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Sundae
Dec 1, 2005
I'm game for the new thread as well. I must restore my honor!

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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)

I can post a thread later this afternoon if no one else is already planning to do it.

Nail Rat
Dec 29, 2000

You maniacs! You blew it up! God damn you! God damn you all to hell!!
I went ahead and did it as the 2016 version didn't really have any OP aside from the OP's goals, so I figured I could do the same. If someone wants to do a different one with more content in the OP, fine with me though.

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:

I went ahead and did it as the 2016 version didn't really have any OP aside from the OP's goals, so I figured I could do the same. If someone wants to do a different one with more content in the OP, fine with me though.

Nah, I think this works :)

Link: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3801901

EAT FASTER!!!!!!
Sep 21, 2002

Legendary.


:hampants::hampants::hampants:

Thanks for making the new thread!

KYOON GRIFFEY JR
Apr 12, 2010



Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22
poo poo, I haven't even closed out this year. You guys are too ahead of the game.

Jeffrey of YOSPOS
Dec 22, 2005

GET LOSE, YOU CAN'T COMPARE WITH MY POWERS
Here's mine...not great:
  • Get a credit card (sheesh, that should be a remainder of 2015 goal) Done
  • Increase net worth by 100k Done, though it was close and depended on income that technically came in December 2015. It didn't "vest" until this year so I'm counting it. It's vaguely possible that I'll make it without that but I'm not holding my breath
  • Roll all my old retirement accounts together into a regular IRA (401k #1, 401k #2, SIMPLE IRA) while maxing a new one - Nope, now I just have 401k #3, sigh.
  • Come up with and act on a better investment portfolio than "SPY and cash" - Didn't do this but....SPY and cash seems kinda good. I'll get some bonds next year I promise.
  • Complete machine learning course + 1 personal project in hopes of inspiring future career opportunities - Nope, not really. I mean I started doing improv, that would be a fun as hell career #2 but not exactly realistic or what I had in mind.

KYOON GRIFFEY JR
Apr 12, 2010



Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22
[quote="KYOON GRIFFEY JR" post="465075722"]
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. Done
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. done
Put $500/mo in to taxable brokerage. done

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 Dec 16: 175,868 :catdrugs:

Post bonus goals - bonus should be at least 25k after taxes it is actually 30k post taxes nice
Set aside $5,000 for vacations done
Max IRA done
Set aside $5,000 for moving next year :( done
Put remainder in house fund haven't done this yet
Buy a case of Yamazaki 12 haven't done this yet but I will soon!

I'm going to declare victory on this year and move on to next year!

Everything Burrito
Jun 2, 2011

I Failed At Anime 2022
2016 was not good :(

1. By the end of January, pay off last ~$1450 CC balance
1/31: DONE

2. Maintain 0 balance on credit cards this time, goddammit
1/31: cards set up to pay full balance every month so I can't forget and carry it over
4/28: still doing it yay
12/17: FAIL

3. Add $4000 to efund
4/28: working on it, I have added a little over $1000
12/17: income got shaky, used it on bills and ect., it's been up and down but overall FAIL

4. Max 2016 IRA
4/28: automatic monthly contributions have been happening since the beginning of the year so this is on track
Also I realized the other day that my IRA is now bigger than the remainder I owe on my house so that felt pretty good.
12/31: FAIL (sort of) because I wanted to do this by the end of the year and will have to finish it up in the first part of next year

5. Start and fund HSA
4/28: no progress yet, kinda want to focus on the other stuff for now since my overall goal is breaking bad habits so I want to get stable and stay that way for a while, probably will put this off til closer to next tax time. I'm starting to worry about my car; it's 12 years old and I don't want to replace it yet but need to be prepared if it starts having problems, so getting my efund nice and beefy to cover potential car issues is the higher priority at the moment.
12/31: FAIL since I'm continuing to put this off

After the update at the end of April some poo poo happened. My pay got squirrely, my health went down the toilet (had the flu twice in like 3 months among other things), I got really stressed and prior to all that I'd been semi-managing untreated depression on my own but everything wore me down to the point that I wasn't managing anymore and the wheels started to come off. I came very close to quitting my job and during all that kinda said gently caress it to holding onto goals n poo poo and just went with the path of least resistance (floating bills on the CCs until money came in). So slap a big FAIL on my goals, but I got into therapy and on medication so that's positive at least :toot:

Got a new wrinkle for 2017 -- the main funding source that maintains my job and basically the whole agency goes away in 2 years. I owe $28k and some change on my house, and it would be cool as hell to have it paid off before I have to start looking for a new job. I'm still thinking about if I want to publish my 2017 goals but in general it's still the same thing -- get stable, stay stable, retirement contributions, e-fund, and sock whatever I can manage toward the house. At least finally having the sadbrains under control will be extremely helpful toward actually staying on target and managing whatever bullshit 2017 throws at me.

Everything Burrito fucked around with this message at 05:04 on Dec 18, 2016

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 $17,000
  • Total: Goal $23,000 | Stretch goal $33,500 | To-date $46,000
Maxed out everything except the TSP, which is a job she only started working full-time in May. 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 $60,000

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

And we close on a new house on Tuesday! This will give me all sorts of opportunities for 2017 financial goals.

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. :toot:

My aunt is a horrible person, but we're 95% done with her. Only thing left to wrap up is getting the tax documents from last year's sale.

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

No gambling in my home state
No gambling in my state or during any of my travels :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:


I give myself a solid A. Getting out of the partnership is a dream come true, and the house we're buying is so amazing in every way. 2016 was a good year, BFC.

Omne
Jul 12, 2003

Orangedude Forever

Omne posted:

Hopefully I do a better job in 2016 of sticking to goals than I did in 2015, though I don't imagine another engagement and house purchase.

Omne's 2016 Financial Goals
1. NO. WEDDING. DEBT. We have our budget and have done a fairly good job of sticking to it. We are paying cash, and by ourselves without any other assistance. We are currently on track to cover our remaining payments by the wedding date (4/16/2016).
2. NO. NEW. DEBT. PERIOD. This means any other loans or credit card balances. I pay off my CC's every two weeks or so and will continue to do so
3. Pay off smallest student loan ($1987.32 current balance). This has a 5% interest rate but is paid quarterly. My other two loans are much bigger ($14500 @4.25% and $14000 @6.8%) but it'll be an emotional boost to knock this out.
4. Increase personal emergency fund to $10k (Current balance: $6900).
5. Stretch Goal: Pay down the 6.8% student loan to under $10k

1. Complete! Paid cash for the wedding, and thankfully my father paid for our honeymoon.
2. Complete!
3. Complete!
4. Fail! Currently sitting at $8200
5. Fail! It's down to $11,600 but that's essentially paying the minimums.

Three out of five, not good enough

Good-Natured Filth
Jun 8, 2008

Do you think I've got the goods Bubblegum? Cuz I am INTO this stuff!

2016 Goals (Dec. 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 Didn't complete
- 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
- Release two iPhone apps Didn't complete


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



Missed on two, but got my stretches. Not too shabby.

Nail Rat
Dec 29, 2000

You maniacs! You blew it up! God damn you! God damn you all to hell!!

Congrats on all that stuff, god drat! The way you crushed even the stretch goals is the best part.

Tyro
Nov 10, 2009
Huge year for us, wife lost her job, then became a cofounder of a startup and we had a kid. So we didn't reach all our goals but I feel really good about where we ended up with all the changes.

Tyro posted:


2016 Goals. In order of importance.

1. Continue to max my TSP, and both of our IRAs. Contribute what we can to a solo 401K for her.
SUCCESS. Maxed all including hitting wife's Solo 401k employee contribution limit

2. Pay off wife's student loans entirely (approx $50K)
FAILED due to household income dropping dramatically at the very beginning of the year. Paid down to ~$29k.

3. Increase long term taxable savings (eventual house fund) by $12K - This is now a stretch goal, as any "spare" money will probably go into the above solo 401k
I consider this a mixed success. We saved up the money (on top of filling the solo 401k) and then used it as a down payment for the new car.

4. When buying new car this year, borrow no more than $20K and overall spend no more than $30K
SUCCESS. Due to the kid, we did buy a new car, staying well within original goal guidelines

5. Maintain e-fund at current levels
SUCCESS.

6. No motorcycle.
SUCCESS. I scratched my motorcycle itch by working on and riding a friend's bikes.

pig slut lisa
Mar 5, 2012

irl is good


Nail Rat posted:

Congrats on all that stuff, god drat! The way you crushed even the stretch goals is the best part.

Thanks! On the one hand, the numerical goals felt embarrassingly easy after getting bought out of the partnership. On the other hand, merely charting a course out of the partnership seemed like a herculean task at the beginning of '16. The fact that we got bought out midyear was truly amazing and lifted a huge weight off the chests of my side of the family.

The '17 goals are going to involve some house things since we close tomorrow :ohdear:

Not a Children
Oct 9, 2012

Don't need a holster if you never stop shooting.

End of Year Report!

DESIRED ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
- Increase gross income to $[redacted]k ($[redacted+10k] with reimbursements). Success! I got a surprise raise and cleared this by a couple thou.
- Put $10,000 in 401k (edited down from $15,000 12/30, I'm looking for new, more expensive, but more tenable living arrangements) Wasn't aggressive on this. I'll be about $500 short. My employer's contributions will push me over though. Looking to max this next year.
- Max ROTH IRA. Done, and money is set aside to do so for next year on Jan 1.
- Take and pass the EIT exam. Done!
- Move to a place closer to work while keeping my total housing expenses under $1.3k/mo. Done beyond my wildest hopes and dreams
- Take a dang vacation without feeling guilty. Did, but it was a kind of lousy vacation. gently caress Miami.
- Stay the hell outta debt. Still only got my car payment. 5 more months!
- Finish 4 more classes with Bs or better for that sweet sweet free education :911: Done! Reimbursements, here I come.

ONGOING GOALS:
- Date without breaking the bank (subjective). Success!
- Limit alcohol spending to $30/month. Utter, miserable failure. I finally understand the appeal of brown liquors, and it is destroying me.
- Limit video game spending to $25/month. A less miserable failure, but a failure nonetheless. Averaged $40/mo. Will work on this next year.
- Limit Fast Food to 1 Purchase per month. Failure. Averaged 2-3 times. Living within walking distance to a McDonalds is not good after a night of drinking.
- Keep constant on YNAB -- 18 months and counting! About to clear 30 months, whoo!

STRETCH GOALS:
- Max out 401k Nope
- Put another $10,000 towards general savings (house in 2017? We shall see) Yep, and DEFINITELY nope. Love my apartment and plan to stay there at least another year.
- Reach $[redacted]k net worth I forgot this number, but I'm pretty sure I did.
- Keep my 4.0 GPA Nope, thanks to a BS exam grade that I didn't bother to argue in Spring. It will have zero impact on my finances, career, or anything else.

moana
Jun 18, 2005

one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web
It's great to read all of these posts about getting poo poo done, even when plans change :) You all are awesome!

moana posted:

2016: The Year of Simplifying poo poo
- roll over old 401k into my Vanguard 401k SUCCESS
- close out Chase accounts and move to Union Bank SUCCESS
- after taxes, move what's left into taxable investing account at Vanguard SUCCESS
- close out money market fund account SUCCESS
- get mortgage autopay set up SUCCESS
- do weekly reconciliations in Mint to classify business expenses SUCCESS
- keep profit/loss spreadsheet updated monthly FAILURE turns out it's hard to keep this up when dealing with all the poo poo of having a baby, o well

Stretch Goal
- hit $1M net worth SUCCESS ended up at like $1.2M, woop woop

Non-Monetary Goal
- get knocked up SUCCESS babby is awesome, things are awesome

let's go knock 2017 on its loving rear end! :v:

EAT FASTER!!!!!!
Sep 21, 2002

Legendary.


:hampants::hampants::hampants:

moana posted:

It's great to read all of these posts about getting poo poo done, even when plans change :) You all are awesome!


let's go knock 2017 on its loving rear end! :v:

drat Moana, nice work. Keep up the relentless romp toward financial independence! And congrats on the baby fun times.

pig slut lisa
Mar 5, 2012

irl is good


moana posted:

It's great to read all of these posts about getting poo poo done, even when plans change :) You all are awesome!


let's go knock 2017 on its loving rear end! :v:

2017 goal: let's run through a wall together woooooo

dreesemonkey
May 14, 2008
Pillbug

dreesemonkey posted:

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).

As expected, my goals this year were extremely boring and not really all that challenging. I feel as a whole we did fine, we're saving moderately for retirement and kid's college, $1000+ in daycare monthly, and we're not in debt other than our house. I think that 2017 will be the start of more financial traction so a boring 2016 is pretty much a big win in my books.

Completed:
1. Incrementally increase Roth / 529 savings
3. Contribute more to our HSA
4. Settle our "surprise" $2400 medical bill from 2014 that we just received

Not complete:
2. Save for a bathroom remodel (approximately $4000) - This was never really meant to be completed this year, but we ended up spending most of what we saved when our basement flooded and we bought a new washer/dryer earlier than planned. The project scope has also expanded to "well we'll need to buy 800 sqft of hardwood flooring for the house as well", so this is likely pushed off quite a bit.
5. Stretch goal: Make additional $1200 principal-only payments on our mortgage - $800, so 3/4 of the way there. Not too awful.

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)

Final 2016 update inline below. Not the best year, but made some progress and it looks like 2017 is setting up to be better.

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. RESULT: FAILED- total debt stands at $17,129.33 as of today. Freedom not yet attained :(

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

- I work a side job as a football official during the fall and we are paid in a lump-sum at the end of the year. I have received one of my two checks for 2015 already and expect to receive the other before the end of the year. Between these two checks, I should be able to pay off most, if not all, of this credit card. The card is already closed so the only additional debt that could be added to this is interest charges. Target Completion Date: January 31, 2016 or sooner. RESULT: SUCCESS- paid off January 14, 2016.

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

- After paying off Credit Card #1, this will be my priority because should something happen to the car (accident, major repairs, etc.) I don't want the loan hanging over my head. Blue Book value on the car is roughly $3200 so while it is underwater, it isn't by a lot. I do not intend to buy another vehicle in the next five years as the current vehicle only has 115,000 miles on it and it's a Honda. Target Completion Date: May 30, 2016 or sooner. RESULT: SUCCESS- sold the car August 9, 2016, clearing the remaining balance on the loan and put the surplus into debt repayment.

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

- After paying off the Car Loan, this will be my priority because student loan debt is generally not able to be forgiven in case of bankruptcy, so if the worst were to happen, I would rather have this paid off sooner rather than later. Target Completion Date: October 31, 2016 or sooner. RESULT: FAILED- paid off one of the two loans with officiating income yesterday, but have not received a year-end bonus at work which I was hoping would help take care of the other. Balance on the remaining loan is $3,539.21 as of today.

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

- Realistically, this will only happen by the end of 2016 if my company commission bonuses fall within the high-end of the expected range AND I am able to hit budget goals for every month in 2016 while shooting to decrease expenses as compared to 2015. I do believe it is possible, though, if I stay accountable to myself and others (hello, BFC) and leverage the tools available to me such as YNAB which I have been getting used to over the past few months. Time will tell if this proves to be the case. Target Completion Date: December 31, 2016 or sooner. RESULT: FAILED- didn't finish Goal 3 yet so haven't made much of a dent in this- but also haven't racked up any further debt. Balance stands at $13,590.12 as of today.

2015 Net Income: approximately $55,000 (changed careers in July)
Expected 2016 Net Income: between $65,000 (no commission) and $100,000 (with highest-expected commission payouts) Haven't ran final income numbers yet, but I was nowhere near the top end of this scale and likely didn't crack $60,000. So on the one hand, I didn't hit all of my goals- but I also didn't have the income stream to do it with. I took a second job in October that has quickly wound up being my primary job as income from the first has dwindled to nearly nothing. In 2017 I plan to pick up at least one more side gig, if not several, to help offset the loss of expected income.

Other 2016 Goals

- Update YNAB on a every-other-day basis or more RESULT: SUCCESS- was really proud that I kept this up all year!
- Run 12 5K events in 2016 RESULT: FAILED- only ran the 2 at the beginning of the year. Not good. Personal life crept up and bit me. Going to time-block and schedule this for 2017 to ensure success.
- Learn to be a better cook and drastically reduce eating at restaurants RESULT: MISERABLY FAILED- I haven't ran the restaurant expense for 2016 yet but I'm going to and it's going to be pathetic. This HAS to change in 2017 as I'm now borderline high on both cholesterol and BP.
- Move in with girlfriend RESULT:LOL- broke up with the girlfriend so that's been put on hold
- Do not have a child or any other expensive habits/experiences RESULT: SUCCESS- didn't go blow a bunch of money on anything unnecessary (besides restaurants!)

spinst
Jul 14, 2012



Final Update!!

1. Raise my net worth from $55k to $70k. $72.9k. DONE!

2. Pay off my car loan, which has $6.6k remaining. $6712 paid. Car is paid off. I am debt free! DONE!

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 a 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. DONE!

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. $2730/$1500. DONE!


Met all my goals! :)

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)

spinst posted:

Met all my goals! :)

Dude, that is so awesome. Congrats!

froglet
Nov 12, 2009

You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

froglet posted:

Last month I was worried I couldn't make it, this month...

- increase non-retirement investments from 60k to 80k
Was running the numbers last week and found I'm already halfway there. Not celebrating too early, though, because for all I know the stock market could tank in the next 9 months.

- stretch goal: increase non-retirement savings to 1.5x my gross salary.
Tried to quit my job, the boss gave me a 10k pay rise, which is nice. However, this goal is now technically possible, extremely unlikely (given my new salary). If I'm going by the number I was on at the beginning of the year, though, it's very possible!

- continue salary sacrificing $150 a month into superannuation
Still chugging along. Going to bump this up to $250 a month as a hedge against lifestyle inflation.

- stretch goal: increase net worth to $130k (including super)
About 20k shy of that goal.

- do one online course relevant to my industry
Did an hour-long online course, so I'm done with that, but part of my agreement with work was getting some time off to do another course. Aiming to get it done before EoFY in July.

- read three finance books relevant to Australia
Done! I get the impression the people writing these books want to be entombed in a pyramid made of gold or something.

- increase non-retirement investments from 60k to 80k
I'm calling this Done, since my between all my non-retirement savings and investment accounts I have $80.7k (though I've got one more pay to go this year). I decided to increase my cash position because I'm getting married next year and thought it'd be handy if we decide to have a honeymoon. Note that I went through a job change right before going on a 3.5 week holiday to the US, otherwise this final number would have been higher, heh.

- stretch goal: increase non-retirement savings to 1.5x my gross salary.
Nah, didn't happen, lol, especially since I got a 10k pay increase.

- continue salary sacrificing $150 a month into superannuation
Meh, didn't set this up with my new job. So on the one hand, DONE because I did continue the salary sacrifice right up until I changed jobs, but on the other hand, I didn't stick it out a full year.

- stretch goal: increase net worth to $130k (including super)
I'm actually only 3k away from this. I should be here by January.

- do one online course relevant to my industry
Done! On top the course I did online, I also got sent on a trip to do another work-related class!

- read three finance books relevant to Australia
Done!

slap me silly
Nov 1, 2009
Grimey Drawer

slap me silly posted:

Ok let's play good idea / bad idea for slap me silly in 2016. I'm thinking about selling my house and moving into a one bedroom apartment.

So, I sold my house and moved to a pricey apartment. I also just signed the lease on a slightly less pricey apartment in a much cooler part of town, got a 6% raise that I didn't even ask for, started maxing out my 401k, paid off my car loan, and opened a donor advised fund. Been a good year financially even in spite of all the $$$ I spent on fancy whiskey and computer toys. Fully expecting to lose my job and go bankrupt in 2017

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

December update inline. We will be officially debt free as of Jan 2nd. That's the last major/stretch goal completed. I'm super excited about that. Writing down my goals has helped a lot (at least for monetary goals.. lets not talk about weight goals), so I'm definitely going to post 2017 goals in a week or two, after I've had some time to think about them, and discuss them with my wife.

Despite outside forces conspiring otherwise, 2016 has been pretty great for me. I got a huge raise at a new job, got married, paying for 90% of the expenses ourselves in cash (with the parents paying the remaining ~10%), paid off close to $40k of student loans and raised our NW by nearly $50k. This year has set us up really well for the future. We now have a firm foundation to save for a house down payment, and possible early retirement. Thanks thread!

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). - Done! All of the original $29k, plus all of the $2.5k mini-stretch!
Stretch) Pay off the remaining $8.5k student loan for 0 debt. - Making my final payment 1/2/2017. It's a huge weight off my shoulders

"Keep good habits" goals
4) Keep constant on YNAB (started 1/1/2015) - Done!
5) "never have a baby, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever... ever..." - So far so good, as far as I know *knocks on wood*.
6) Don't buy a house this year - Didn't buy a house this year!
7) Don't buy a car unless the new job requires it, and if it does, buy something sensible and inexpensive. - We replaced the wife's car, and haven't sold her old one yet. I do intend to sell it, but for now it's our winter beater. Sort of failed here, but the spirit of the goal was for me not to buy a car for myself, so it wasn't a complete failure. I'll say 50% complete
8) Keep 401(k) contributions to at least 10% each. - Done!
9) Lose 20 pounds and keep it off. Stretch: 30 pounds (goal weight) - Failed miserably. Final year total is down about 10 pounds (leaving me roughly 20 pounds overweight). I'd be fine with that if it was a steady loss, but it was total yo-yo between up 10 pounds and down 20. That's not healthy for my body or my mind.

Final tally is 3/3 major goals + 1 stretch goal. 4 1/2 out of 6 minor goals. Apart from the miserable weight failure, a very successful year!

Damn Bananas
Jul 1, 2007

You humans bore me

drat Bananas posted:

Starting this past June I've been keeping a spreadsheet of all of mine/husband's income, expenses, and savings/investment contributions. It's not a full year of data, but it was a good enough spread that I have an idea of monthly averages. So, my 2016 goals are to:

1. Make a new tab on the spreadsheet for 2016, and continue tracking. Every expense, every month, don't fall off the wagon. This is just part of life now. Don't make it a passing phase, self!!
2. As the months go on, try to keep the averages for each expense category either equal to 2015's averages, or hopefully lower in several frivolous categories (restaurants, shopping, gifts).
3. Max out his & hers IRAs. I have a sneaking suspicion that while mine is a traditional and his is a ROTH, they should probably be flipped. Need to research a) if this is still possible, b) how to?
4. Bump up the non-IRA brokerage account's monthly contribution from $867 to $1000.

Stretch goal:
5. Save up for new SUV. Having an '05 SUV and a '14 sedan in the same household makes you get real jealous of the bells and whistles they've introduced to vehicles over the years. Push button start, keyless entry, and blindspot/reverse warning beeps, oh my :allears:


Good luck, all!

1. Done! Such an oddly satisfying habit.
2. Mostly done. I had to go above budget on a few things which threw those categories out the window. Cat was diagnosed with kidney disease requiring monthly sub-q fluids administered at the vet, an expensive prescription food, and her increased water intake makes for increase litter output. Also, I decided to redo the siding and windows on the house so my home expenses were ridiculously above budget, but they increase the value of my home and better insulate for future energy bills.
3. Done, and decided against ROTH-ing and un-ROTH-ing them.
4. ..................honestly I forgot that this was a goal. I will update Vanguard right now.
5. Decided against this goal. Current boring SUV is still functional. Managed to save a big chunk of cash that I could change my mind with if I wanted to, though.


According to my spreadsheet we spent our income this way:
53% spent
23% invested
23% new 1% savings account (emergency fund)

I'm really proud of this. We have some extremely fortunate circumstances that allowed for the cards to fall this way, but I think we did a really great job of balancing responsibility with living-life fun-stuff.

Baja Mofufu
Feb 7, 2004

Original goals

Baja Mofufu posted:

Do YNAB every month FAIL, made it to April :yotj:
Max Roth IRAs SUCCESS
Max husband's 401k SUCCESS
Max Coverdell ESA SUCCESS

Stretch goal: 800K net worth SUCCESS, 860K

2016 wound up being a great year financially. I'd been feeling some guilt about not pitching in with an income since I stopped working on January 1st to stay home with my daughter. My husband is fully supportive and it's been so fulfilling, but I couldn't let go of the thought that I was being a drag. However, we were still able to meet our pre-kid net worth goals! (Not our pre-kid savings level though, part of this is thanks to the market.)

Regarding the failed YNAB goal, I realized around April that neither of us has the discipline to budget. We've tried off and on for several years and it never happens. The system we always fall back on is to budget out after-tax savings per month and never let our checking account go below a certain balance. I'm happy with how we're doing so I think we'll just stick with that.

We're getting ready to save for a house for the full kid + house BWM playset. Be kind, 2017!

app
Dec 16, 2014
$$$$$$$$$

app posted:

2016 Goals:
1) $53K into 401k (via mega backdoor Roth)
2) $20k into eventual house down payment fund
3) $6k to max out family HSA
4) Cross $755k in total savings (retirement and non-tax advantaged) - currently at $690k... this will be a stretch
5) Increase gross income from $183k to at least $220k (lost an income from last year dropping us from $255k to $183k)

Assuming ~$200k in income, this will be:
~$60k in taxes
~$72k in spending (total, all in)
~$53k in retirement
~$15k in other savings

Year End Update:
1) Complete - boom
2) Complete - actually ended up putting in 150% of plan: $30k
3) Complete - boom
4) Complete - gently caress yeah, savings on target plus a generous market - net worth now at $865k
5) Complete - Income increased to $224k - booo yaaa!

Harry
Jun 13, 2003

I do solemnly swear that in the year 2015 I will theorycraft my wallet as well as my WoW

Harry posted:

2015 was a great year. Unfortunately/fortunately things are going to most likely slow down for 2016.

2016 Goals
  • Don't get completely screwed over on a real estate deal. Unlikely to happen, but we'll see.
  • Figure out if I want to fully max out the new 401k that just started. Contributing 10% now and getting a 4% match. Will have to figure it out by mid-year or so.
  • Furnish the condo and get the repairs made for around $3,000
  • To add to that though, be more mindful of spending. Blew $500 last week so I could have dual monitors for my home PC

Non-monetary goals include getting out of this side job gracefully before it blows up in my face.

So 2016 wildly exceeded expectations. 80% raise, and a couple of big stock wins skyrocketed the networth.

1. Haven't gotten screwed on the real estate deal yet, and bought into another one. Getting around 8% on the money at the moment.
2. Got a new job in March, and it doesn't have a 401k plan. Going to try to get my company to start one, and I'll probably have to do all the setup work so we'll see how it goes.
3. This one hasn't been that great. Held off on repairs since there's a foundation issue that's causing cracks in the walls. HOA is dicking me around pretty hard and I'm just hoping I come back to my condo on fire.
4. Dual monitors have been awesome.
5. Side job had found a replacement for me before I was going to quit, gave me a going away present (lol).

I also ditched mint since it doesn't work with 25% of my accounts and use GNUCash now. It's more work, but I really do like it.

Proposition Castle
Aug 9, 2004
Witty message goes here.

Proposition Castle posted:

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.

Goal crushed. I submitted my recalculation request last week and my new monthly payment is $1050. Gonna try and pay off the last $60k this year.

Guest2553
Aug 3, 2012


I didn't post in this thread but just ran my 2016 numbers and am in a BFC kinda mood so here we go.

Based on my :goonsay: spreadsheets I was aiming for a net worth of 178k, with a stretch projection of about ~183k. I finished 2016 ontarget (NW of 177.8k, plus a $225 work expense I'm waiting on), but missed the stretch because of an unexpected pregnancy/car trouble/broken computer/unplanned move that all popped up the last few months of the year.

I'll be making quite a bit less this year while spending a lot more (higher COL area, bigger house, more babby) so my 2017 laws is to stick to a budget. That's my story, see you all in the 2016 thread

ohgodwhat
Aug 6, 2005

I also just finished up my end of year review.

2016:
Good things
1. Finished up my emergency fund - $40k
2. Achieved a savings rate of 50% of gross income
3. Argued (for like a minute) with my bank for $0.86 in interest I shouldn't have been charged, maintaining my interest free record

Bad things
1. Had to pay $20 for a cash advance and interest due to a screwup with foreign currencies abroad, ruining my interest free record
2. Really blew a lot of money on food
3. Screwed up Quicken so I'm missing out on half of my transactions and have no idea what categories they fall into

2017:
Significantly cut down on wasteful food spending
Increase my investment accounts by 150%
Build a downpayment for a house + investigate pros/cons of owner occupied rental properties

Moneyball
Jul 11, 2005

It's a problem you think we need to explain ourselves.

Moneyball posted:

2016 goal: Be worthless* :hellyeah:

*$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.


After my last paycheck for December, my net worth is now $15,461. :eyepop: Almost a $40,000 swing from last year at this point. :eyepop:

Goal 1: Abandoned. Failed? Paid off debt instead.

Goal 2: Paid off my car

Goal 3: Paid off all debt set to accrue interest starting in January, but now I have around $3,000 set to start accruing interest in June

Goal 4: Just about maxed 2016 HSA, so I'm considering this completed.

Goal 5: Paid off all 6.8% debt; completed.

Non-monetary goals: Failed both. :sigh: Left my full time job (working part time elsewhere) to focus strictly on the CPA. Better get this ish done.

Good year.

Zuph
Jul 24, 2003
Zupht0r 6000 Turbo Type-R
So, my original goals were:

Zuph posted:

Alright, Financial Goals 2016:

0. Pay off Credit Card (Leftover goal from 2015, $975 remaining balance. Should be completed by the end of February)
1. Max out Roth IRA
2. Increase Emergency Fund to $10,000
3. Get one month ahead on all expenses (YNAB Rule 4, currently 1 paycheck ahead)
4. Save enough additionally to take a vacation/visit friends in Denver
5. Start some relatively self-sustaining side venture that earns some mostly passive income

However, in June, this happened:

Zuph posted:

Currently working through a tough separation with my partner of over 7 years (emotionally, financially, etc.), SO this years goals are hosed until further notice.

New 2. Keep net worth (excluding retirement) approximately the same, while maintaining retirement savings rate, separating households, and moving into a new place.

So, in summary!

0. Paid of credit cards! 2016 was the year I became totally debt free!
1. Did this! Also, put aside max company match in 401k, for a total retirement savings rate of approximately 15% my income
2. Nope! Did not achieve this! In fact, I have less in the emergency fund now than at the start of 2016, in having to dip into savings in order to make a clean break with my ex.
3. Nope!
4. Nope! But, I did managed to take two short trips to visit friends in NYC this year, which was a lifesaver in a lot of ways.
5. Nope!

New 2: Actually, Kinda! My net worth definitely peaked in June of this year, at $10,818. As of December 31, it was $7902. However, as of January, it was $8,851. So, for the year, I'm down less than $1,000. I definitely consider that well-spent to be on the other side of all the emotional stuff I've gone through this year.

tumblr hype man
Jul 29, 2008

nice meltdown
Slippery Tilde

tumblr hype man posted:

Gone back and forth on these, but here goes.

1. Finish paying off student loans this year, about $11k left at the moment.

2. Increase net worth to $30k, about $4k right now.

3. Don't buy a new loving car.

Not a strict goal, but one I will really need to hit in order to accomplish the above goals is grossing about $1k in sales from flipping stuff on eBay in addition to my day job. Gonna be tough but if I can do it I should fly past these goals by the end of the year.

OK, a little late, but I did 2/3 in 2016.

Student loans have been PIF for several months.

EOY Net Worth was $27,580.48, which is short of target, but I will hit $30K by the end of January most likely.


I didn't buy a new car.

I got a new job in September, that gave me a 15% raise, and in March I should be moving from Consumer Lending to Commercial Lending, which will come with another raise. I'm shooting for about a 30% increase there. If I get that I will have had an 87.5% increase in wages in like 3 years. Which really just shows how underpaid I was at my first job I guess.

So overall didn't accomplish everything, but this is a gentleman's D I suppose.

Dessert Rose
May 17, 2004

awoken in control of a lucid deep dream...
Couple weeks late but whatever.

Dessert Rose posted:


2016:

- 350k net worth. I think this is achievable but it will require some doing (and of course the market cooperating a bit)
- Stay within my self-imposed income of 36k this year.
- Don't eat out today.

For me it's simple. I just have to not buy a new computer. A new game console. A bunch of games. And so on. I've formed the habits, I'm used to living well below my means. Over half my paycheck goes into savings every month before I even see it; now to see how much more I can squeeze out of the money I do see.

Well, last year topped out at 379k, so thanks to the market I did pretty well. I even made a bad decision and sucked out: when the market dipped in Jan I moved all my bonds to taxable and my total market funds to my IRA, harvesting the loss in the process. Now I have significantly more tax advantaged space in my IRA, since the bounce back happened there, and I get to claim a not-insignificant loss on my taxes.

I also got married just before the end of the year and did so with no spending on a wedding so now my taxes will be much lighter.

I didn't do so well staying within 36k for the year; I think I ended up somewhere around 42. I have to work on my tendency to go crazy at end of year when I've maxed out my 401k and my paychecks double in size. Still, even with discovering quadcopters I didn't ruin my budget too terribly much.

Same with not eating out: good start, sloppy finish. Gotta get back on that this year.

I don't think I bought a console last year, I think I got my PS4 the year before that, and I didn't buy a new computer or phone. So I won on that score!

A pretty good year. I'm over halfway to FI (or at least to the point where I start figuring out the logistics there). My gains from existing investments are starting to catch up to my spending... I've got good momentum now.

leftist heap
Feb 28, 2013

Fun Shoe

leftist heap posted:

I really only have one financial goal this year and that's to save a total of $15k (at least).

I sorta hit this? I put over $15k into savings accounts this year, so that counts, but my fiancee and I hosed up and declared ourselves common law and she ended up no longer qualifying for student aid, so I had to withdraw from my e-fund to pay for school unexpectedly. Ultimately my net worth didn't really go up accordingly. So... sorta a success.

leftist heap fucked around with this message at 20:51 on Jan 10, 2017

Cicero
Dec 17, 2003

Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

quote:

1. +60k net worth (~165k -> 225k)
2. Max out regular 401k contributions, after-tax 401k contributions (26k), IRAs for myself and wife for 2015 and 2016.
3. Go over spending consistently (right now this is scheduled for weekly, but even once a month I'd consider a success).
4. Tamp down on eating out by making it part of "personal spending" (this also involves an increase to the personal spending allocation, but we should still come out ahead savings-wise). This is the biggest waste of money we have right now, I think.
5. Get some points from credit card rewards from regular, not manufactured, spending.
1. Hit that much earlier in the year and then mostly stalled, I think end of 2016 we were around 230-240 range? So success! Although I think a large portion of the bump was money sitting in a sort of subaccount in Schwab that I wasn't aware of until after I had set the goal.
2. Maxed our regular and after-tax 401k contributions. Ignored IRAs because we moved to Germany and I had to get that stuff done by September. Actually now that I think about it I could probably still dump money into backdoor roths for tax year 2016 huh? I'll look into it. Mostly success since the total 401k contribution limit dwarfs 2 IRAs.
3. lol no. Failure, maybe next year.
4. I think we tried this and then promptly gave up. Failure.
5. We did indeed get some points that we successfully used for flights, so success! Now that we live in Germany though it's going to be hard to play that game, although I can continue using what American CCs we have a lot of the time.

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greasyhands
Oct 28, 2006

Best quality posts,
freshly delivered

Dessert Rose posted:

Couple weeks late but whatever.


Well, last year topped out at 379k, so thanks to the market I did pretty well. I even made a bad decision and sucked out: when the market dipped in Jan I moved all my bonds to taxable and my total market funds to my IRA, harvesting the loss in the process. Now I have significantly more tax advantaged space in my IRA, since the bounce back happened there, and I get to claim a not-insignificant loss on my taxes.



That is a wash sale, bud... I mean, the odds of ever getting caught by the IRS are very close to 0, but what you did is technically a wash sale and strictly speaking does not generate a tax loss.... unless you waited 30 days, I guess.

The IRS has ruled (Rev. Rul. 2008-5) that when an individual sells stock or securities for a loss and causes his or her IRA or Roth IRA to buy substantially identical stock or securities within 30 days before or after the sale, the loss on the sale is disallowed under section 1091 and the individual's basis in the IRA.

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