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Contribute $5,500 to a Roth IRA by April. Finish saving $12,000 as my 6 month e-fund. Create a 6 month e-fund for my mom (~$6-8000). Possibly refinance my car loan. Continue finding ways to lower my mom's monthly expenses since she's living paycheck to paycheck basically and I'm finally making some actual money and have the time and means and knowledge to help her figure things out. Dangerous Mind fucked around with this message at 00:38 on Dec 25, 2017 |
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Dec 25, 2017 00:34
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Well 2017 was a clusterfuck both career-wise and financially. Spent 3/4ths of the year unemployed. I'm in the same position I was a year ago, except now I have a few more of the 150 credits I need once I pass the CPA exam. Literally the only thing I need to do this year is finish the goddamn CPA exam. Every aspect of my life will improve once that last passing score comes in. No more stress hanging over my head, shame for not getting it done yet. More time to pursue interests and socialize again. Better job prospects. 1. Finish the exam within a few months 2. Get a job higher than AR/AP 3. Pay off the ~$5,000 credit card debt before it starts accruing interest I think this is my third goals thread in a row that I set the CPA as one of them. I'm like zuarg but with studying.
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Dec 25, 2017 01:32
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I didn't participate in the 2017 thread, but here's what the year looked like for me financially: - Contributed just a hair under $16,000 to 403(b) - Got married, spent fairly large amounts of money on said wedding but nothing beyond what we'd saved specifically for it (so no CC debt and didn't touch emergency savings) - Hit $50k in invested wealth And here are some goals for 2018: - Finish rolling old retirement account into an IRA - Finish transitioning savings account funds from BofA to Ally - Max out 403(b) - Save $10,000 towards a car (currently have around $3800 allocated) - Hit $75k invested wealth/$100k total wealth including emergency and daily funds, thus offsetting $76k in student loan debt for positive total worth (all debt is on track for public service loan forgiveness so this is more psychological) - Improve security by finally getting around to getting renter's insurance, fire-protected home safe for documents, etc now that we're not broke with craigslist stuff We only started actually noticing our finances about 3.5 years ago when a major injury and 6 months of disability gave us a big wakeup call, so I'm feeling pretty good about where we're at even if we still have a long way to go
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Dec 25, 2017 22:31
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Here are my goals: HEALTH - Make my teeth good: I had a lot of fillings since before I was 10 years old, and I lost a molar 15 years ago. As an adult I have not been able to afford dental care until now that I am 35 years old. So I'm going all in. This is going to be expensive! - Four crowns: already started work on 3 of them, have temporaries on. It seems I will not need root canals on this side of my mouth. I should have these 3 installed in late January. The remaining one is on the other side of my mouth and will begin work as soon as the first side is fully up and running. - Implant: This is not only gonna be expensive, but painful. But I really wanna get this done finally, it will be a great goal to achieve. I am glad I can finally afford to have this done. This will be done in two stages, first the titanium screw and then six months later the new tooth on top. *Dentist is quoting about $8,500 if I need multiple root canals. I'm budgeting for $10,000 and hoping it will only be around $6,000. DEBT - Finish 2018 100% debt free: ...or at least pay off all of my current debt and not acquire any new debt unless its NECESSARY and at a decent interest rate. I already paid all of my student loans on 2017, so this is perfectly doable. - $4,700 car loan at 1.5% APR: hopefully when we move we won't find we need to trade for another vehicle. This is a 2013 vehicle. KBB value is currently around $7,200. - $5,000 credit card at 0% APR until September 2018: I don't gently caress around with this. I will be plunking down at least $1,000 a month so that its paid off in the first half of the year. - $3,000+ at 0% APR on a CareCredit medical credit card: This will be paid by the HSA which I will be fully funding. Part of this goal is to keep good documentation of my HSA withdrawals and then payments to the credit card, so as to not anger the Tax Man. INVESTMENTS AND SAVINGS (Currently at $19,000 on my 401k and $13,000 on my Roth IRA. Age 35 so these are not good numbers) - Emergency Fund increase from $5,000 to $8,000: the question is whether I should prioritize paying low APR debt over this? STRETCH GOAL: $10,000. - Roth IRA: $2,400: fully funding my HSA and FSA will be a bit of a burden so I am being realistic and bringing this down from max. Stretch Goal: FULLY FUND - 401k: increase 1% yearly: currently at 10% for the match. Increasing to 11% should not be a big deal. STRETCH GOAL: increase to 12% - Max out HSA and FSA: To pay for my dental procedures. These have already been selected during my benefits open enrollment. No turning back now. These will be quite a big burden but at least its all pre-tax. - Open taxable investment account at Vanguard: Even if its just $1,000. I wanna start saving for a future home investment or something. - Save for moving out of NYC: Honestly this doesn't need much. Just moving out in itself will pay for it, as the last month of my apartment lease is already paid, and I should get my full months deposit back, that will be close to $4k. QUALITY OF LIFE - Help my girlfriend find a new job that she loves: No matter where in the country. I can work from anywhere so we'll just move wherever she will be happy and finds a good job. - Help my girlfriend with her finances: Easy task. She is frugal. She's only been here 2 years and already has a good credit score. I wanna start a retirement account for her and increase her emergency fund. - Go on 2 short Vacations: As a work perk I travel for free on US based airlines, and I earn a lot of hotel points and airline miles that I use to get tickets for my GF. Plus I earn a poo poo-ton of Chase reward points that I can use. My goal is to take her on two trips this year and not spend any more than we would spend by staying in NYC. - Lose 10lbs and exercise semi-regularly: This should be perfectly realistic, but I get lazy when it gets cold. If we move somewhere warm I wanna make it regular. Animal fucked around with this message at 05:49 on Dec 26, 2017 |
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Dec 26, 2017 02:34
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Assets Roth IRA - $14k Stock trading account - $20k Amazon stock - $75k 401k - $85k Checking - $26k Gold + silver bullion - $45k Cryptocurrencies - $2k 2000 Honda Accord - $0.75k Total - $267.75k Goals Grow total assets to $400k Fund/grow stock account to $50k Become a property owner Side hustles Grow side business to >$200k sales ($130k 2017), maintaining 20% profit margin Grow Etsy sales to >$15k ($5k 2017) Grow Amazon sales to >$140k ($116k 2017) Grow eBay sales to >$40k ($9k 2017) Sell $5k via own website, Reddit, or other platforms Grow email list to 2k (246 2017) Sell $5k worth of cocktail syrups Build theremin website Grow YouTube channel to 200 subscribers Grow t-shirt business to $5k net ($130 2017) Grow Kindle eBooks to $1k net ($50 2017) Write an erotic short novel eBook E/N goals Bulk up to 170lbs (163lbs 2017) Play 'Asturias' on guitar ('Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' 2017) Brew malt liquor Make at least one cheese that I would be willing to serve at a party Finish my cross-stitch Nicolas Cage pillow (started 2013) Take at least one pottery class
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Dec 29, 2017 03:33
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You're an interesting person and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
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Dec 29, 2017 03:39
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Yeah seriously sign me up for your loving email list you sound like a goddamn riot.
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Dec 29, 2017 14:03
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Is it okay to post that I'm not sure what my goals are? I currently max my 401k, can't contribute to a Roth IRA due to income limitations (maybe I should get married?) and plan on continuing to save some amount of cash for a down payment or a new car if I move out of the city at some point. Emergency fund is more than topped off, so my "down payment account" is on top of 8 months of expenses. For a while, I was planning on opening a 529, as I would like to pursue a PhD eventually, but started having second thoughts. I exceed the Roth income limit now, too, so I'm just sort of left with the uncertainty of what to do. I suppose my 2018 financial goal is to continue being relatively financially "responsible" and to become aware of how to best invest my $3000-ish surplus of cash each month now that I'm beyond safety net.
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Dec 29, 2017 22:27
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Good Will Hrunting posted:Is it okay to post that I'm not sure what my goals are? I currently max my 401k, can't contribute to a Roth IRA due to income limitations (maybe I should get married?) and plan on continuing to save some amount of cash for a down payment or a new car if I move out of the city at some point. Emergency fund is more than topped off, so my "down payment account" is on top of 8 months of expenses. For a while, I was planning on opening a 529, as I would like to pursue a PhD eventually, but started having second thoughts. I exceed the Roth income limit now, too, so I'm just sort of left with the uncertainty of what to do. You should spend some time and think about your goals. Make sure they're specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Specific means to be as micro as possible about exactly what you want to do: i.e. "I have a goal to acquire for cash a used 2014 or 2015 Japanese luxury midsize sedan in good or better condition for which I'll spend less than $25,000 including tax, title and license." Measurable means a lot of the things, but the parts of the above goal that are measureable include the amount for which you'll spend, the specifics of the car you'll acquire etc. etc. goals like "I'd like to eat better" are dumb, because they're not measurable, but the spirit of the goal can be adopted by saying "I will eat a plain garden salad for lunch 200 days this year with light or no dressing." Achievable means make sure it's something you can actually do: i.e. "I would l like to climb Everest this year" is not something any of us in this forum will be accomplishing. Relevant usually means something that will actually be an accomplishment to your personal development: i.e. "I would like to drink a beer from every country in the United Nations" would not be highly relevant, unless that was on my bucket list or something. IDK, this one is really more for helping OTHER people (employees) set goals for their performance for you at work. Time-bound asks that you set yourself up to do things in a given period, such that you have a "pace" to keep ensuring you will be able to accomplish the task. i.e. "I will eat a plain garden salad for lunch 200 days this year" is a time-bound goal, because it is quite easy to see whether you're on track to succeed, or whether the task must be revised. (i.e. you've eaten 50 salads by July 1st you're on pace to eat 100 salads not 200, can you eat 150 instead?)
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Dec 29, 2017 22:43
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It's not super easy to think about goals, and it's fine to say "one of my goals is to figure out what I really want to devote this toward" but make sure you write that in a format that makes you accountable to getting it done, specific about what kind of ambitions you'd like to have in place and by when you'll allow yourself to think about it.
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Dec 29, 2017 22:44
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Good Will Hrunting posted:Can't contribute to a Roth IRA due to income limitations (maybe I should get married?) Everyone can backdoor Roth! https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Backdoor_Roth_IRA I contribute Jan 2 and convert as soon as it hits the account.
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Dec 30, 2017 00:40
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My life could use a good kick in the rear end with some goals, so here we go- ============== 2017 Happenings- Financial- -Bought a new condo and became a homeowner for the first time (this happened a few days before Christmas in '16, but I'm counting it anyway) -Paid off $50 extra against extra against my mortgage every month until July, then paid off $100 extra every month -Got promoted at work in Nov., now making an extra $3000 a year -Contributed 15% of income to retirement (been doing this since May 2013) -Direct deposited $75 per paycheck in savings account -Saved $3500 over the course of the year -Dropped $1700 on car repairs Housing Improvements- -Painted and redecorated small bathroom -Scrubbed, cleaned and stained my patio deck -Tore out damaged shelving from spare bedroom and repainted closet -Had basement waterproofed and basement window doesn't leak anymore (condo association took care of this) Miscellaneous- -Gained about 5 lbs. of muscle (rough estimate) -Took up swing dancing lessons -Read 7 books -Took up Spanish lessons on Duolingo ============== Assets and Income- -$50k/year income -$6.1k savings -$40k retirement fund -35% home equity, bought condo for $83k Liabilities- -Owe $54k on mortgage -$260/month association dues ============== 2018 Goals- Financial- -Increase direct deposit to $100 per check -Keep paying $100 extra against the mortgage every month -Have $10k in total savings by Dec 31, 2018 Housing Improvements- -Paint and lay new carpeting in spare bedroom. Add new shelving in closet -Replace front windows and add new blinds -Paint upstairs bathroom Miscellaneous- -Spend Jan, Feb and Mar putting on muscle, then spend Apr and May cutting body fat. Be swole as gently caress for summer. -Keep learning swing dancing. Want to be able to dance as well as some of the people I see at events. -Read at least 1 book a month -Spend at leat 10 minutes a day learning Spanish -Get a girlfriend
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Dec 31, 2017 02:36
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Financial: - Increase income from day job by 20% - Continue to max out 401k, Roth IRA, HSA - Plop an extra 5k into liquid savings - Start using mega backdoor Roth (we'll try for 5k in 2018; I'm not sure how all this works with regards to IRS rules about HCEs) - Make 5k of net income outside my professional life - gently caress it, I don't really watch sports anymore, cancel cable Life: - Drop to 18% body fat according to this Fitbit scale (let's use a 5 day average, this thing isn't very precise), at 170-180lb - Try for 4 ski trips this year and learn how to do a jump on a snowboard and look cool doing it - At least 2 overnight camping trips so I can use this gear I bought for last year's trip. Side goal: don't die to bears - It's been long enough messing around: back into more serious long term dating - Learn to play golf (intentionally vague)
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Dec 31, 2017 17:12
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Gave it some thought as suggested and came up with what I believe are reasonable goals. That said, my work situation is a bit strange. Don’t wanna detail it but my team is struggling due to poor management and it will be.... interesting to see what happens when we miss our deadline for the third time! Hoping managerial heads role so my fellow engineers and I can get moving again. Anyway, here we go: Finance: 1.) Make $5500 contribution to ROTH (MIGHT be eligible by about $2k since I forgot I took extra time off between jobs) 2.) Max 401k again 3.) Monthly budget of $1400 for all non-rent expenses (lol @ bad mental health plans) 4.) Buy new MacBook Pro upon release as I have no laptop (~$1400) 5.) **If 1 falls through due to bonus** Contribute $5500 to regular brokerage account 6.) Contribute $10,000 cash to my down payment account 7.) Contribute $5-10k to regular brokerage account pending ROTH contribution ~FUNANCE~ 8.) Buy a little guitar and pod for noodling at my apartment ($500-600) 9.) Upgrade my graphics card ($500) 10.) Take a trip somewhere I have no idea where!!!! Stretch: 1.) Get a 100% remote dev job
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Dec 31, 2017 18:27
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Good Will Hrunting posted:Finance: A lot of people don't seem to be aware of this, but the backdoor Roth basically means there's no restriction on contributing to a Roth. However, if you have a traditional IRA balance already, there are tax implications that you need to know.
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Dec 31, 2017 21:31
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ohgodwhat posted:A lot of people don't seem to be aware of this, but the backdoor Roth basically means there's no restriction on contributing to a Roth. However, if you have a traditional IRA balance already, there are tax implications that you need to know. I have about $10k from my first job’s 401k that I transferred to a Trad IRA and about $40k I’m transferring in shortly from my last job (they just switched providers - the new fees and selections aren’t great).
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Dec 31, 2017 21:34
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#3 - Went in and changed my 401(k) contribution percentage today to make sure I max it out.  #4 - I think my furnace is dying and may have to be repaired/replaced. That may take up some of my bathroom remodel budget. We will see. #6 - Booked BNA-ZRH for the end of April. Alpenstrasse, here I come! DJCobol posted:1) Max out Roth IRA contributions of $5,500 DJCobol fucked around with this message at 15:35 on Jan 2, 2018 |
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Jan 2, 2018 14:35
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Here's my first crack at goals this year. I haven't had as much time to think about them as usual, due to an especially busy holiday season and some family difficulties, so I may revise these, but I want to get something down. This will be my 3rd year participating in these goals, and my 4th year closely following the thread, and a LOT has changed in that time. Very thankful for the combination of a good economy, hard work, a like-minded spouse, determination, accountability from these threads, and a whole lot of good luck (hashtagblessed) that has allowed us to achieve some pretty substantial goals these last 3 years (counting the year I watched but didn't participate in these threads). Started my professional, post-college career Funded an emergency fund Got married Paid for that 280 person wedding in cash, 90%+ our money (parents chipped in the rest). Paid off ~$70k in student loans between us More than doubled my income from that first post-college job Wife also doubled income from the job she was working when we started this Saved for and bought a house Raised our NW from below $0 to ~$145k So, on to 2018! Most of these are pretty autopilot goals at this point, which is nice but boring. Current Figures: 32/33 year old married couple. Current monthly budgeted expenses: ~$4000. This has gone up a lot this year, primarily due to house purchase, but also due to helping a family member and some lifestyle inflation. I'm comfortable with it where it is, but wouldn't be happy if it continues growing at this pace. Current emergency fund: $13k (plus another $10k or so cash on hand in various YNAB buckets) No debt besides a ~$200k mortgage and whatever credit card balance we PIF every month Current Net Worth: ~$145k, divided roughly $100k in tax advantaged retirement accounts, $20k equity and $25k cash on hand 2018 Goals 1) NO NEW DEBT - That means no cars, unless ours gets totaled. It means no debt for house projects. It means staying on budget for our vacation. 2) If company situation continues to deteriorate, switch career from Software QA to Software Dev - I work Software QA, but went to school to be a developer. My current position is low stress, and pays well, but leadership is bad. I was planning on leaving, but we were just acquired by a much more established company, and I think it's worth sticking around to see if things change. If not, I'd like to move to web development, as there is more career upside. Regardless, 2Q free time will be dedicated to continuing learning in that area. 3) Bring emergency fund up to $19k - As our expenses grow, this needs to continue to grow. This isn't technically 6 months of current expenses, but in a job loss situation, we would cut back, so that plus our YNAB bucket balances should keep us afloat in all but the worst case scenarios 4) Continue maxing out Roth IRAs for both of us - Last year was the first year for this, now it's on autopilot going forward. 5) Max both our 401(k)s - The aforementioned family support may prevent us from fully maxing both, but we're hoping that's a short term situation. At the very least, max my wife's and continue contributing @ 10% to mine. 6) Increase NW to $215k/~50% savings rate - Typing that NW goal seems ludicrous, and depending on the stock market, may end up as a stretch. The savings rate is much more in our control, and will be the ultimate determination of whether we succeeded or failed with this goal. 7) Lose 10 pounds and keep it off - Failed stretch goal from last year. I have some other health goals (1Q 10k race, 3Q lifting program), but even this is out of scope of this thread. This may end up being changed to 15, we'll see how I look and feel when I get there. Misc goals Stay current on YNAB, stay current on birth control (i.e. no kids please), keep learning in and out of my career (emphasis on house maintenance this year).
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Jan 2, 2018 15:42
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Long time reader, first year poster. Editing a little bit to clarify and operationalize some items. Thank you to all posters in these annual threads as well as the rest of this sub for sharing your goals and successes. I have in many ways patterned my goals and financial life off of the advice and plans set forth in these threads. State of the Union January 2018: -Married, no kids -Two professional incomes as of last year -Student loans for both, mine refinanced to 3.5% and hers currently eligible for PSLF and an underserved repayment program -New house in late 2017, own three properties with three total rental units. Mortgages at 5.0%, 2.6% and 2.9%. -Almost maxed 2017 403b/401k/solo 401k despite job change and both being ineligible for employer sponsored plans for part of the year -Boring old US/intl/bond portfolio spread around between taxable and non taxable spaces 2018 Financial Goals: 1. Hit $500k household income, stretch goal $550k. Income here defined as active professional income exclusive of rental income, loan repayment checks, and passive sources such as investment dividends. 2. Increase NW $250k, stretch $300k. NW here defined as mint account NW inclusive of net real estate and vehicle equity. 3. Reaccumulate $50k cash after house purchase and 12/31 tax prepayments (thanks Trump) 4. 75% of take home, post estimated tax payments to debt reduction, savings, or investments 5. Debt reduction strategy dictated by loan interest and tax considerations, will divide monthly savings after mortgages and car payments between student loan and cash investments at present 6. Max backdoor Roth IRAs 7. Max combination of Solo 401k, 401k, 403b, and mega backdoor Roth 8. Work credit card sign up bonuses and 0% APR periods to maximum advantage, 2017 was a great year for points 9. Attempt to do all travel this year on points or expensed, spend less than $5k cash on travel 10. Investigate establishing LLCs for rentals and retitling for tax benefits 11. Investigate converting some or all of my wage income to 1099 income for tax benefits 12. Try to increase professional side hustles e.g. consulting, maybe expert witness? 13. Consider adding a rental property, cash situation and opportunity providing 13a. Consider consolidating IRAs/403b/Solo 401k to purchase rental property in self directed plan 14. Make appointment with my lawyer to do actual estate planning 15. Consider trading toy car for less expensive toy car if I can walk away with cash. Non-financial Goals: 16. Work out six days a week consistently 16a. Build a cheap gym in my basement to facilitate this goal. 17. Run two races after a fat sad zero in 2017 18. Make friends in the new neighborhood 19. Do some improvements to the house and yard, possibly revamp the deck, do some gardening and landscaping 20. Try to cook more regularly 21. Lose 10 lbs as a result of 16 and 20 22. Fun splurge for anniversary or birthday at a Michelin star restaurant, location TBD BEHOLD: MY CAPE fucked around with this message at 21:37 on Jan 2, 2018 |
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Jan 2, 2018 18:08
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BEHOLD: MY CAPE posted:2018 Financial Goals: 
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Jan 2, 2018 18:16
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BEHOLD: MY CAPE posted:Long time reader, first year poster. Epic dude. AND work out 6x a week? What do u do. Investment banking I’m guessing? maybe software engineer? FYI - i see #10 on your list, I run an airbnb and have established a single-member LLC to drive all my expenses and revenue through. good for tax purposes and less paperwork than an s corp or such Rocks fucked around with this message at 18:41 on Jan 2, 2018 |
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Jan 2, 2018 18:32
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I'm a couple days late on starting my 2018 goals but no less motivated.  I'm going to post the overall goals as a first draft for now and will edit in more detailed plans to accomplish them later this week.2018 Goals 1. Pay off $11,144.12 in credit card debt which will make me debt-free. This is a returning goal from 2017; I didn't have a very good year income-wise in 2017 and lost my roommates as well in November which tripled my rent so there's some work to do just to stay afloat in the short-term. I don't want new roommates right now so I need to increase income to match as well as pay off the last of my debt from years ago (this credit card). 2. Related to the above, do not add any new consumer debt. I want to stay debt-free, so no new car purchases, credit cards, etc. The only possible exception would be if every other goal is hit and I wind up in position to purchase a home somehow in 2018. I do not expect this to happen. 3. Max out IRA contributions. I have both a traditional and a Roth but have never come close to maxing either and need to start. 34 is too old to not be doing this every year. 4. Lose 20 pounds and maintain a weight of 170 pounds and body fat percentage of 18% or less. 5. Related to #4, no alcohol in 2018 until I reach 170 pounds. 6. Spend less than $3,000 total between restaurants and bar expenses for 2018. 7. Increase officiating income (income stream #2) to $4,000 in 2018. This would be an increase of around $750 over 2017 and just requires me to work a few more games this year. 8. Create a third income stream that provides a minimum of $10,000 in 2018. Details to follow here. Stretch Goals 9. Save a minimum of $10,000 towards a down payment on a house. 10. Increase total combined income to $100,000 via a main job change. I make far less than I deserve and I need to look into what groundwork I need to lay to drastically increase my income and prepare for a career change.
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Jan 3, 2018 20:38
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22 Eargesplitten posted:2018 Goals (Actually these start in December but whatever): poo poo that’s changed already: 3) done 2) on hold until some personal business in town is taken care of 6) totaled my car, so my hand was forced on this one. Bought a used car, loan balance roughly $3500. If I wanted I could pay it off in full but I’d rather have more in savings for now.
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Jan 3, 2018 21:24
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--New job (supposed to hear back about a phone screen this week or next, pray for me!) or at least a big raise at my current job (lol). Pretty much everything else I want to do this year finance-wise hinges on a bigger paycheck, or knowing where I'll be working long-term. --Pay off my student loans (~$3500) and the rest of the money owed on my wedding (~$1500 interest-free) come hell or high water. It'd be nice to also pay off the ~$1500 in credit card debt that I accumulated for holiday and emergency expenses in the last couple of months, but the hours on my second job (which has funded much of my progress in paying these off over the last couple of years) are going to be cut due to changes in my primary job so who knows how quickly that will go! --Sell off (most of) my current gaming stuff. It's time. A lot of it has been sitting in boxes since I graduated college, and I need the money. Plus my brother is talking about how we should both get new jobs and build gaming PCs this year  But I really want a Switch...--Non-money goal: Run more than one road race in the year. Did a 10-miler in May and really liked it but didn't train for much else in 2017. I should do a 10k, I've been running for 15 years and still haven't done one. --Stretch goal: My wife wants to buy our own place in May (or at least have our target down payment of $30k saved up) but I think that's a bit ambitious unless she wants to put more of her paycheck into our down payment savings. Gotta determine if it's better to let me dump our tax return into finally paying my debts off so I can contribute to our monthly down payment savings instead of all of my extra money going into bills (she is mostly debt-free outside of travel purchases, many of which are comp'd by her employer). She is really into the idea of owning ASAP though, so it's gonna be a tough sell! --Double-stretch goal: Knock up my wife? We both kind of goes back and forth on the idea but she's been home visiting her family for a few weeks and sounds like she's leaning towards "Yes" pretty hard right now. And I want to too, despite our impending hellworld. But in my mind it goes new job (debt payoff) -> house -> baby for me, so if she's that set on having kids in the next year then she at least needs to contribute to finishing up my debts, because babies are expensive enough without me losing an entire paycheck or more each month to car/loan/credit payments. C-Euro fucked around with this message at 04:12 on Jan 4, 2018 |
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Jan 4, 2018 04:09
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I mean you can do whatever, but it seems irresponsible to try to buy a house and have a baby and such with open credit card debt from the holidays, which are a predictable and budgetable annual event. Also I am loving this $30K downpayment, gently caress my housing market sideways. What % is that?
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Jan 4, 2018 15:29
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C-Euro posted:--New job (supposed to hear back about a phone screen this week or next, pray for me!) or at least a big raise at my current job (lol). Pretty much everything else I want to do this year finance-wise hinges on a bigger paycheck, or knowing where I'll be working long-term. This is like literally the definition of consumption creep. You should pay off your credit card debt and wedding before you buy a house. You don't have money for a new PC OR a Switch, you've got several thousand dollars of debt! You should also get on the same page about financial and personal priorities with your partner before you go nuts about all of this.
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Jan 4, 2018 16:19
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Vinny the Shark posted:-Keep learning swing dancing. Want to be able to dance as well as some of the people I see Swing dancing is great for confidence and cardio. Beware dance partners for dating. There is a lot of batshit crazy in that scene.
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Jan 5, 2018 07:56
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moana posted:Swing dancing is great for confidence and cardio. Beware dance partners for dating. There is a lot of batshit crazy in that scene.
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Jan 5, 2018 14:15
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Some of you guys have pretty drat good goals and it makes me feel like I should be thinking of more long term stuff like getting my MBA or fixing up some old stuff on my house.
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Jan 5, 2018 15:32
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moana posted:Swing dancing is great for confidence and cardio. Beware dance partners for dating. There is a lot of batshit crazy in that scene. Hoodwinker posted:Seconding this. I don't dance myself but all of my friends that do have warned this. Really? Everyone I've met so far dancing seems to be a normal, decent person. But don't worry- I have zero intention of dating anyone I meet through dancing. If things go wrong, I would have to be around that person among mutual friends. Something I definitely want to avoid.
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Jan 6, 2018 19:28
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Long time reader, first time poster Single, no kids, living in the greater Boston area, started first full-time job in September last year after graduation. I have about 51k in student loans (all federal, mostly for my master's) and a car loan (about 20k, and I plan to run this car into the ground). Two ailing parents to be worried about and a little brother that might move in with me. 2018 financial goals * Start contributing to my company's 401k for the match * Max out Roth IRA * Get the emergency fund up to $8k (my renter's deductible + collision and comprehensive deductibles + health insurance out-of-pocket max + rounding up to the nearest thousand, which is also coincidentally about 3 months worth of expenses) * Kill my GradPLUS student loan (about $12.5k left at 6.06% interest with the auto-pay interest discount) * Save up enough for first + last + security on an apartment for me and maybe the aforementioned younger brother, who would be moving up from Houston in summer. Current apartment is shared with an elderly woman who keeps taking my onions and the heater isn't great so I have to crank up the heat, which dries the air and triggers my eczema  Lease is up end of May2018 personal goals * Write a chapter a month for my book (and no Mecca, rewriting the first chapter each month doesn't count  )* Lose 15 pounds * Complete Couch to 5k * Get through my ukulele songbook without sounding like a dying frog * Read 10 books * Write at least a blog post a week * Do one vocab lesson for both Modern Standard Arabic and Vietnamese a day Mecca-Benghazi fucked around with this message at 05:13 on Jan 7, 2018 |
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Jan 7, 2018 05:10
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metallicaeg posted:Today, December '17: $31,981 in credit card debt, spread across 11 accounts. One month later, sitting at $31,317. Student loans are done. Due to some poo poo that has come up, my original March goal for paying off two cards is likely being pushed back to early summer, probably June. Though a good tax return would help ensure that and could bump up the payoff earlier. The two other accounts that I had slotted for a May pay off probably are going to be late summer/early fall looking at things currently. Still, knocking out the student loan balance and paying off 4 credit accounts in 2018 would be a good mark for myself. Getting that PMI to drop off means cutting $8000 off the principal, so 2019 is uh, optimistic on that one to say the least. Maybe in 2020. :-\ Really need to get my total credit utilization down. VantageScore is a poo poo 561 in spite of 100% on-time, 0 derogatory marks, two dozen total accounts, and 3 hard inquiries. FICO at 630. I know it's generally not the best idea to borrow money to pay off borrowed money, but I'd love to get $10k of my highest interest debt at 27% refinanced with a personal loan and pay it down quicker. metallicaeg fucked around with this message at 05:27 on Jan 8, 2018 |
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Jan 8, 2018 05:23
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drat, I had been waiting for someone to make this thread, and I just noticed that this had been up at the top stickied. 2017 was a good year for me. Net worth more than doubled from $16k to $37k, got an 11% raise, and paid off several of my student loans. Time to start getting high scores. Current figures: 31 years old, make 50k/yr. No debt other than one student loan. 2018 goals in order: Pay off remaining student loan, preferably by my birthday on April 23rd, currently at $2491. Max Roth IRA contributions Get emergency fund up to $10k (currently at $8k) Up 401k contributions to 5% (currently set to 3% to max employer match) Start house down payment fund Continue to never carry a balance on CCs. Non-financial goals: Take a nice vacation somewhere, preferably tropical Get weight back down to 143, currently at 155.
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Jan 12, 2018 21:39
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The year begins somewhat challenging. Sold the apartment for a sliver more than we bought and renovated it for three years ago. Since this summer 10-15% of apartment value had evaporated in the Stockholm area. At least we got it sold and at a price where we can juuuust afford to pay the remainder of the house we bought in September instead of just straight up losing the 10% down payment. The banks will not be very kind to us though. E: on the plus side, the wife got an unexpected 8% raise starting April, so that'll help a ton. Potrzebie fucked around with this message at 15:08 on Jan 16, 2018 |
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Jan 16, 2018 15:03
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Alright, we are a month in, where is everyone at? DJCobol posted:1) Max out Roth IRA contributions of $5,500 - On pace with bi-weekly transfers to Vanguard
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Jan 31, 2018 19:40
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Animal posted:Here are my goals: Too early to pat myself in the back, but so far everything on track except for the emergency fund, which should get on track once I get my tax return and pay off a bit of debt. A nice side effect of maxing out the HSA, FSA, and increasing my 401k contribution by 2% (instead of the 1% that was my goal) is that my taxable income is significantly lower so I’m now losing $130 less on taxes a month.
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Jan 31, 2018 20:30
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drainpipe posted:Whoo, just got into personal finance last year. Gonna give this a shot. I'm actually backing off on buying a house now since that looks to be a bit further out that initially thought. I've used some of the downpayment to immediately max out the Roth IRAs, but that was already planned so I should be getting the money back later in the year. I am, however, no longer looking to add more money this year since it looks very unlikely I'll buy a house the next year or two. In fact, I'm considering a triggered buy condition for just this year where if VTSAX dips by 25% from peak high, then I'll take 1/3 from the downpayment fund and buy in (assuming I hold my nerves). This may not be the right thread to ask this, but anyone have an opinion on doing something like this? I know this is sorta timing the market, but the money is really serving a dual purpose, so it's not like it's just going to waste sitting on the sidelines right now. drainpipe fucked around with this message at 21:27 on Jan 31, 2018 |
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Jan 31, 2018 21:25
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Animal posted:A nice side effect of maxing out the HSA, FSA, and increasing my 401k contribution by 2% (instead of the 1% that was my goal) is that my taxable income is significantly lower so I’m now losing $130 less on taxes a month.  every year I've increased my 401(k) or HSA contributions it's been fun to watch the taxable income go down and my tax return go up. It's weird to be in a position where if I do get a raise this year I'll have to go in and decrease my 401(k) contributions in order not to over contribute. If you would have told me that 5 years ago I'd call you a liar.
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Jan 31, 2018 21:39
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DJCobol posted:
Yes, once you come to terms with the fact that you have less "play money" every month it feels great knowing that you are not only getting money for your investment, but not throwing your money away to the government so they can pay for a small fraction of a JDAM bomb. Oh and did I saw $130 less taxes a month? Its actually per paycheck, $260 a month that I get to "keep" now. Over $3,000 a year plus the higher tax return. Thats nothing to sneeze at. Now I understand why that book "Millionaire Next Door" was so adamant about finding ways to lower your taxable income.
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Jan 31, 2018 22:02
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quote:December '17: $31,981 in credit card debt, spread across 11 accounts. End of January: thanks to selling off some things I don't get use from anymore and putting those funds toward my debts, I'm at $30,607. As a result, I'm now looking at two accounts gone by March, a $2000 balance gone in June, and another $1000 balance that I'll have done in July where less than a month ago I was budgeting for some of those accounts stretching into late summer. I started a high yield (1.4% as high, oll) savings account and have $100 in there, with the idea of it eventually being a 3-6 month "oh gently caress my company is now bankrupt" fund. With continued discipline by end of year I should be under $25k in credit cards. gently caress this debt blows. My company is also swirling around with bankruptcy rumors and I don't think the transmission in my car has another year in it left.
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Jan 31, 2018 22:43
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