Financial Goals 2017: Budget Harder

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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)

End of Q1 update in bold below. Q1 has not been kind to me financially, particularly March (March 1st my car died and required $1150 in repairs, March 2nd my phone died and required a $165 replacement fee), but I managed to do both without dipping too far into the red. Still need to drastically cut down on restaurants and am planning to take April off completely from drinking.

IllegallySober posted:

My 2017 goal is to become debt-free by paying off $17,129.33 in debt. NOW $16,815.06
(Stretch goal- do this by my birthday, August 20).
(Stretch goal #2- also max out my Roth IRA).

$3,539.21 in student loan remains. NOW $3223.06
$13,590.12 in credit card debt remains. NOW $13,592.00- Q1 payments were offset by $643.96 of the car repair as new debt

Do not rack up any new debt (besides unavoidable interest charges on the above). FAILED FOR NOW- CAR REPAIR EXCEEDED EMERGENCY FUND

Other personal goals:

Lose 20 lbs (so I'd weigh 170) NOW 190, NO CHANGE, gently caress

Decrease restaurant/bar/alcohol expenses by 30% from 2016. Just ran the numbers for 2016 and holy poo poo. I spent $5,007.99 on restaurants and bars and alcohol. That's $417.33 a month. Every month. Jesus Christ.

30% decrease would be $3,505.59, or $292.13 per month. That's a non-negotiable for me. Has to happen. Stretch goal here is to spend less than $2,500 in both categories combined. AVERAGED $386.06/MONTH FOR Q1. NOT ACCEPTABLE

# ? Apr 1, 2017 22:54

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# ? Apr 19, 2024 07:32

Guest2553: Aug 3, 2012

March update. Still on track overall :toot:

Guest2553 posted:

My big picture goals for the year are to increase family net worth to 220K and stick to a budget. We currently have about 180K between savings/roth/401 and are aiming to save ~24k, throw our ~10k tax return at it (we went from zero to maxed 401k after sitting on a lot of cash), and expecting 5-6k in gainz/dividends. I was able to throw my whole tax return of 11k into savings for a really sweet boost. Normal monthly savings didn't happen though since I splurged on a luxury item. It was something I had my eye on for a couple years but some stacked discounts brought the price down to a level I was willing to pay. Net worth has been hovering at 200+1k depending on the market, so if I meet the 2k/mo goal for the rest of the year I'll be on track.

I recently moved from lovely public housing (which allowed me to save like a boss) to an actual house worth living in (which costs twice as much but allows me to actually like where I am). Between that and an imminent babby expenses will go up, but I want to keep spending under control and know where my money is going. Not doing this religiously but we're aware of where our money is going and things add up at the end of the month so desired effect achieved.

Stretch goal is to develop some sort of side hustle.Still have a good idea, not in a position to pursue. Building the skills I'd need on a work project anyways so it's not a total bust (yet).

Non-financial goal is to regularly work out to get (back) in shape, also to maintain some semblance of work/life balance.The period of pulling insane hours has died down which is nice. I'm even starting to get excited about my imminent babby which will be born at the end of the month Up a couple pounds this month after everything but down 10+ pounds total.

# ? Apr 2, 2017 02:02

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

Very impressed with everyone's progress so far! Keep it up BFC :peanut:

# ? Apr 3, 2017 06:10

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

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

Retirement Savings Goals

My Roth IRA: $5,500 (stretch goal: $5,500)
Her Roth IRA: $5,500 (stretch goal: $5,500)
My 457(b): $18,000 (stretch goal: $18,000)
Her TSP: $18,000 (stretch goal: $18,000)

Progress: Both IRAs have been maxed out. I have contributed ~$13,000 to my 457(b), she is at ~$11,000 on her TSP. This goal should be done by the Q2 update.

File my taxes by April 15th
For the past few years, I have always been ready to file by the end of March except for the K-1 I needed for the family partnership I was a part of. My aunt is a terrible person, and doubly terrible about finances, so I never received this form before like April 12th every year. Stressful!

This past year, my family miraculously (if acrimoniously) charted a path out of the partnership, selling our shares to my aunt. There is one final hurdle to clear: receiving the final K-1. Will my aunt get this to us in a timely fashion? Will she vindictively delay the release of the form, forcing us all to go through the headache of filing for an extension? I sure hope not! Timely filing this year will feel wonderful and will snip the last financial tie I have with my aunt. :pray:

Progress: After ignoring several emails and phone calls, the accountant has finally promised to distribute the tax forms by the end of this week. Here's hoping!

Get my parents to update their will
My one failed goal from 2016. My folks are in great shape, thank goodness. Nevertheless, they are approaching 60. They have not updated their wills since before my brother--a sophomore in college (!)--was born. The goal for this area is to get my parents to update their will.

Progress: Mostly done, largely without any prodding from me.

Don't apply for any credit cards until July at the earliest
I've posted a little bit about how my wife and I have aggressively applied for credit cards such that we will be taking a trip around Asia with nearly free first class airfare on some great airlines (ANA, Korean, Cathay Pacific) this summer. We stopped applying to credit cards on June 1st, 2016 in advance of applying for a mortgage later in the year. We got our mortgage and bought the house a couple weeks ago, so technically we're clear to start applying again. Nevertheless, I would like to wait til at least July so that we have a year between apps. Credit card issuers are tightening up rules on churners and we already still have a surplus of points, so waiting is no big deal.

Stretch goal: Don't apply for any credit cards in 2016. We'll see about this one. Depends on what offerings are out there.

Progress: No applications so far

Use the home gym!
We are in the process of building a gym in the basement of our new house. It's relatively inexpensive. Nevertheless, I don't want that money to go to waste. The goal for this area is to workout in the home gym at least 90 times in 2017. The stretch goal is to workout in the home gym at least 120 times in 2017.

Progress: We moved into the house in late January and found mold (not the bad kind, but still) in the workout room in late February. I've only worked out in this room five times. Gotta pick up the pace after we treat the mold this week.

Track home purchase expenses
Before we purchased our home, we set aside $60,000 for the down payment, furniture, and moving expenses. I have already been tracking every house-related purchase so far and plan to continue doing so in 2017. The stretch goal is to stay within that $60,000, which I think we'll be able to do fairly easily, but it's good to write it here to hold me to it.

Progress: Doing well so far and still have a few thousand left in the budget.

Sell my co-op
My co-op is a pretty cheap place to live, so I'm under no immediate pressure to sell it. Nevertheless, the sooner it's sold, the better. There are some minor repairs to do before listing, but I would like to get it sold sometime before the end of the year. The stretch goals are to list it by the end of March and sell it by the end of June.

Progress: Not going to meet the stretch goal, but hoping to list by Memorial Day.

Make a plan for when we're going to have our first kid
My wife and I both turn 30 this year. We know we want kids, although it still hasn't been "the right time" (whatever that means) yet. Sometime this year, we need to have at least one serious conversation about when exactly we want to start trying for a family. The clock is ticking!

Progress: Uhhhhhh tbd

Fence the backyard
The new house has a great backyard, but it's only partially fenced in. This year I want to finish the fence so the dog has a nice place to play.

Progress: This will probably be done by the Q2 update. Have already had a good preliminary discussion with the neighbor.

Expand the driveway to create a turning pad for the car
One of the biggest knocks on the new house is that the detached garage is not only very narrow, but also slightly offset from the driveway. The result is that backing out is difficult and I keep putting the front right tire in the landscaping when I back out. At some point this year, I want to rip out the area of the landscaping that's at risk and widen the paved area so that I can back out more easily.

Progress: Removed from goals as we have decided to not park the car in the garage.

Get an annual physical and go to the dentist
This is a goal for both my wife and me. Neither of us did either of these things in 2016. Gotta do better.

Progress: We've both made it to the dentist already this year! Next up is a physical for each of us.

# ? Apr 3, 2017 06:22

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

E: this was dumb and the wrong info.

Potrzebie fucked around with this message at 09:01 on Sep 30, 2017

# ? Apr 3, 2017 08:33

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

March was an OK month, though I do feel like I'm losing some momentum, especially in the non-financial realm. The financial goals are largely on autopilot, as long as we stick to budget, and so far that has gone well. This month is bonus month, so I should make some progress here (though this company's bonuses are small and half in worthless private stock, so it won't be a huge boost). A business trip really hosed with my diet, but some of that was self-inflicted and should have been avoided. Still, hard to complain about a month where our net worth passed $100k for the first time ever. Updates inline.

Grumpwagon posted:

2017 Goals
1) NO NEW DEBT (*with a "perfect house and down payment is in order" exception). No cars, no house* - Outbid on another house. We've put in two conservative bids in the last two months in a hot market with this goal in mind. If we get the house, we've gotten a deal. More likely we don't and we keep saving.
2) Evaluate career change - Had my meeting. Manager was supportive in theory, but refused to commit to a schedule to move me, so I know that means he won't, at least for now. I've decided to stick around for the moment, because the DevOps team has taken it upon themselves to include and train me at least a little. I really like the work environment too. I am keeping my eyes open for a change still, but not actively seeking one.
~~3) Consolidate last remaining solo accounts from before marriage~~
4) Bring emergency fund up to $12k - Added $1800/$5.5k. On track
5) Max out Roth IRAs for both of us - $2751/$11000. On track.
6) Continue funding 401ks at 10% each - On track
7) Save $40k for a down payment for a house by 1/1/18 - $10908/$40000. On track.
7 Stretch) Save $3636 a month to finish with the 12/1 paycheck - On track
8) Take a vacation (~$3k) - $1200/$3000. This will likely be where I put bonus funds, to shift the yearly budget cycle from a January 1st start, to a more realistic vacation date start.
9) Increase NW to $135k/Continue ~60% savings rate - On track for both. At ~102k NW. Savings rate is on track.
10) Lose 20 pounds and keep it off - Had a business trip for a week which pretty much erased my month's progress. Silver lining is I didn't go up any, so I'm down 10 pounds from the beginning of the year still, but it is too early and I'm still too far from my goal to be losing momentum like this. I have another trip this weekend. I need to hold steady there. Then I will be able to restart losing when I'm back home and in my routine.

Misc goals
Stay current on YNAB, stay current on birth control (i.e. no kids please), keep learning in and out of my career, and (stretch) keep an eye open for a good side gig that won't make me crazy. - Teaching myself Clojure and functional programming, which has been really interesting.

Grumpwagon fucked around with this message at 13:15 on Apr 12, 2017

# ? Apr 3, 2017 15:45

spwrozek: Sep 4, 2006; Sail when it's windy

Still on auto pilot at the moment. I guess the only thing really going for me is I am reading the Four Pillars of Investing. Update below.

spwrozek posted:

I am struggling a little bit on what to have as goals for next year at this point. I have basically am in auto pilot on most of my list below. This generally makes me feel adrift a bit as I have been working so hard on knocking down all the goals the last 5 years. I could try to spend less of food or even save more but I just am not up for that. I will probably have to put in some workout goals or life goals outside of this list to motivate myself.

1) Max 401k - On track, $6200 contributed
2) Max Roth IRA - On Track, $1800 contributed
3) Max HSA - On Track, $680 contributed
4) $300/mo into Mom's Retirement - On track
5) $500/mo into Taxable Retirement - On track
6) Transfer Mom's Retirement money from Ally bank to Vanguard ~~taxable~~IRA account - Haven't got this done yet, 15 days left....
7) Open Vanguard account for my Taxable Retirement - Done

# ? Apr 4, 2017 05:19

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

spwrozek posted:

Still on auto pilot at the moment. I guess the only thing really going for me is I am reading the Four Pillars of Investing. Update below.

The way I like to approach the equation is - one side, improve my consumption and limit extraneous expenses and, on the other, improve my allocation of saved resources. When I get tired of one, I go digging for ways to improve the other.

It's a nice way to stay sane even as you feel like you really get into a groove.

# ? Apr 4, 2017 15:57

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

Devian666 posted:

My focus is back on my pitiful retirement savings: total retirement savings $36k

Retirement savings goal for EoY: $86k

Side goal: refinance the other half of my mortgage from 27 years to 15 years remaining.

Retirement savings: $72k+ I took a hit on a some shares where income was over reported leading to a 20% drop in share value. Fortunately a diverse portfolio is the correct way to invest. My index funds are doing alright too.

Mortgage was just about refinanced yesterday but there was a error in the documentation. Waiting on an updated mortgage contract to be emailed through today. I'm splitting between 1, 2 and 3 year fixed and the rates I've been offered are exceptionally good. The split allows for hedging against interest rate changes and balances potential for early repayments if interest costs start exceeding investment returns.
e: refinancing signed and good rates are locked in, and they're a lot better than I imagined they would be. I should really thank the Fed for making an incredible mess of the financial system for my benefit. Goal complete.

Overall: on track.

Devian666 fucked around with this message at 23:41 on Apr 6, 2017

# ? Apr 5, 2017 00:15

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

Partial update:

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

2017 Goals:
Save $500/mo in taxable brokerage Caught up through March and have auto deposit going
Max IRA Auto deposit on schedule
Net worth goal: $225,000 currently at 203K, based on defined savings plan above should be at $247K in December.
Net worth stretch goal: $250,000

# ? Apr 9, 2017 16:12

Mad Wack: Mar 27, 2008; "The faster you use your cooldowns, the faster you can use them again"

End of Q1 Update:

Mad Wack posted:

Link to Goal Post

Debts:
~~- $9K in CC Debt @ 10%~~ GONE!
- $26K Auto Loan @ 1.4%
- $20K Student Loans @ 5% Reduced by 9K, from 29K
Total Debt: $46K (Down from 63K)

Net worth: $37k (Up from 4K)

Q1 - Update at end of March
~~- (Q1) Acquire full bonus of 30K~~ Completed!
~~- (Q1) Acquire tuition reimbursement from employer of 5K~~ Completed!
~~- (Q1) Use bonus or reduced spending to pay off CC debt totally~~ Completed!
~~- (Q1) Fund 401K @ 6% to get employer match~~ Completed!
~~- (Q1) Fund HSA @ 5% to receive employer contribution~~ Completed!
~~- (Q1) Reduce spending using budget caps, working with GF, and lifestyle alteration/reduction to free up 10% of income for other goals~~ Completed!
~~- (Q1) Extend current spending planning from 1 month in advance to 2 months~~ Completed!
~~- (Q1) Reach at net worth of $10K~~ Completed!
~~- (Q1) Create a gift plan and budget so I don't go crazy on family gifts this year~~ Completed!
~~- (Q1) Update my existing budget with caps on spending problem areas, enlist help of GF~~ Completed!

Q2 - Update at end of June
- (Q2) Reduce spending using budget caps, working with GF, and lifestyle alteration/reduction to free up 25% of income for other goals
- (Q2) Extend current spending planning from 2 months to 4 months
~~- (Q2) Reach a net worth of $20K~~Completed in Q1!

Q3 - Update at end of September
- (Q3) Acquire tuition reimbursement from employer of 5-10K
- (Q3) Use remainder of bonus and reduced spending to pay off student loans
~~- (Q3) Fully fund 401K~~On Track since Q1! (New Contribution Amount)
~~- (Q3) Fully fund HSA~~Completed in Q1!
~~- (Q3) Fully fund IRA~~Completed in Q1!
~~- (Q3) Reach a net worth of $30K~~Completed in Q1!
- (Q3) Help the GF find a paying job now that grad school is done to reduce household expenses

Q4 - Update at end of year
- (Q4) Extend current spending planning from 4 months to 6 months
- (Q4) Reach a net worth of 40K

Stretches
- Stretch: (Q4) Pay off Auto Loan
- Stretch: (Q2) Find a side gig
- Stretch: (Q4) If all debts paid, move completely off of CCs to become fully debt free
- Stretch: (Q4) Reach a net worth of 50K

End of Q1 Summary:
It turns out when you have a lot of income plus good financial planning it is really easy to achieve your financial goals. I think the biggest driver here was talking with my live-in GF more about money, we started sharing some costs and also adjusting our lifestyle to free up money to achieve our goals. There were some (expensive) plans we had that we ended up adjusting because we didn't really even want to do them as expensively as we were (e.g. we skipped some pricy concerts and plays that neither of us was that into). In any case I am way ahead of planned schedule helped a lot by my bonus and also my tuition reimbursement. I am expecting another 5K or so from tuition reimbursement. One minor setback was a rent increase of 6% - I negotiated it down from 9%(!) and we both agreed we would use this next year-long rental period to search for a cheaper place in an area we like more.

Depending on how Q2 goes I will almost certainly accomplish all of my planned goals and then I will see if I can kill the student loans ahead of schedule.

Really happy about this Q1 start and hope I can keep it up for the year.

# ? Apr 17, 2017 15:43

spinst: Jul 14, 2012

End of April Update!

1. Increase net worth from 72k to 94k. Currently 81k. No progress due to the move.
2. Increase emergency fund from 5.5k to 7.5k. Currently 6.5k.
3. Increase house fund from 2.5k to 11k. Currently 6.5k.
4. Go on a fun (overseas?) trip this summer. Spending Limit: 3k. Trip on hold. Drained the vacation fund to move!
5. Contribute a minimum of $2400 to my Roth IRA. $800.
6. Stay debt free. Yup.
7. Lose 15 pounds. Haven't weighed in awhile. Scale is packed. Fail.

Moved this month. :homebrew:

Love the new place - hoping to stay here until I'm ready to buy!

# ? Apr 26, 2017 15:06

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

April Update:

2017 Financial Goals
- Max 401k. On track!
- Max ROTH IRA Done!
- Keep video game spending to less than $40/mo Failed Miserably. drat you, switch!
- Keep at-home alcohol spending to under $40/mo Succeeded against all odds. Mostly thanks to stocking up my liquor cabinet late last year.
- Take a vacation without feeling guilty. Still hemming and hawing on this one.

2017 Career Goals
- Finish Masters on-time w/associated raise. Successfully defended, just gotta wrap up my finals in 2 weeks.
- Pass PE exam on first attempt Pending October. Signed up for a review course that gives me a nice 2-month break after school is done.
- Uh... don't get fired, I guess? Big 'ole check here.

2017 Stretch goals
- Save $10k beyond 401k/IRA Unlikely, but still gonna try.
- Help my siblings organize their finances for their budding careers I've sent them both the If You Can pamphlet. Going to harass them about reading it after I'm done w/school. I also helped my brother to make his first IRA deposit and explained risk profiles and expense ratios to him

# ? Apr 26, 2017 16:08

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

2017 Goals (April update):

quote:

- My wife will be quitting her job next year (was a goal for last year, but we pushed it back). Need to re-assess budget before that happens. Back of the napkin says we'll be more than fine, but I want hard numbers in a spreadsheet
- ~~6000 in Roth IRAs~~ Done
- 2000 in HSA on track
- meet company match on 401k on track
- 50/month in daughter's 529 on track
- Go somewhere nice for our 5 year anniversary Coming in July.
- Get some storage for the basement and clean it up a bit (spend less than $250) I have a wife and child free weekend in May that I'll be using to tackle this.
- Buy a new vehicle with more than 75% cash
- ~~Decide on having baby number 2 (more budget re-assessment)~~
- Help my wife make money with her business idea (gotta start small)
- Run some new electrical and Ethernet drops all over my house (need to figure out a budget for this)

Met the Roth goal. Not much else.

# ? Apr 27, 2017 03:25

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)

April was a whole lot better than March! Received the biggest tax return of my life (nearly $5,000!) and used it to completely pay off my student loan :hellyeah:

as well as replenish my emergency fund from the March expenditures and put the rest aside for future car repairs. Updates in bold caps below

IllegallySober posted:

My 2017 goal is to become debt-free by paying off $17,129.33 in debt. NOW $13,313.80
(Stretch goal- do this by my birthday, August 20).
(Stretch goal #2- also max out my Roth IRA).

~~$3,539.21 in student loan remains.~~ GONE 4/16/17
$13,590.12 in credit card debt remains. NOW 13,313.80

Do not rack up any new debt (besides unavoidable interest charges on the above). LOOKING GOOD HERE NOW THAT EMERGENCY FUND REPLENISHED

Other personal goals:

Lose 20 lbs (so I'd weigh 170) NOW 190.1. THIS AND RESTAURANTS ARE MY MAJOR MAY GOALS

Decrease restaurant/bar/alcohol expenses by 30% from 2016. Just ran the numbers for 2016 and holy poo poo. I spent $5,007.99 on restaurants and bars and alcohol. That's $417.33 a month. Every month. Jesus Christ.

30% decrease would be $3,505.59, or $292.13 per month. That's a non-negotiable for me. Has to happen. Stretch goal here is to spend less than $2,500 in both categories combined. APRIL WAS $252.40. A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION BUT MAY HAS TO BE EVEN BETTER

# ? May 1, 2017 06:53

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

April was good. I got a smallish bonus (as expected, this company doesn't give large ones). Used it to buy the wife a long needed computer upgrade (hers was about 8 years old and extremely loud under anything but the smallest load) and saved the rest in the travel fund. Also got back on track in the weight loss arena.

Grumpwagon posted:

2017 Goals
1) NO NEW DEBT (*with a "perfect house and down payment is in order" exception). No cars, no house* - On track. No house offers this month.
2) Evaluate career change - No progress on this.
~~3) Consolidate last remaining solo accounts from before marriage~~
4) Bring emergency fund up to $12k - Added $2300/$5.5k. On track
5) Max out Roth IRAs for both of us - $3667/$11000. On track.
6) Continue funding 401ks at 10% each - On track
7) Save $40k for a down payment for a house by 1/1/18 - $14553/$40000. On track.
7 Stretch) Save $3636 a month to finish with the 12/1 paycheck - On track
8) Take a vacation (~$3k) - $2700/$3000. Put an extra $1500 here to fill the category at a normal vacation time instead of the end of the year.
9) Increase NW to $135k/Continue ~60% savings rate - On track for both. At ~111k NW. Savings rate is on track, although the computer probably pushed this month's slightly under 60%.
10) Lose 20 pounds and keep it off - Back on track! It wasn't always pretty, but I'm down another 5 pounds for 15 on the year total!

Misc goals
Stay current on YNAB, stay current on birth control (i.e. no kids please), keep learning in and out of my career, and (stretch) keep an eye open for a good side gig that won't make me crazy. - Still working on Clojure/functional programming, although work has gotten busy so I've made less progress than hoped.

# ? May 1, 2017 13:02

Guest2553: Aug 3, 2012

Guest2553 posted:

Increase family net worth to 220K from 180K The market gods have been kind so I'm on track despite being a couple thousand behind my savings goal. Savings should tick up upwards from here on out though (hitting yearly caps on paycheque deductions, extra buck-an-hour raise, plus a couple other small things). Sitting at 205k thanks to a sweet tax refund.

Stick to a budget No longer tracking every single line item, but we're aware of our spending and it all adds up at the end of the month.

Stretch goal is to develop some sort of side hustle.Had a babby two days ago so lol

Non-financial goal 1) regularly work out to get (back) in shape Workouts mostly dropped off while prepping for a babby, but I'm maintaining the gains I did make. I did a fitness test for work and was in the top 1% of scores (which isn't saying much given who my coworkers are) but it feels nice anyways

Non financial goal 2) maintain some semblance of work/life balance. Currently on baby leave. Thanks, communism! Work tempo has died down a lot too so it shouldn't be as hectic once I get back.

# ? May 1, 2017 16:03

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

EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:

Current Figures -
- Approximately $390,000 of student loans, of which only ~~$20,000~~ $12,000 not eligible for forgiveness through qualifying payments.

By end of Q2:
- Personal CC debt free. Done!
- Savings to 32k. Should just about hit this on the nose.

By end of Q3:
- Savings to 6 months expenses, max that we can earn 2+% on in our credit union checking. Have been cheating this up, owing to a tuition reimbursement and a raise.
- Wife private student loan retired. oo-eee this one is gonna be tight.

By end of Q4:
- MBA Tuition paid in full I will have the money for it but will not be "paying" until Q1 2018 to receive more tuition reimbursement
- Our 403 (b)s fully funded.

Yearly Goals:
- No new debt. FAIL, got a second car loan, but with relatively favorable terms
- Be promoted to clinical assistant professor (slight pay raise). received an additional administrative promotion to a clinic directorship, should come with a significant pay raise

Things we will not try to do:
- Pay anything beyond the minimum on our awful student loans - we are both eligible for PSLF in less than 5 years, so will be aiming to stick to this payment schedule, which this year accelerates to 10 year basic repayment.

Stretch Goals
- �second mortgage� retired ($28,000 balance starting) This will likely not happen until January 1, 2018
- 457 plan launched at work (I have requested this, CEO on board and benefits officer looking into cost/benefits to launch in 2017), fully funded by both wife and I If this goes live, will likely just dump my whole raise into it
- Have my paid-off car last another year. MAJOR FAIL but that's okay, I like my new car

# ? May 1, 2017 16:15

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

Congrats on the babby, Guest!

spinst posted:

Moved this month. Love the new place - hoping to stay here until I'm ready to buy!

Where did you move to?

Update:

moana posted:

Goals for 2017:
- Max out IRAs
- Max out i401ks
- ~~Get tax poo poo together on time this year for business~~ DONE
- Apply for new health care with subsidies before Trump poo poo hits the fan
- Track spending and passive income to get a clearer picture of what we should be budgeting for to spend down less than $30k of our savings annually after this year
- Paint the outside of our house ourselves to get it done cheaply (the last major project for our house)
- Start a blog for fun/profit/keeping my writing skills sharp. One post per month at least.
- Write one novel (only one!) by Christmas time for my MIL
- Get involved in the homeschooling community to see what it's like and to build my social network out.
- Invite more people over to our house for dinner/potlucks.

Hahahaha, I'm not doing any of these goals except the novel. We're spending so much more money than I thought - like $5k/month. I might need to do a case study breakdown to see if we can live sustainably like this, because right now we only have like $1k or so for income. I'm considering either me or the husband getting a part time job at a place that gives health insurance to part timers (like Starbucks or Lowes).

I guess my goal for this month is to reapply for health insurance.

# ? May 1, 2017 16:27

spinst: Jul 14, 2012

moana posted:

Where did you move to?

I'm in the same city (I live in wonderful western Washington State, not in Seattle but still in a relatively expensive part). But I'm in a duplex instead of a lovely basement apartment, with a yard and a garage and ~150 more square feet. My rent is only $25 or so more a month, though there will of course be a slight increase in utilities as well.

Woo!

In slightly more terrifying news - I've decided to go back to school again to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst! :rip:

I signed up for my first class today - and start in July.

If my school district opts not to pay for it, total costs should be around 7k over a year and a half for tuition and books. Usually you are also required to pay for a current BCBA to supervise 5% of a 1500 hour practicum at roughly $75/hr. One of my bosses is a BCBA and said he'd do my supervision piece for free. Savings of at least $5.6k. Fuckin' score. My boss was going to bat for me today with Human Resources to get them to pay the 7k, so we'll see.

Anyway, that should slow my house saving fund down by about 33%.

# ? May 3, 2017 03:25

spinst: Jul 14, 2012

End of May Update!

1. Increase net worth from 72k to 94k. Currently 82.8k.
2. Increase emergency fund from 5.5k to 7.5k. Currently 6.7k.
3. Increase house fund from 2.5k to 11k. Currently 6.4k.
4. Go on a fun (overseas?) trip this summer. Spending Limit: 3k. Trip cancelled.
5. Contribute a minimum of $2400 to my Roth IRA. $1000.
6. Stay debt free. Yup.
7. Lose 15 pounds. -2

Paid for my tuition and books for my first class. Going to slow down the house fund a bit, but should still hit the rest of my goals.

spinst fucked around with this message at 20:44 on Jun 5, 2017

# ? Jun 1, 2017 14:42

Rick Rickshaw: Feb 21, 2007; I am not disappointed I lost the PGA Championship. Nope, I am not.

Seems like a good time to update.

Rick Rickshaw posted:

Current Figures:
Age: 28
Retirement Funds: $114k
House Equity: $41k
Non-Mortgage Debt: $0
Net Worth: $155k

2017 Goals:
1. Increase net worth to 210k. (This seems insane, but this is just what my spreadsheet tells me should happen. Depends on 10% stock market gain).
At $186k now. Seem to be on track.
2. Max RRSP & TFSA again
Maxed TFSA. Waiting until year end to max RRSP. Also starting throwing a bit of money at risky things like weed stocks and crypto currencies. YOLO.
3. Start brewing beer again, allowing for cheap fun with friends
Still being lazy on this one. Ugh...so lazy
4. Maybe buy one more bike @ -$1000~ and sell two others (+$400). Ideally this will be my only non-regular purchase aside from gifts and some home reno supplies...nothing major, hopefully.
Sold my other two bikes at fire sale price of $260 total. Glad to have them gone. But I did end up buying another battery for my eBike to increase range. Negative about a grand. Cheaper than a car though, and much more fun!
Still planning on spending a bit of money on renos too if I ever get around to it. Hopefully not much more than a couple grand. Fortunately I've put in some overtime this year that will pretty much pay for this extra spending I think. But I'm not too worried about it. I feel as though I'm on such a good path now, I'm being a bit more free with my money. It feels nice.
5. Gain 10 pounds. Currently 142.
Gains have slowed since earlier in the year, but I think I'm up to around 155 now.

# ? Jun 1, 2017 14:57

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

May was pretty decent. Bought plane tickets to Ecuador (this'll be my first time in a non-English speaking country, and my wife's first time outside of North America), nailed down some career goals, and kept the financial goals rolling. I didn't keep my weight loss momentum from last month, but still went down a bit.

Grumpwagon posted:

2017 Goals
1) NO NEW DEBT (*with a "perfect house and down payment is in order" exception). No cars, no house* - On track
2) Evaluate career change - Met with some people from my last company, that I really liked working for. They expressed interest in getting me back. I'm ready to go back, except I'd like to go back as a developer. I'm one step away (I currently write automated tests, with some operations and a little programming), so I'd like to use the summer to keep learning, and take advantage of my current company's excellent vacation policy, then switch back later in the year.
~~3) Consolidate last remaining solo accounts from before marriage~~
4) Bring emergency fund up to $12k - $2800/$5.5k added so far. On track
5) Max out Roth IRAs for both of us - $4580/$11000. On track.
6) Continue funding 401ks at 10% each - On track
7) Save $40k for a down payment for a house by 1/1/18 - $18180/$40000. On track.
7 Stretch) Save $3636 a month to finish with the 12/1 paycheck - On track
8) Take a vacation (~$3k) - $3000/$3000 - Made the last payment in there and scheduled a trip! Funds going forward funds are for next year's vacation (and various small things, like weekend camping)! Calling this goal done, even though the vacation in question isn't happening until August.
9) Increase NW to $135k/Continue ~60% savings rate - NW only went up about 3k this month, to roughly 114k. That is behind schedule for the month, but it is due to travel expenses all hitting at the same time. No abnormal/unbudgeted spending, and next month should bounce back to normal.
10) Lose 20 pounds and keep it off - Only lost a pound or two, down to 16 lost on the year. Still on track, but not where I wanted to be this month.

Misc goals
Stay current on YNAB, stay current on birth control (i.e. no kids please), keep learning in and out of my career, and (stretch) keep an eye open for a good side gig that won't make me crazy. - I'm very likely going to fail the stretch here. The energy I would put into that is being redirected to working out and learning programming. I've talked about early retirement, and the idea of going full remote and traveling for a few years sounds like a good bridge to that. It's way easier to find remote programming jobs than remote QA jobs, so I think working on that points in the same direction as what a side gig would.

# ? Jun 1, 2017 15:13

Guest2553: Aug 3, 2012

Happy June, nerds :iamafag:

Guest2553 posted:

Increase family net worth to 220K from 180K Savings-wise I'm behind where I wanted to be by about 3k, but by net worth I'm ahead of my goal and sitting at 210K because of market performance. Of that, total invested assets broke 200K this month which is a pretty cool psychological milestone. Reasons for lower-than-desired savings are a slow but constant stream of little things which add up (passport renewal, car maintenance, whatever) and accepting the financial hit for quality-of-life reasons in the aftermath of a hard pregnancy (massage therapy, doula, occasional bit of too-tired-to-cook). I hope to catch up to my original savings goal though.

Stick to a budget Not gonna religiously track this one anymore. Technically a failed objective, but desired effect achieved so

Stretch goal is to develop some sort of side hustle.Had a babby ~~two days~~ four weeks ago so lol

Non-financial goal 1) regularly work out to get (back) in shape I went outside a couple times and worked out like twice. Avoided scales because I'm a little afraid of what they'll show but clothes still fit

Non financial goal 2) maintain some semblance of work/life balance. Work will pick up but I'll be taking over some things that afford me a bit more latitude, plus I won't have to bring things home as much so I'll probably come out ahead.

Guest2553 fucked around with this message at 01:35 on Jun 2, 2017

# ? Jun 2, 2017 01:31

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

EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:

By end of Q2: Wow we're nearly there already huh?
- Personal CC debt free. Success, earlier this month put the final nail in the last coffin of CC debt
- Emergency savings to 32k. We're already here and will probably aim to grow the EF to 50k before moving additional savings into taxable investments

By end of Q3:
- Savings to 6 months expenses, max that we can earn 2+% on in our credit union checking.
- Wife private student loan retired. Don't know that we're going to make this by the end of Q3

By end of Q4:
- MBA Tuition paid in full (this may adjust as my work has decided to pay for graduate degrees - plan will be similar to others who have reported keeping the tuition in savings in case a change of jobs becomes likely before my tuition is forgiven by work) Don't know that we'll make this until the end of Q1 2018
- Our 403 (b)s fully funded. On track!

Yearly Goals:
- No new debt. Failed, bought a new car two months ago but the old one died so... not too bad
- Be promoted to clinical assistant professor (slight pay raise). Success! Passed my boards, earned this promotion and another (and raise) to accompany it

Things we will not try to do:
- Pay anything beyond the minimum on our awful student loans - we are both eligible for PSLF in less than 5 years, so will be aiming to stick to this payment schedule, which this year accelerates to 10 year basic repayment. Success, we'll see whether this program still exists.
- Mess around with the car situation - I�m happy with the car that I bought for my wife, although it was expensive and has a high monthly payment, it is under warranty and it feels safe for her and my daughter to get around. Failure, but no sweat broh.

Stretch Goals
- �second mortgage� retired ($28,000 balance starting) I actually have this scheduled to be completed by Q1 2018, but we might be able to move things forward, it remains near the top of our list of goals
- 457 plan launched at work (I have requested this, CEO on board and benefits officer looking into cost/benefits to launch in 2017), fully funded by both wife and I The pay raise would cover this completely, but have had no additional movement from benefits as far as creating this
- Have my paid-off car last another year. Failed, oh well, time to start paying off another car I suppose

# ? Jun 2, 2017 13:29

balancedbias: May 2, 2009; $$$$$$$$$

I haven't updated this since February?! Holy poo poo!

balancedbias posted:

Awesome, I welcome the new thread, and the hopes for a new year!

Honestly, the list is usually boring because I do so much on autopilot, but there is a bit of drama to start the year that (for once) has nothing to do with my family.
I'm going to make more money and be miserable for Q1! How does that happen? I'm doing double the work, but I get paid extra to do so!

1 - Max the 401k and 457

2 - Max the IRAs

3 - MAX THE HSA! I have access to an HSA! Finally! (Nobody at work really knows why this made me so excited during open enrollment)

4 - Continue funding 529 at 250/month

5 - STRETCH - pay off that ~20K car loan. I'm taking this one back on myself; based on family dynamics, getting rid of this by the end of next year will recreate the type of cash flow that will allow a bit more breathing room and use as an unofficial family emergency fund. I don't think Trump got my letter to get an exemption from economic policy and outsource my parents/siblings/in-laws.

JUNE UPDATE!

1 - Still on track!

2 - done as noted before

3 - Got a grand in :woop:

but it's just sitting, not "invested" per se :effort:

4 - smooth sailing

5 - Just need about 5K more to smash this thing :pray:

# ? Jun 4, 2017 04:49

alnilam: Nov 10, 2009

Q2 Update! :ducksiren:

I've been holding off on posting 2017 goals because I work in an energy research job for the government so it remains to be seen if I'll still have a job in a month or two
But I think I'm just going to be optimistic and post them assuming I'm going to have a job. And if I don't then I'll update the goals accordingly.
Q1: So far so good :ohdear:

the situation actually looks a good bit more promising than I had feared
Q: Still good on this front, though the prez budget proposal doesn't look good for me, BUT
I make it a rule to never worry too much about a federal budget until it's already undergone a few passes thru congress. My field has been zero'd out before in presidential budget proposals only to be restored fully by congress. Plus even Rs in congress have already loled about how DOA this budget proposal is.

~*~my 2017 goals~*~
1. Max Roth IRA
Q1: Done!
Q2: Tax disaster! Had to remove all of 2016 AND 2017 IRA contributions because of being married filing separately plus my weird bizarre income category paid tax and penalty and now all that money is invested in my taxable retirement account so it's not the end of the world. It turns out getting married is actually horrible for taxes and I don't know why everyone says the opposite. Still glad I got married though :kiddo:

Side note: Vanguard customer service is good as h*ck

2. Increase cash emergency fund from 3 to 6 months living expenses at current living expenses rate (meaning i could stretch it out more than that if I was in trouble and cooled my spending)
Q1: I'm changing this goal, kinda. Now saving 1/4 of my salary in low-risk assets (short term bonds) as a combination emergency fund + money for a planned "emergency" that my wife and I hope will happen roughly 2-3 years from now.
Q2: Done technically, but in spirit there's a little more to go. The bond fund is at the 3 months of living expenses mark, and i still have 3 in my savings account, for 6 total. Going to keep adding to both until the savings account is at 6 months, so that i can start considering the bond fund as purely earmarked for the thing that might happen a couple of years from now and keep contributing to it at current rates.

3. Put 1/4 of salary towards retirement savings by end of year (stretch goal 1/3)
Q1: On track for 1/4 so far
Q2: Still managing 1/4 despite the tax hiccup

4. Get better details of wife's finances and figure out a plan for her / combined plan for us
Q1: Only just now starting to do tax preparation (lol) and using this as an opportunity to get a handle on her finances, which are not bad but in a bit of disarray organization-wise
Q2: Signed wife up for her job's 401k, and maxed her IRA for the 2016 just before the deadline. Well, actually maxed her Roth IRA for 2016, then had to recharacterize it as traditional at the last minute because of being married filing separately lol. Still more work to be done to get a complete picture and plan everything but things are coming together.

5. Teach a class adjunctishly
Q1: Unless something goes wrong at the registrar's office, I am slated to teach a grad-level class this fall! The pay is meh but I still have my main job and I really want to teach. I'm very excite :peanut:

Q2: Course is on the schedule and I am reviewing course materials!

6. Get new windows installed in house
Q1: Called around for estimates, but haven't done much else on this one. Hoping to get it done this summer while it's nice out.
Q2: On hold, hoping to take care of this late summer.

# ? Jun 5, 2017 18:42

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

2017 Goals (May update):

quote:

- My wife will be quitting her job next year (was a goal for last year, but we pushed it back). Need to re-assess budget before that happens. Back of the napkin says we'll be more than fine, but I want hard numbers in a spreadsheet
- ~~6000 in Roth IRAs~~
- 2000 in HSA on track
- meet company match on 401k on track
- 50/month in daughter's 529 on track
- Go somewhere nice for our 5 year anniversary Coming in July.
- Get some storage for the basement and clean it up a bit (spend less than $250) Partially cleaned up. Needs a lot more work, though.
- Buy a new vehicle with more than 75% cash Budgeted for. Need to find time to go to a dealer. Maybe wait all the way until New Year's Eve? I've read you can get good deals on that day. I hate negotiating though.
- ~~Decide on having baby number 2 (more budget re-assessment)~~
- Help my wife make money with her business idea (gotta start small)
- Run some new electrical and Ethernet drops all over my house (need to figure out a budget for this)

Pretty much no updates other than staying the course. Finding time to do things is hard.

Good-Natured Filth fucked around with this message at 07:15 on Jun 6, 2017

# ? Jun 6, 2017 07:11

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

More updates:

2017 Goals:
Save $2,000/mo towards house downpayment fund - on track
Move to a place with same or lower rent wherever I end up moving Hopefully deciding on a place this week, all places represent between $100 and $700/mo decrease
Max 401K on track
Save $500/mo in taxable brokerage Got autodeposit configured, on track and caught up
Max IRA auto deposit configured, on track
Net worth goal: $225,000 currently $221,000, well on track
Net worth stretch goal: $250,000 currently $221,000, well on track

Non monetary:
Get engaged woo got engaged woo
go on a cool vacation not sure this one is gonna happen - i guess I'm going to CA for a friend's wedding but that isn't really a Cool Vacation to me.

Stretch goal:
If I move somewhere with a garage and if I receive a higher than expected bonus in 2017 ($60k target), and if I have met all my other goals, set aside $20,000 for the acquisition of a Serie 1 Lancia Fulvia 1.3. probably on track, we just got an early bonus payment which only happens if we have really good bonuses

Edit: made my catchup payment

KYOON GRIFFEY JR fucked around with this message at 14:34 on Jun 14, 2017

# ? Jun 9, 2017 15:45

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

Devian666 posted:

I skipped last years goals due to things being too hosed and unpredictable with the infamous retaining wall of doom that I needed to have built. All the payments and debt relating to that were wiped out in December so it's a good time to get back on track.

My focus is back on my pitiful retirement savings: total retirement savings $36k

Retirement savings goal for EoY: $86k

Side goal: refinance the other half of my mortgage from 27 years to 15 years remaining.

My retirement savings have crossed over $88k exceeding the savings goal for this year. I didn't update for ages as I've been rapidly reducing floating rate debt that I've used for leverage. The gains have been good and I still have $15k to pay down after today's trades. It's time to buckle up for rough economic times in New Zealand.

The side goal was completed almost two months ago. Refinancing complete and the mortgage balance is going down at a substantial rate.

My secondary goal is reducing the floating rate debt but I expect that will be gone in a couple of months so it's not worth tracking at this time. I wasn't expecting to complete these goals so early but opportunities, income and some good trades have worked in my favour.

# ? Jun 22, 2017 01:17

Guest2553: Aug 3, 2012

June update

Guest2553 posted:

Increase family net worth to 220K from 180K I got a bit of extra cash this month after receiving some backpay (CoL adjustment and government baby money) so I've been able to catch up to my desired level of savings for the year. Despite this influx of a few grand, my portfolio took a beating (rounds up to 200k after cash inject, but down 10k from its monthly high) so my net worth is unchanged at 210k. Once the transfers clear I'll have a few grand to invest with though, so I'll be able to buy into the dip a little. Having money is cool but it's also a pretty boss feeling to know that I can (on paper) take a loss of about two months' net salary like it weren't no thang.

~~Stick to a budget~~ This one's a wash since I generally follow what I set but don't actually track it. Gonna stop updating this section.

Stretch goal is to develop some sort of side hustle.~~Had a babby two months ago so lol~~WTS babby, send pm

Non-financial goal 1) regularly work out to get (back) in shape I'm partway through a 3 week business trip so I've been going ham at the gym while I can. Feels good, man.

Non financial goal 2) maintain some semblance of work/life balance. not this month

e. next month doesn't look too good either.

e. holy poo poo dividends are awesome, I earned like 1500 in quarterly distributions. Net worth now 211k :toot:

Guest2553 fucked around with this message at 21:39 on Jul 5, 2017

# ? Jun 30, 2017 14:01

Omne: Jul 12, 2003; Orangedude Forever

Omne posted:

Omne's 2017 Financial Goals!
1. No. New. Debt.
2. Increase 401k contributions to 12% (from 10%)
3. Pay off remainder of furniture loan ($1488)
4. Build emergency fund to $12,500 (from $8,200)
5. Lower the 6.8% student loan to $7,500 (from $11,600)

Stretches:
6. Lower the student loan to $5,000
7. Build medium-term savings fund to $2,000

There are two potential events that could upend these, but I'm sticking to them for now!

Q2 Update:
1. On track!
2. Completed in March
3. Completed in March
4. Emergency fund is at $10,147
5. Student loan is at $9811

Bonus time is in July, so #4 and $5 should get a big jump towards the goals then.

# ? Jun 30, 2017 15:53

spinst: Jul 14, 2012

End of June Update!

1. Increase net worth from 72k to 94k. Currently 84.8k.
2. Increase emergency fund from 5.5k to 7.5k. Currently 6.8k.
3. Increase house fund from 2.5k to 11k. Currently 7.1k.
4. Go on a fun (overseas?) trip this summer. Spending Limit: 3k. Trip cancelled.
5. Contribute a minimum of $2400 to my Roth IRA. $1200.
6. Stay debt free. Yup.
7. Lose 15 pounds. -2

Seem to be on schedule for everything but the weight loss, of course.

# ? Jun 30, 2017 20:04

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

EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:

END OF Q2 UPDATE!
- Personal CC debt free. Have remained CC debt free since April!
- Emergency savings to 32k. Great success! Will try to push this to either 40 or 50 thousand based on a rough estimate of 6 months expenses.

By end of Q3:
- Savings to 6 months expenses, max that we can earn 2+% on in our credit union checking. Should hit this by end of August
- Wife private student loan retired. Very unlikely! Now on track for completion Q2 2018.

By end of Q4:
- MBA Tuition paid in full (this may adjust as my work has decided to pay for graduate degrees - plan will be similar to others who have reported keeping the tuition in savings in case a change of jobs becomes likely before my tuition is forgiven by work) Unlikely! Now on track for end of Q1 2018.
- Our 403 (b)s fully funded. On track!

Yearly Goals:
- No new household debt. Failed, bought a new car two months ago but the old one died so... not too bad.
- Be promoted to clinical assistant professor (slight pay raise). Success! New salary structure begins with August's paycheck.

Things we will not try to do:
- Pay anything beyond the minimum on our awful student loans - we are both eligible for PSLF in less than 5 years, so will be aiming to stick to this payment schedule, which this year accelerates to 10 year basic repayment. Success, we'll see whether this program still exists.

Stretch Goals
- �second mortgage� retired ($28,000 balance starting) I actually have this scheduled to be completed by Q1 2018, but if we get back on track with the student loan, we be able to move things forward. It remains near the top of our list of goals.
- 457 plan launched at work (I have requested this, CEO on board and benefits officer looking into cost/benefits), fully funded by both wife and I The pay raise would cover this completely, but have had no additional movement from benefits as far as creating this.

# ? Jun 30, 2017 20:08

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

End of June update inline below. Reaching the halfway point of the year here, definitely feeling good about the progress we've made so far. All monetary goals are on schedule. Nearly all personal goals on schedule.

The only major speed bump (besides just maintaining discipline) to achieving everything would be an acceleration of the wife's goal for a career transition to something less manual labor intensive. The loose schedule was to reevaluate that after this year, but we may be moving that date forward. If we do, there will likely be a period of one income for an unknown amount of time. It wouldn't mean drawing down savings or anything of that sort, but the house goal would likely be delayed to early/mid next year.

Grumpwagon posted:

2017 Goals
1) NO NEW DEBT (*with a "perfect house and down payment is in order" exception). No cars, no house* - On track - Signed apartment lease, so the major debt possibility (house) is much less likely this year.
2) Evaluate career change - Current job has been increasing my responsibility, so that's nice, but I'm still leaning towards looking in September. We'll see what the next few months entail.
~~3) Consolidate last remaining solo accounts from before marriage - Done!~~
4) Bring emergency fund up to $12k - $3200/$5.5k added so far. On track
5) Max out Roth IRAs for both of us - $5496/$11000. On track.
6) Continue funding 401ks at 10% each - On track
7) Save $40k for a down payment for a house by 1/1/18 - $21816/$40000. On track.
7 Stretch) Save $3636 a month to finish with the 12/1 paycheck - On track - this is going to get harder unless we get some incidental income. Doing the normal amount is fine, but hitting the full $3636/mo has been cutting it close with our budget the last few months.
~~8) Take a vacation (~$3k) - Done! Saving towards next year's at this point~~
9) Increase NW to $135k/Continue ~60% savings rate - Haven't done the final math yet here, but it's looking like NW will be ~$121k, which bounces back from last month nicely.
10) Lose 20 pounds and keep it off - Tomorrow is official weigh in day, but it's looking like I have officially hit -20 pounds for the year! I'm pretty good at weight loss and less good at weight maintenance, so the challenge of this goal remains ahead of me. Still, feeling good.
10 Stretch) Lose an additional 10 pounds, for 30 on the year. - Adding this stretch. This should be doable. Setting a final goal weight is hard for someone who has been at least a little overweight for my entire adult life, but I think this would be it/close to it. Excited to find out!

Misc goals
Stay current on YNAB, stay current on birth control (i.e. no kids please), keep learning in and out of my career, and (stretch) keep an eye open for a good side gig that won't make me crazy. - On track

# ? Jun 30, 2017 20:40

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

Grumpwagon posted:

End of June update inline below. Reaching the halfway point of the year here, definitely feeling good about the progress we've made so far. All monetary goals are on schedule. Nearly all personal goals on schedule.

Congratulations on the goals Grump!

# ? Jun 30, 2017 21:42

dreesemonkey: May 14, 2008; Pillbug

Q2 update:

2017 Goals
1. Continue moderate retirement / 529 savings - Yea sure
~~2. Acquire a newer ~$20k vehicle for me~~ - Bought a cheaper vehicle. Still trying to sell the car we replaced but it's crap and no one wants it.
3. $1200 in principal-only mortgage payments - Less than $300 so far :-/
4. Bump up emergency fund to $15k From about $13k - No progress, though we are saving for other, more specific things.
~~5. Stretch goal: Pay off newly acquired vehicle from step 2.~~

6. New shed for the house - This is a new goal, if I ever get our other car sold (or wait until September, our next 3 paycheck month) we'll be most of the way there. If not this year then definitely next.

Overall I think we're doing pretty good. We're closely involved in two weddings this year and that's been taking a decent amount of excess money, as are other specific savings goals.

# ? Jul 5, 2017 16:38

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

2017 Goals (June update):

quote:

- My wife will be quitting her job next year (was a goal for last year, but we pushed it back). Need to re-assess budget before that happens. Back of the napkin says we'll be more than fine, but I want hard numbers in a spreadsheet
- ~~6000 in Roth IRAs~~
- 2000 in HSA on track
- meet company match on 401k on track
- 50/month in daughter's 529 on track
- Go somewhere nice for our 5 year anniversary Coming in 2 weeks.
- Get some storage for the basement and clean it up a bit (spend less than $250) Partially cleaned up. Needs a lot more work, though.
- Buy a new vehicle with more than 75% cash Budgeted for. Need to find time to go to a dealer.
- ~~Decide on having baby number 2 (more budget re-assessment)~~
- Help my wife make money with her business idea (gotta start small)
- Run some new electrical and Ethernet drops all over my house (need to figure out a budget for this)

Pretty much no updates again.

# ? Jul 5, 2017 18:31

Sundae: Dec 1, 2005

Sundae posted:

Goals for 2017

Habit oriented
1 - My wife and I are going to start using YNAB and regularly track our expenses actively instead of passively with Mint after the fact. By end of January, build the habit to religiously record everything we spend.
2 - My wife and I need to better structure our outside-of-work businesses. By end of January, build a schedule for our at-home projects that we can adhere to at 50%. By end of March, 80% adherence. Stick at 80% average level from March to December.
3 - I need to get more structured with my workouts and not go from great performance to weeks of lovely adherence. By end of January, build a workout schedule I can adhere to at 50%. By end of February, 80%. Stick at 80% average level from February to December.

Expense oriented for both Sundae and Wife
1 - Right now, life is great because my company is paying most of my rent in the Bay Area. In June 2018, that subsidy supposedly ends. GOAL: Put aside $2,500 a month in savings each month in 2017 to simulate ability to live within budget in bay area without the rent subsidy.
2 - Limit our at-home alcohol purchases to $30 per month. (2 bottles of wine per month, basically.)
3 - Limit eating out (including lunch and dinner) to $148 a month. ($100 dinner, $48 lunch)
4 - Greed Limit (ooh shiny purchases): $200 for both per month.
5 - Glutton Limit (ooh tasty purchases): $100 for both per month.

Business Oriented
1 - Publish three new stories per month, minimum. Wife will assist.
2 - Publish two new novels in 2017, minimum.
3 - Grow short story author mailing list by 500 names in 2017.
4 - Grow novel author mailing list by 500 names in 2017.
5 - Put aside all non-tax and non-expense income from side business as savings. (AKA, live entirely within the bounds of the day job salary.)

Lifestyle Oriented
1 - Lose 12 pounds at minimum. If I fail at this, I loving suck. 12 pounds should be so goddamned easy that it's shameful. Stretch Goal: Lose 24 pounds.
2 - By end of February, schedule and attend a meeting with my day job company's financial advisor to determine how much, exactly, I'm allowed to put away for retirement in each eligible type. (I have a fairly complicated income package, with salary, self-employed income, RSUs and SARs. I'm maxing my 401(k) and putting some into a Roth IRA, but I want to figure out what I'm eligible to do and max things appropriately. I'm not using his suggestions, but I want dollar amounts.)
3 - STRETCH GOAL: If applicable from #2, increase my retirement contributions by no less than 5% to eligible non-401(k) sources in 2017.

Habits:
1 - YNAB is nice, but it honestly kept causing problems with synchronization between our phones. Sometimes it'd update, sometimes it wouldn't, etc etc. We went back to a big sheet of paper on our refrigerator with how much we're allowed to spend each day/week, and we write in our purchases daily. Same effect for us. Going nicely on the new approach, but YNAB itself ended up being a bit of a bust.
2 - My wife's schedule is structured and working nicely. Mine is less so, but I've basically dropped all my side-biz stuff in favor of a fun hobby instead, so BWM+GWL?
3 - Still a failure here. My bike commuting is going great, but I still haven't hit a sold schedule for working out. My wife is kicking my rear end here.

Expense-oriented:
1 - So far so good. Every month, we put away the full subsidy.
2 - We're usually close on this, give or take $10. At our income level, I'll accept it. The big thing is that we wanted to not spend $100+ anymore.
3 - Ahahahahaha we suck. Still working on this.
4 - This, we've been okay with. Not bad so far.
5 - Ahahahaha we suck. Still working on this.

Business Oriented:
1 - On hold. I have a fun hobby side-project I'm working on and I'm making more than enough to make ends meet in the bay area now.
2 - On hold. I have a fun hobby side-project I'm working on and I'm making more than enough to make ends meet in the bay area now.
3 - On hold. See above.
4 - On hold, see above.
5 - We're doing this with my wife's income and with the residual royalties from our existing novels and shorts. All of this stuff is going into savings.

Lifestyle Oriented:
1 - Hanging in there. I'm 8 pounds down.
2 - Complete. Guy was a loving idiot, but it's complete.
3 - Not applicable. I'm maxing all of my tax-advantaged retirement accounts already. Good Problems To Have(TM).

The big things I need to work on are the "stop being loving lazy" and "stop eating like a pig" categories. The financial side is actually going pretty well as of end of June.

# ? Jul 5, 2017 19:38

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# ? Apr 19, 2024 07:32

spwrozek: Sep 4, 2006; Sail when it's windy

spwrozek posted:

1) Max 401k
2) Max Roth IRA
3) Max HSA
4) $300/mo into Mom's Retirement
5) $500/mo into Taxable Retirement
6) Transfer Mom's Retirement money from Ally bank to Vanguard taxable account
7) Open Vanguard account for my Taxable Retirement

1) Will be maxed this coming quarter
2) On Hold, $2290 contributed but I am going to be over the limit but not sure by how much. I should be somewhere in the phase out so I will contribute the rest or remove if needed come tax time.
3) On track
4) Mostly on track, I need to get my mom to fill out a form so I can continue to contribute directly.
5) Haven't been contributing. It is just sitting in my checking account. I am trying to figure out my various allocations.
6) Done but in a Roth IRA
7) Done

Also took a new job with a $14K raise and a bigger bonus potential.

Highlight of the quarter was my friends deciding to do a shot at a rockies game and them being drunk and I for some reason picking up a $60 tab.

# ? Jul 6, 2017 02:21

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Financial Goals 2017: Budget Harder

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