some may consider that debatable.

I am a positive $3,086, up from ($24,400) in December.

# ? Oct 4, 2016 12:54

Good-Natured Filth: Jun 8, 2008; Do you think I've got the goods Bubblegum? Cuz I am INTO this stuff!

A few minor updates.

2016 Goals (Sept. update)

- ~~Adjust my W4 now that I have a kid~~
- ~~Create a will~~
- ~~Migrate to a budgeting tool (YNAB or Every Dollar) and away from my half-assed Excel sheet that tracks spending but doesn't budget~~
- ~~Open a Roth IRA for myself (have one for the wife, but only using my 401k at work for me)~~
- Move most of the funds in our checking account to appropriate interest-accruing vehicles
- ~~Re-evaluate emergency fund (30k might be a bit much and a small part of that could be used better elsewhere)~~
- ~~Put 50/month into my daughter's 529~~
- ~~Put 2k into our HSA~~
- ~~Fix up our living room and get actual furniture (a decade on junky "college kid" furniture is enough)~~
- ~~Take a vacation~~ The cabin in the woods was very relaxing. I think we prefer the beach, though.
- Release two iPhone apps

Stretches

- ~~Max out both IRAs~~
- ~~Pay off my student loans (~5000 @ 3%)~~
- Pay off my car (~12000 @ 2%) Made a couple chunk payments. It's down to ~4000.
- ~~Prep to sell my wife's car in 2017 and plan to purchase a mini-van or other appropriate "family" vehicle~~

# ? Oct 5, 2016 03:06

nikosoft: Dec 17, 2011; ghost in the shell, but somehow much worse; College Slice

2016 Goals

~~1) Max both IRAs~~ - Done

~~2) Max 401k contribution~~ - Done

~~3) Get mortgage under 130k (Currently 160k)~~ - Done - currently at 99k

4) Remodel kitchen & front yard (Budget ~30k for both in Ally savings) - If it's okay with goons, changing this to redoing the front and back yards. Back yard is almost complete at only ~700 dollars worth of work (materials, free labor from me), front yard is going to be 1.2k to take lawn/ivy out and then around 2k of materials with my free labor.

5) Research local charities/causes and make a meaningful donation - Nothing so far

~~6) Take a vacation that is a week or longer~~ - Done

Stretch Goals

~~1) Get mortgage under 100k~~ - Done!! Five digit mortgage!

2) Generate side income - Nothing so far

I'm off contract for work and probably not going back until sometime in November, so I'd prefer to not do the kitchen right now and sit on the cash (just in case), but instead use my free time to do the work on the yard myself since I wasn't going to be working anyway. As soon as I get a contract I'll re-evaluate kitchen plans. Also thinking about doing solar panels, probably next spring, which will be 15-20k.

# ? Oct 5, 2016 22:40

Proposition Castle: Aug 9, 2004; Witty message goes here.

Putting this in writing so I can hit this goal and hopefully next year's:

2016:
Get student loan payments down from $1304.62 to $1200 per month.
Bad napkin math (85 months left * 104.62) shows about a $9000 overpayment needed by the end of the year. This is only doable with a lot of butt-clenching.

2017:
Maintain $2400 per month on the loans.
Put all overtime towards loans with a goal of reducing the payment to $970 per month.
Why $970? More bad math shows this would allow me to continue paying the loans off with double the monthly payment while automating contributions to a Roth IRA.

# ? Oct 6, 2016 14:12

EAT FASTER!!!!!!: Sep 21, 2002; Legendary.

2016 isn't a sunk ship by any means, but my timeline for goals is more appropriately 2017, so I'm going to get them down in writing.

2016:
1) Pay off 1 credit card in full.

2017:
2) Pay off all credit cards in full.
3) Pay off private student loan.
4) Max both 403b.
5) Get to full contributions on 529.
6) Safety fund to $10,000.
7) Pass boards - get raise.
8) Don't buy new car until MBA paid in full.
9) Increase (our) net worth by $100,000.

EAT FASTER!!!!!! fucked around with this message at 17:40 on Oct 6, 2016

# ? Oct 6, 2016 17:25

pig slut lisa: Mar 5, 2012; irl is good

Original Post | First Quarter Update | Second Quarter Update | Third Quarter Update | End of Year Update

Retirement Savings Goals

My Roth IRA: Goal $3,500 | Stretch goal $5,500 | To-date $5,500
Wife's Roth IRA: Goal $3,500 | Stretch goal $5,500 | To-date $5,500
My 457(b): Goal $10,000 | Stretch goal $12,500 | To-date $18,000
Her TSP: Goal $6,000 | Stretch goal $10,000 | To-date $8,000
Total: Goal $23,000 | Stretch goal $33,500 | To-date $37,000

We've maxed out three of four of these, thanks to getting bought out of the family partnership. Might not quite round my wife's TSP out at $18,000, but we'll be able to next year.

I feel positive that we would have hit the stretch goals without the buyout, but it's nice to have the means to blow by them. :toot:

House Savings Goals
Goal $9,000 | Stretch goal $15,000 | To-date $45,000

As above, we were able to greatly exceed the stretch goal thanks to the proceeds of the sale of my partnership share :toot:

Resolve family partnership issues and improve tax withholding situation
Goal: Be on track to exit partnership in 2017 | Stretch goal: Exit partnership by the end of 2016 | To-date: We're out!

We got out, and that's great. Meanwhile, my total bitch of an aunt finally mailed us the personal effects from my grandma's house that were left to us. Mailed them...without any packing materials. I'm talking scratched paintings, shattered Waterford crystal, literally 60 pound boxes full of broken poo poo. Whatever. We're no longer legally connected to her impending financial trainwreck of a life. :fuckoff:

Get my parents to update their will
I've had some minor conversations, but no major progress. :effort:

No gambling in my home state
Still good on this so far, and didn't go to the casino on my recent trip to Seattle/Rainier, so I expect I'm good for the whole year. :toot:

Stop applying for credit cards after July
Haven't applied for anything since July, and the last round of bonuses have posted. Next year we're taking a three week trip to Asia using first class on ANA, Korean, and Cathay Pacific. I was also able to book economy Korean/JAL roundtrip for my friend to join us for a week in Korea. All of this for points earned from bonuses. What a system! :toot:

2016 is going great so far!

# ? Oct 7, 2016 05:01

Moneyball: Jul 11, 2005; It's a problem you think we need to explain ourselves.

Down to four figures in total debt for the first time since going back to school in 2011. :v:

Getting my CC utilization down to where it is now will probably boost my credit score in to the 700s for the first time ever. Not that it matters because I'm not buying a house any time soon, but it's nice.

Thanks, BFC!

# ? Oct 7, 2016 14:21

KYOON GRIFFEY JR: Apr 12, 2010; Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22

KGJr Goals 2016 Edition

Still have weird cashflow, so some goals to be executed by Jan 1 2016, the rest during the year. I need to be more accountable to my year end goals.

Before Jan 1
~~Pay off car completely, $8,625 @ 4.2%~~
~~Put another $8,000 in emergency fund~~
~~Put $10k towards house down payment~~
~~Save $4k for vacation~~

During 2016
Max 401k to take advantage of absurd match - $18k. I have set my contribution amount to support this. on track
Save $6k towards house down payment Done!
Don't move out of current apartment while keeping rent increase under $100/mo Signed new lease with $50/mo increase
Don't get married / have kids so far so good
Take a cool vacation vacation executed successfully

Additional 2016 goals:
Put $1000/mo in to the house fund
Put $500/mo in to taxable brokerage.

Stretch goal: net worth of $175k (including retirement, excluding checking) at end of year. May: $140.5k. End of June: $142.7k End of September: $150.8k I would like to do this without the bonus but that seems a bit unlikely at this point. Still, it'll happen with my end-of-year bonus structure

Post bonus goals - bonus should be at least 25k after taxes
Set aside $5,000 for vacations
Max IRA
Set aside $5,000 for moving next year

Put remainder in house fund
Buy a case of Yamazaki 12

# ? Oct 7, 2016 16:58

Happiness Commando: Feb 1, 2002; $$ joy at gunpoint $$

I didnt post at the beginning of the year because my only goal was to reach 100K net worth and that was so far away it seemed impossible

# ? Oct 10, 2016 18:30

pig slut lisa: Mar 5, 2012; irl is good

Crossposting from the credit card thread:

I mentioned in the financial goals thread that my wife and I have booked a trip to Asia next year using miles for first class on ANA (Chicago to Tokyo), Korean (Tokyo to Seoul to Bangkok), and Cathay Pacific (Bangkok to Hong Kong to Chicago). I received a couple PMs asking about this, so I figured I'd write a summary to show people what's possible. NB: there are definitely plenty of people out there who have done more than I have in less time!

My wife and I have received about 40 credit card bonuses since February '14. This number is a little misleading, however, because we started very slow. I applied my for my first card in Feb '14, my second in Oct '14, and it wasn't til Jan '15 that we started moving more quickly. I'll also note that 24 of these are mine, while 16 or so are in my wife's name.

Here is a list of cards I've received bonuses on, as well as the application date, active/cancelled, and any notes:

code:

2/14	Chase Sapphire Preferred	Active			Earned a lot of extra URs on this since I put all our Nov '14 wedding spending on it
8/14	Chase Southwest Plus		Cancelled		
1/15	Barclay US Airways		Cancelled		Got this right before it stopped existing; converted to AAviator
1/15	Amex Premier Rew. Gold		Cancelled
1/15	Citi AA Platinum		Downgraded		First Citi AA Platinum; downgraded to Doublecash
4/15	BofA Alaska			Cancelled		First Alaska card
4/15	Chase IHG			Active
7/15	BofA Alaska			Cancelled		Second Alaska card
7/15	Amex Everyday			Active
7/15	Citi HHonors Signature		Active
8/15	Amex Personal Plat		Active			100,000 MR bonus; will cancel this week (annual fee came due)
8/15	Citi AA Biz			Cancelled		Opened for co-op
10/15	BofA Alaska			Active			Third Alaska card; will cancel at year
10/15	Chase Southwest Prem.		Active			Companion Pass through end of '17; will cancel at year
11/15	Citi AA Platinum		Active			May leave open despite annual fee
1/16	Amex Gold Biz			Active			Opened under fictitious consulting business name; will cancel at year
2/16	Chase Southwest Biz		Active			Opened for co-op; will cancel at year
2/16	BofA Alaska			Active			Fourth Alaska card; may leave open despite annual fee
3/16	Amex SPG Personal		Active			Will cancel at year
4/16	Chase British Airways		Active			Will cancel at year
4/16	TD Aeroplan			Active			Will cancel at year
5/16	Amex SPG Biz			Active			Opened for co-op; reached large bonus by paying building property taxes; will cancel at year
6/16	Citi Premier			Active			Will likely cancel at year, depends on what I'm thinking with my TYP
6/16	Elan Amex			Active			Only cash back card ($350 bonus); run by Elan through one of my local banks

I don't have my wife's full list here but it includes 3 BofA Alaska cards, two AA cards (one was originally the US Airways card), a couple Amex MR cards (Everyday and PRG), Chase IHG, TD Aeroplan, and SPG Personal.

Our credit scores have consistently hung around the 760-780 range (depending on bureau) and we've never had a late payment, carried a balance, or paid an annual fee we didn't mean to.

I met the minimum spend on these with a combination of natural spend and manufactured spend. Our combined natural credit card spend is maybe a little north of $2,000/month, so some MS was definitely necessary. Spending outside of natural spend included:
-Using Serve to reach at least one Amex minimum spend (Personal Plat I think) and generating additional spend until Serve shutdown in Jan '16
-I had a good fee-free MS loop going for a while in mid-'16 where I would buy a Visa gift card on giftcards.com, load it to my Serve at Walmart, and then pay off my CC with Serve. Unfortunately the fee-free nature of this loop was eliminated in late '16.
-Right when my Serve got shut down, I discovered a fee-free source of Reloadits in my area. This was clutch for meeting the minimum spend on my Amex Gold Biz. I bought Reloadits at the grocery store for no fee, loaded them to a Meijer prepaid debit (run by PayPower, I think), and paid off my CC from there. The grocery store stopped stocking Reloadits right after I finished this minimum.
-As the president of my co-op board, I occasionally have the opportunity to pay for large building expenses on credit cards
-In Spring '16, I did the VGC->Money Order loop a few times at a 2% cost, strictly to meet a couple minimums
-I met one bonus by funding a Citigold checking account, which itself carried a 50,000 AAdvantage bonus. Hell of a time getting the bonus and closing the account, though I eventually got out after filing a CFPB complaint

There are definitely people who go way harder at this stuff than I do, know better MS methods, etc. More power to them! For me, the overriding goal was to keep it easy. I always expanded slowly, only trying out one new MS method at a time. I also always left myself an out in case an MS method dried up. The only time I've really ever had to scramble was when my Serve got shutdown right as I was facing a huge Amex minimum spend, but fortunately I found the Reloadit path a couple weeks later and it lasted just long enough for my needs.

My wife and I are planning on applying for a mortgage in Spring/Summer '17, so we're not applying for any new cards til then. We may just wait til July '18 so that we have a two year gap since our most recent credit card applications. We still are swimming in more points than we could use by then, so I don't feel like I need to rush. It's been fun!

# ? Oct 11, 2016 04:29

Moneyball: Jul 11, 2005; It's a problem you think we need to explain ourselves.

pig slut lisa posted:

1/16 Amex Gold Biz Active Opened under fictitious consulting business name; will cancel at year

No issues with this?

# ? Oct 11, 2016 05:44

pig slut lisa: Mar 5, 2012; irl is good

Moneyball posted:

No issues with this?

I'm a solo practitioner who just opened my business earlier this year, but gosh darn it I just can't seem to find any clients!

e: The worst case scenario is that Amex bans me for life from all their products and takes back my remaining 70,000 MR points, but this is exceedingly unlikely, especially since I don't MS on this card anymore. The Biz Gold is a charge card, not a credit card, so Amex is very loose with its approvals.

pig slut lisa fucked around with this message at 06:15 on Oct 11, 2016

# ? Oct 11, 2016 06:01

Nail Rat: Dec 29, 2000; You maniacs! You blew it up! God damn you! God damn you all to hell!!

Nail Rat posted:

Q3 Update:

-Max 401k. On pace!
-Max my and my wife's IRAs. On pace!
-Max my HSA. On pace!
-Pay off personal loan I took out to sell the underwater condo(we'd be 100% debt-free after this!). $20,000 out of 26,000 paid off. On pace!!
-Add 2,000 to emergency fund. Not started.

stretch goal:
-Add 10,000 to house down payment fund (this would be the start of said fund, at the very end of the year).Not started.

I don't think I'll quite hit the stretch goal, but I should be able to at least hit the original stretch goal of $5,000. Additionally, net worth just hit $100,000 so that's something! It was about -$45k at the start of 2013.

Changes in goals due to surprise divorce after only 14 months. GWM (that it didn't come later), BWL (that I now have to work through all this emotional baggage)? I dunno.

-$15k to 401k.
-$4000 to IRA.
-Max HSA.
-Pay off personal loan.
-Finish year with over $10,000 in savings.

Next year will be better, I hope. Just trying to keep some cash aside for paying her off so she doesn't go after my 401k or HSA.

# ? Oct 24, 2016 22:48

Tyro: Nov 10, 2009

Nail Rat posted:

Next year will be better, I hope.

I hope so too, dude. That is awful. Best of luck working your way through everything.

# ? Oct 25, 2016 14:05

KYOON GRIFFEY JR: Apr 12, 2010; Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22

Nail Rat posted:

Changes in goals due to surprise divorce after only 14 months. GWM (that it didn't come later), BWL (that I now have to work through all this emotional baggage)? I dunno.

-$15k to 401k.
-$4000 to IRA.
-Max HSA.
-Pay off personal loan.
-Finish year with over $10,000 in savings.

Next year will be better, I hope. Just trying to keep some cash aside for paying her off so she doesn't go after my 401k or HSA.

That sucks, man. Best of luck with everything.

# ? Oct 25, 2016 16:47

alnilam: Nov 10, 2009

^^^ sorry about your troubles bud

Spooky Halloween / Belated Q3 update :spooky:

Goal 1: Migrate my etrade roth IRA and taxable brokerage to Vanguard (already underway), and figure out a good allocation for me to stick with for retirement investment + low-risk assets for the money needed for goal 3

Now fully complete! Allocation looks like dis:

pre:

      | % in rIRA |   % in taxable
Bonds |        	  |     9.7%
US    |   63.0%   |    
Intl  |        	  |    22.6%
REIT  |    4.7%	  |
-----------------------------------
Total |   67.7%   |    32.3%

(thank you forums poster monster on a stick for advice on tax efficiency)
and will look more or less similar moving forward except for some US being added to the taxable account as necessary, since my tax-sheltered space maxes out very quickly.

:spooky:

Goal 2: ~~Buy an engagement ring~~

I officially got scarried and it's great! Did you know that in PA you don't need an officiant, you can marry ya own drat self? Thanks Quakers! We performed our dark ritual in the middle of the woods in Sept, standing in a stream, with almost nobody else around... we are forest-loving hippies and she doesn't like drawing a ton of attention to herself either so it was absolutely perfect for us. Then we went and visited some family to celebrate. Suffice to say no wedding debt was incurred :krakentoot:

Goal 3: ~~Buy a house~~

Achieved since Q1 and we still love the h*ck out of our house :hellyeah:

Goal 4: Save 40% of my salary invested as long-term savings.
Stretch goal: save 60% of my salary.

Fully on track for 40% and see no reason I won't hit it, probably not going to hit 60% but w/e

# ? Oct 25, 2016 20:56

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# ? May 5, 2024 17:36

Referee: Aug 25, 2004; "Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday."
(Wilma Rudolph)

Nail Rat posted:

Next year will be better, I hope.

Ugh. Hope everything goes well, man. :glomp:

# ? Oct 26, 2016 19:43

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Financial Goals 2016: Saving for babby's first SA account

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