Financial Goals 2018: Saving Dogecoin to pay for my horse wedding

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Subjunctive: Sep 12, 2006; ✨sparkle and shine✨

Grumpwagon posted:

Starting mentorship next week with a dev at my company with the goal of completing some dev tickets before the end of the year. This should be easily doable. I won't be a full time dev by the end of this, but I make too much as a Sr QA person to just go get a Jr Dev job somewhere (which I feel confident I'm qualified for now), so transitioning at my current company to get some real world dev experience makes sense. I don't hate where I work, but they are kinda dysfunctional, so having the option to leave without taking a pay cut if things truly go off the rails will be nice. I'm also finishing up the online class I've been working on (should be done this week), and starting planning on a pretty big, complicated portfolio project in my spare time. I'll report more on that as progress warrants.

Congratulations! I think this strategy makes sense, and I�ve seen it work before.

# ? Sep 4, 2018 14:11

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# ? May 8, 2024 22:20

DJCobol: May 16, 2003; CALL OF DUTY!; Grimey Drawer

End of August update.

DJCobol posted:

1) Max out Roth IRA contributions of $5,500
2) Max out HSA contributions of $3,450
3) For the first time, max out 401(k) contributions of $18,500

These 3 are all on auto-pilot and are chugging along just fine.

quote:

4) Use tax return and/or annual bonus to remodel my bathroom by the end of April

This is going to new HVAC instead. As much as I'd like to redo my bathroom, I kind of need heating and cooling instead.

quote:

5) Pay down current 5 year $21k car loan

Nope. My APR is only like 2% so I'm OK with letting this just go for now. I'll revisit next year when I get my bonus and taxes in Q1.

quote:

6) Vacation somewhere not in North America (Iceland maybe?)

Had a mini vacation in Frankfurt and Cologne, so I'm counting this. I have some plans with the GF for fall/Christmas activities, but they are all domestic.

quote:

Stretch goal: pay off car loan completely by the end of the year

Nope.

quote:

Non-financial goal: On pace to lose 70 pounds durning 2017 with 50 of that happening since Labor Day. Combining StrongLifts 5x5, keto diet, and 16:8 intermittent fasting, I hope to lose another 70-100 pounds in 2018.

Well this is a horrible fail so far. I did sign up for a 10 week Thanksgiving challenge at a local sports rehab and clinic. It cost $120 to join, but it you get BodPod scans at the beginning and end of the challenge (which would normally cost about $100 for both), and they pay $10 for each pound of fat lost and $20 for each pound of muscle gained. I should have no problem getting my money back out of this.

# ? Sep 4, 2018 14:36

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

Progress:
1) Increase NW by at least $50,000 Not on track. We are +$11,500 right now vs January. I think we'll make it by end of year because we don't have to pay tuition this semester. I pulled our cars out of this, if you throw them back in we are at +$30,000 but I don't think it's reasonable to consider the car as a real asset even the dumb impractical one that is very fungible
2) ~~Max 401k and IRA~~ On track with automatic contributions, I'll consider this done.
3) Another $24,000 in to housing downpayment fund Not on track. I think we'll recover by end of year (see 1)
4) Max wife IRA Will happen, she made enough money this year through work and school stipend. I don't think she's moved the money yet, though.
5) ~~Pay for more grad school tuition without taking on debt.~~ No debt and wife has a tuition waiver this semester, which helps a lot. Great job wife!
6) ~~Spend no more than $22,500 on acquiring stupid impractical car~~ Success, it was like, $19,600 (pay no attention to the massive maintenance bills subsequent to it)

adding the additional goals of running 6 mi/week in September, 8 mi/week in October, and 10 mi/week in November

# ? Sep 4, 2018 15:05

Hoodwinker: Nov 7, 2005

Assets:
- ~~$61.5k in retirement accounts.~~ $122.8k now.
- ~~$17k for 6 month e-fund in savings.~~ Brought this down to $16k to plug more into my taxable brokerage earlier.
- ~~$20k for down payment in savings.~~ ~$36k now.
- ~~$12k in checking that's going to mostly become maxed-out IRAs on Jan 1.~~ $8.5k with probably around $4k ending up the savings accounts by next week.

Liabilities:
- $2,700 in non-interest-bearing revolving credit card debt. This is pretty standard for us. Half is last statement, half is current statement.

2018 plan:
- Max 401k + 403b - On-track, though my wife is looking for another job and I'd feel better if we started maxing hers out earlier here in case there's a period before she can contribute. It'd require 2 straight months of non-stop pushing every paycheck at it but I'll up the rate so if something does happen we're as close to the max as possible for her.
- ~~Max Roth IRAs near the beginning of the year.~~ - Done!
- ~~Break $100k personal net worth.~~ Done!
- ~~Get another $20k put together towards house down payment.~~ - Ahead of schedule for this.
- ~~Pay ~$5-7k for some optional surgery.~~ - Looks like we're probably not doing this this year.
- ~~Change apartments to reduce rent from $14,400 a year to something closer to $12,000.~~ - Went up, not down, to $16,200 a year but lopped off over two hours worth of commuting combined between the two of us by doing it, so it's a win in my book.
- Try to convince wife to start looking at jobs that don't suddenly stop providing 403b matches, do improve her professional skillset a bit more, and aren't a hellish commute. - She's in the process of doing this now. We're on the same page.
- Possibly reevaluate our monthly budget and costs after we change apartments to see if shifting some of our e-fund towards either taxable investments or into the down payment pool makes sense given our risk comfort. Started pushing $10k a year towards a taxable account. Already up to $7,560 worth of contributions to that.

Non-finance:
- ~~Finish working on this programming curriculum and mentorship by end of Q1 to feel more confident as a high journeyman/budding master instead of highly competent junior/fresh journeyman.~~ Completed, and got promoted for it!
- Get all the major design work done on my board game so I can begin the process of marketing and release before we start having kids in the next couple of years. Got another prototype pushed out and work continues in bursts.
- ~~Maybe start learning Unity so I can tool around with making that Metroidvania I've been wanting to make.~~ - Putting this on hold until I finish the board game (and get a bit better at programming/design).
- Oh yeah, do a gently caress ton of reading on everything I need to know about home ownership and purchase so I hate myself less (or maybe just make my hate more refined?) - I've just been passively absorbing information by reading the home-buying thread here on BFC.

All in all, our net worth has doubled in the last year. We're on track to hit a quarter million NW by the end of next year easily and coast-FI by the end of the following year. I'm clinging, white-knuckled, onto our current path trying to reach that point. Completing that programming curriculum has boosted my professional confidence massively, and I'm very confident that I'll be able to stay employed during a serious downturn both due to connections I've built/have been building and my abilities. It feels good to know I'm no longer in the, "establishing" portion of my life and am firmly on both feet in the "established" section of it. Getting above a quarter million and hitting coast-FI will even further fortify that. To celebrate our personal freedom, my wife and I have booked a week trip to Seattle in October to visit some friends and go hiking.

# ? Sep 4, 2018 15:59

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

Another month of auto-pilot.

August update

Goals:

- ~~Max Roth IRAs~~
- Meet company match on HSA On track
- Meet company match on 401k On track
- 50/month in daughter's 529 On track
- 50/month in son's 529 On track
- ~~Buy a new minivan with more than 75% cash~~
- Help my wife make money on Etsy Her goal is to post at least one item by the end of this month.
- Try to get at least 6 weeks of paternity (my company has no paternity leave policy). Worst case - 2 weeks off, and 4 weeks work from home. Best case - 6 weeks off with sporadic working from home when I can, but not 40 hours per week

Maybes:

- Finish cleaning up the basement and turn it into a play area. Not going crazy with finishing the basement, but getting carpet remnants and some cheap furniture will make it nicer
- Release another iPhone app. Actually monetize this one
- ~~If my current job doesn't get better, start looking for a new one~~ I was promoted to management which gives me a lot more control over how things go around here, so I'm very optimistic about the near-term future here.

# ? Sep 4, 2018 17:01

Knyteguy: Jul 6, 2005; YES to love
NO to shirts; Toilet Rascal

This year:
* Paid off $10,500 in debt (extra principal, not including payments).
* Got a new job with a $4,600 raise and benefits.
* Got 2 months ahead.
* Been living off 50.5% of our income for 3 months.
* Wife quit her job to stay at home with toddler 8 months ago.
* Been budgeting successfully for going on our 5th month.
* Been travelling the country since January which took two years to make happen.
* Quit smoking which gets us below 50% of our income in monthly expenditures.
* Restaurant expenditure cut $400/mo from our worst point (down to $350 on a bad month, average $213).

New goals:
* Pay an additional $1000/mo towards debt for the rest of the year.
* Work less see the sights more.

Good year for us.

# ? Sep 4, 2018 20:40

Guest2553: Aug 3, 2012

Aug

Guest2553 posted:

1) Save 24k saved Only 500 saved this month. Combination of pension plan premium increasing, first time school expenses for kids, and buying a couple luxury goods we wanted before idiot rear end in a top hat tariffs kicked in. Also getting into sport shooting which has the potential to get pretty
2) Get recommended and selected for a promotion at work Will know more next month.
3) Read a book every month Done, also holy poo poo HP Lovecraft is pretty racist
4) Get (back) into shape and look good naked by 1) working out at least 5 times a week Back on the wagon
2) eating a big-rear end salad for at least 5 days a week Doing this plus trying to eat less in general now that I'm turning into an old.

Stretch goal is to do a 2-3 day backpacking trip per month once the weather gets warm and go on a hunting trip Did one camping trip, had to call off another due to illness. Will be out of town for big game seasons but should be able to do some small game stuff.

Guest2553 fucked around with this message at 04:39 on Sep 5, 2018

# ? Sep 5, 2018 04:34

BAE OF PIGS: Nov 28, 2016; Tup

Not much to report, most goals on auto pilot. Looking like I'll be able to max roth IRA before the end of the year, and then I will be able to start saving towards 2019 roth, which I will hopefully max out by the middle of next year, if not sooner.

Also, the company I work for had a 49% stake bought out by our main customer in 2016 with the option to purchase the other 51% in spring 2019. We've heard from some people in the industry who previously worked there that when this company has taken over others in the past, they've adjusted the pay for members of management up to match their payscales, and include experience/seniority in that adjustment. If that's true, I will hopefully be getting a very significant raise in the next year with close to 10 years management experience at my current employer.

# ? Sep 6, 2018 12:52

drainpipe: May 17, 2004; AAHHHHHHH!!!!

I, too, am on full autopilot right now. On track to max out 403b and 457. Already have the money saved up to max out both of our Roth IRAs in January.

# ? Sep 6, 2018 13:12

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)

Two-thirds of the year in, update is below...

IllegallySober posted:

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.

1. All debt is paid off as of April 6th, 2018- goal met!

2. No new debt added- on pace!

3. Still on hold as emergency fund is increased- e-fund is currently back to a flat $1K.

4. Not good at all- was 206 last time I weighed myself. Officiating season helps with losing weight as I'm running around on football fields 5-6 days per week, so combining that with a better grocery plan and almost no eating out with the goal of being back under 190 as of October 1st. We'll see.

5. Modified this goal slightly to "no alcohol in the State of Washington until I reach 170" to allow for a few drinks for my 35th in Vegas in August, as well as a wedding in October in DC. Am on track for the modified goal.

6. Going to miss this by quite a bit due to laziness in grocery shopping along with enabling behavior from the girlfriend (we eat out together quite a bit). Total as of today is $4,073.28 for the year. New modified goal for the last four months of the year is to stay under $5,000.

7. On track for this- it's only the second week of the year and I am well ahead of last year's officiating pace.

8. I switched full-time jobs so still just have the two major income streams but got myself a significant raise in doing so. Putting this goal on hold for now as the raise essentially meets the additional income I was looking for by picking up the third job.

9. Modifying this goal from "save for a house" to "save for a ring for the girlfriend." She doesn't want anything fancy so I'll actually probably get this done by the end of the year.

10. The job change won't get me to $100K this year, but it was significant enough and the plan between my boss and I is to get me there next year. I'm satisfied with that.

# ? Sep 6, 2018 21:07

howdoesishotweb: Nov 21, 2002

Q3 update

Goals:
- Pay off an extra $4000 per month towards the student loan, with goal payoff in 3 years. Stretch goal: Extra $5000 to payoff in 2.5 years
226k -> 156k as of this month. Decided to go all out this month and increase to extra $8000/month to my loans, to be paid off by next November and be student loan free by my 35th birthday. Probably the wrong min/max move but I would sleep better without these
- Increase 529 to 400/mo/child Done
- Fight lifestyle creep tooth and nail. In particular limit house furnishing budget been doing okay. Had to replace HVAC and hire contractors for small stuff
- Increase charity to 5% net pay on track
- Keep my '06 Acura until my student loan is paid off. I was rightly mocked on this forum for buying this right out of school, however it has lasted 8 years with minimal repairs beyond brakes and tires. Overall a+ purchase would buy used Acura again huge fail, but the S5 puts a daily smile on my face, and my brother now has a functional car for once
- Maybe carry less cash? Makes me nervous Been auto-depositing cash into a taxable brokerage account

# ? Sep 12, 2018 18:41

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

Crown on front tooth broke and fell out. I guess this is what emergency savings are for? Gonna take some time to refill that account.

# ? Sep 13, 2018 03:07

Omne: Jul 12, 2003; Orangedude Forever

Omne posted:

2017 Goals: Technical failure of the no new debt goal, but met every other one. Grew emergency fund from $11k to $15k, dropped a student loan from $11,600 to $7500, and moved to another state for a new job.

2018 Goals

1. No. New. Debt. Period.
2. Savings: Save $15k in house down payment fund. Starting point: zero.
3. Savings: Maintain a $2k balance in medium term savings at all times.
4. Debt: Pay off my FedLoan balance (6.8% interest, $7500 balance)
5. Debt: Get NelNet loan balance < $10k (4.25% interest, $12,900 balance)

Stretch Goals:
6. Save $20k in house down payment fund
7. Earn some side income

1. Fail. Traded in my car for another. Stupid stupid stupid.
2. Q3 status: $8k. Not gonna make it, but this will be accelerated due to circumstances
3. Been sitting around $1k for awhile. Not quite there
4. Done in Q2!
5. Current balance: $10,300. It will be under $10k next month.

# ? Sep 26, 2018 01:34

spinst: Jul 14, 2012

September -

Raise net worth from 101k to 134k: $121.1k (1.9k behind track!)
Increase house fund from 11.2k to 20.7k: $18.1k (On track!!)
~~Increase e-fund from 7.6k to 9.6k:~~ $9.6k DONE!
Contribute $2.6k to Roth IRA: $1980 (On track!)
~~Pay ~3k out of pocket for college:~~ $2950 DONE!

Had to spend a lot of unplanned money this month:

. ~$800 on 4 new tires after I popped 2.

. ~$500 on continuing education courses to get my raise, transcripts, etc

The bad news is the end of September paycheck is the worst of the year.

The great news is that the end of October paycheck is the best of the year! Should gross over 9k next month. Maybe I can get that net worth goal on track!

spinst fucked around with this message at 04:58 on Oct 5, 2018

# ? Sep 28, 2018 02:02

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

Q3 update! Not much going on.

Potrzebie posted:

Potrzebie posted:

Goals:

*Not implode economy. Economy is doing good. Took out a second mortgage to pay for roofing and solar panels. This will pay for itself over 13 years or so.
*Keep up savings goal of 30% of take home salary. This will not happen. My only full time month will be October, then I'll shift to part time and spend time with my kids instead. I'm at about 15%
*Keep growing with company, keep salary growth. Got the standard raise in February and we're not going to exceed budgeted profit for the year so no bonus.
*Move my rear end before I develop total dadbod. If at first you don't succeed try and try again. Biking to and from work all day erry day unless I'm ~~sick or need the car after work.~~ RUNNING. Still not fit

EDIT TO ADD:
*Open tax-advantaged account for baby #2. Save $70 per child per month. This is the most important thing. Done! Automatic monthly savings started
*Find person we like to live in our basement in order to reduce our CoL. Will meet prospect next week
*Have nice enough vacation. Rented a house in Hanoi and stayed for two weeks. It was amazeballs and we're going back as soon as possible.

A mixed bag I guess. The savings goal was stupidly optimistic, and next year I'll once again try to write down more concrete goals that I have some kind of power over.

# ? Sep 28, 2018 07:20

Guest2553: Aug 3, 2012

Sept

Guest2553 posted:

1) Save 24k saved Met monthly contribution but still a couple g's behind for the year.
2) Get recommended and selected for a promotion at work A decision's been made, I should find out in a week or two.
3) Read a book every month Done
4) Get (back) into shape and look good naked by 1) working out at least 5 times a week Whole family got sick which cramped my style. On the other hand I discovered that trail running is fun after going 20 miles in rough terrain with zero work-up beyond being in reasonable shape to begin with.
2) eating a big-rear end salad for at least 5 days a week this month

Stretch goal is to do a 2-3 day backpacking trip per month once the weather gets warm and go on a hunting trip Camping trip done, also made a tentative date to go small game hunting

# ? Sep 30, 2018 23:10

BAE OF PIGS: Nov 28, 2016; Tup

Nothing to report. Net worth to ~55k, should max my Roth contributions by the end of the year. 3 paycheck month in October, so hopefully will be able to spend a little on my girlfriend and myself instead of save save save. Still going to throw the majority of that extra paycheck at different goals/funds.

Have started going to physical therapy to get rid of chronic knee pain and get back to running and being in shape, with some limited progress, though I took a few steps back this week after going on the longest run I've done in about a year followed by a night of dancing at a wedding. Knee pain has flared back up so we'll see how things go.

Hoping that I don't get some surprise from my insurance when it comes to these PT visits....

# ? Oct 1, 2018 00:42

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

BAE OF PIGS posted:

Hoping that I don't get some surprise from my insurance when it comes to these PT visits....

PT is like dollar for dollar one of the best things insurance companies can spend money on.

# ? Oct 1, 2018 00:46

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

Edit is not quote!!!

EAT FASTER!!!!!! fucked around with this message at 18:37 on Nov 1, 2018

# ? Oct 1, 2018 23:23

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

Boring month in September, so I'm going to use this space to ask a question instead.

How do people factor house appreciation into NW? I've just left the value of the house at its purchase price, because I'm not treating it as an investment and I don't have a reliable way to determine what it would be worth otherwise. On the other hand, recording its worth as exactly the same for 30 years isn't an accurate picture of our finances either. I'm thinking about just updating it to its Zestimate once a year, when we make our goals for the year. That way it won't have any actual effect on the goals, but its value will still remain somewhat close to reality. I realize this isn't the most important thing to track, but.. I mean, I'm a BFC regular. Obsessing about pointless details is kinda what we do.

Grumpwagon posted:

2018 Goals
1) NO NEW DEBT - On track
2) If company situation continues to deteriorate, switch career from Software QA to Software Dev - Finished MOOC, started mentorship at work. Going well so far. Started a little bit of work on my personal project, but not enough to be worth sharing details yet.
3) Bring emergency fund up to $19k - Autopilot, at $17.5k now.
4) Max out Roth IRAs - Autopilot
5) Max both our 401(k)s - Autopilot
6) Increase NW to $215k/~50% savings rate - NW is around $203k. Savings rate on track.
7) Lose 10 pounds and keep it off - Continued meh. I'll hit this goal by the letter of the law, but not the spirit.

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). Was busy basically every weekend in September, so didn't actually do the plumbing stuff. Maybe I should just record the house value as 0, due to impending literal shitstorm.

# ? Oct 2, 2018 14:52

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

whatever you do factor in your closing costs to that valuation of the house

i'm conservative about stuff so i'd just probably leave it in at purchase price + closing costs

# ? Oct 2, 2018 15:03

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

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

Progress:
1) Increase NW by at least $50,000 On track now, +23.5K. 50%+ of my bonus still to come this year. Should see it through without issue
2) ~~Max 401k and IRA~~ Still rockin those auto contribs
3) Another $24,000 in to housing downpayment fund We haven't hit our peak savings number from Jan 2018, but we're not too far off and I think we'll make it
4) Max wife IRA Will happen, she made enough money this year through work and school stipend. I don't think she's moved the money yet, though.
5) ~~Pay for more grad school tuition without taking on debt.~~ No debt and wife has a tuition waiver this semester, which helps a lot. Great job wife!
6) ~~Spend no more than $22,500 on acquiring stupid impractical car~~ Success, it was like, $19,600 (pay no attention to the massive maintenance bills subsequent to it)

adding the additional goals of running 6 mi/week in September, 8 mi/week in October, and 10 mi/week in November kind of a failure, I ran 6 mi/week 3 of four weeks which is in fairness better than I thought I would do

Keep on keepin on mostly. Got to consider next year's goals.

edit: i will add to change the belts, Tstat, etc on the BMW by the end of the year

KYOON GRIFFEY JR fucked around with this message at 18:12 on Oct 2, 2018

# ? Oct 2, 2018 15:38

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

September update

Goals:

- ~~Max Roth IRAs~~
- Meet company match on HSA On track
- Meet company match on 401k On track
- 50/month in daughter's 529 On track
- 50/month in son's 529 On track
- ~~Buy a new minivan with more than 75% cash~~
- Help my wife make money on Etsy I suspect this is not going to be hit.
- Try to get at least 6 weeks of paternity (my company has no paternity leave policy). Worst case - 2 weeks off, and 4 weeks work from home. Best case - 6 weeks off with sporadic working from home when I can, but not 40 hours per week

Maybes:

- Finish cleaning up the basement and turn it into a play area. Not going crazy with finishing the basement, but getting carpet remnants and some cheap furniture will make it nicer Received a lot more storage shelving and some tables from my uncle who was throwing them out. Still need to get some more carpet remnants to make it look like Frankenstein's playroom.
- Release another iPhone app. Actually monetize this one This is definitely not happening.
- ~~If my current job doesn't get better, start looking for a new one~~

# ? Oct 2, 2018 18:09

BEHOLD: MY CAPE: Jan 11, 2004

October update. The work drama situation is that the defendants say they want to settle and are securing funding. We will believe it when we have proof of funding and a settlement offer in hand. Hoping that will happen this year, would not be surprised if it drags several months.

BEHOLD: MY CAPE posted:

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
Interest rate on loans went way up due to increases in LIBOR. Good news is I was able to re-refinance to 3.0% on a shorter term for >$3k interest savings this year
-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.
Again will just hit goal, unlikely to stretch unless we settle wage lawsuit favorably before the end of the year. Hitting stretch for 2019 should be trivial.
2. Increase NW $250k, stretch $300k. NW here defined as mint account NW inclusive of net real estate and vehicle equity.
+$190k, should still get close to goal through year end with some late-breaking pay and profit share but market turmoil has threatened the home stretch.
3. Reaccumulate $50k cash after house purchase and 12/31 tax prepayments (thanks Trump)
Recovered after using the emergency fund
4. 75% of take home, post estimated tax payments to debt reduction, savings, or investments
Haven't calculated this but no way we even got close because of the unpaid wages
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
Student loan interest rate has been steadily creeping up, so making extra payments to student loans when possible cash situation depending. Interest rates have held fairly steady for several months which is good. I was concerned student loan rate would creep over 4%.
6. Max backdoor Roth IRAs
Done
7. Max combination of Solo 401k, 401k, 403b, and mega backdoor Roth
Maxing both of our 401ks and now I have profit sharing with my new job, which is great
8. Work credit card sign up bonuses and 0% APR periods to maximum advantage, 2017 was a great year for points
Another 0% APR intro rolling for 15 months, having 0% APR credit was also helpful when I wasn't paid for a couple months
9. Attempt to do all travel this year on points or expensed, spend less than $5k cash on travel
Really blown on the family vacation, but making great use of points. I also have a very generous expense account with my new job so will try to combine some business and leisure travel using that this year.
10. Investigate establishing LLCs for rentals and retitling for tax benefits
Verdict: not worth it at this point but may acquire future properties in LLC going forward
11. Investigate converting some or all of my wage income to 1099 income for tax benefits
New job is still W2 but configured for maximum tax advantage, specifically with expense account and profit sharing
12. Try to increase professional side hustles e.g. consulting, maybe expert witness?
Have made a few thousand with research and consulting work, which was nice to have when my main source of income fell out. Not sure what the real upper limit of this is or if it will ever really rev up but it's decent to have either way.
13. Consider adding a rental property, cash situation and opportunity providing
Didn't buy anything. Eyes still out.
13a. Consider consolidating IRAs/403b/Solo 401k to purchase rental property in self directed plan
See above
14. Make appointment with my lawyer to do actual estate planning
Called him but still haven't set a date for a real sit down. Still failing on this.
15. Consider trading toy car for less expensive toy car if I can walk away with cash.
traded in the toy car for a different toy car that was somewhat cheaper. Interesting Lee, as I was talking to the loan officer to redo the financing, they told me they would lend me significantly more than the value of the car because they believe that it was worth more than the sale price based on the VIN, and they would also offer up to 110% financing.because the interest rate is fixed and lower than my student loans, it made sense to take out the maximum amount of cash they would loan me and apply the balance to my student loans, thereby reducing the overall interest rate and interest rate risk of our debt and converting student loan hell debt into regular secured debt.

Non-financial Goals:
16. Work out six days a week consistently
Still doing well on this, averaging about 5.5 days a week
16a. Build a cheap gym in my basement to facilitate this goal.
No activity, a 24/7 Planet Fitness opened two blocks from my house and for $10 a month has pretty much crushed the logic of spending money to build out a home gym
17. Run two races after a fat sad zero in 2017
Race #2 this weekend!
18. Make friends in the new neighborhood
Planning a holiday party with the neighbors!
19. Do some improvements to the house and yard, possibly revamp the deck, do some gardening and landscaping
Got our driveway built, decorated our deck all cute, hired a landscaper to fix up our bushes and stuff
20. Try to cook more regularly
Still doing good on this
21. Lose 10 lbs as a result of 16 and 20
minus 4 lbs, a little progress
22. Fun splurge for anniversary or birthday at a Michelin star restaurant, location TBD
Alinea was real good. Wonder what to try next year

BEHOLD: MY CAPE fucked around with this message at 19:52 on Nov 1, 2018

# ? Oct 14, 2018 03:22

Subjunctive: Sep 12, 2006; ✨sparkle and shine✨

BEHOLD: MY CAPE posted:

Long delayed update due to huge work drama! To make a long and sordid story short, my old employer failed for multiple reasons, including the president/CEO funneling cash out of the business. They owe me a ton of salary and unfortunately I had to sue in federal court over the matter.

drat!

# ? Oct 15, 2018 02:03

BEHOLD: MY CAPE: Jan 11, 2004

Subjunctive posted:

drat!

Yeah it has been a real hoot. It was honestly the first time in my life that I've had to dip deeply into an emergency fund and I'm very thankful for the good advice I've gotten over the years to maintain one at all costs. It may take a couple years to sort the legal issues out.

# ? Oct 15, 2018 16:51

Subjunctive: Sep 12, 2006; ✨sparkle and shine✨

Micro-update: after 10 months of unpaid medical leave and job search, I start in a new job November 5. Salary+bonus matches my previous salary, and the equity will be a bit in the black after the current round closes, so things should be back on the rails soon enough. :yotj:

# ? Oct 19, 2018 14:04

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

Subjunctive posted:

Micro-update: after 10 months of unpaid medical leave and job search, I start in a new job November 5. Salary+bonus matches my previous salary, and the equity will be a bit in the black after the current round closes, so things should be back on the rails soon enough.

Congratulations man, I�m happy things are pointing back in the right direction for you.

# ? Oct 20, 2018 21:13

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

Subjunctive posted:

Micro-update: after 10 months of unpaid medical leave and job search, I start in a new job November 5. Salary+bonus matches my previous salary, and the equity will be a bit in the black after the current round closes, so things should be back on the rails soon enough.

congrats man, sounds like everything in your personal life / medical stuff is going well if you're able to get back in to the employed game

# ? Oct 21, 2018 16:35

Subjunctive: Sep 12, 2006; ✨sparkle and shine✨

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

congrats man, sounds like everything in your personal life / medical stuff is going well if you're able to get back in to the employed game

Thanks! At one point around June I�d started to believe that I wasn�t going to get better, and I was retired now. I�m very very glad that isn�t the case (and so is my ex-wife!).

# ? Oct 21, 2018 22:32

spinst: Jul 14, 2012

October -

Raise net worth from 101k to 134k: $125.3k (3k behind track

)
Increase house fund from 11.2k to 20.7k: $20.7k DONE!
~~Increase e-fund from 7.6k to 9.6k:~~ $9.6k DONE!
Contribute $2.6k to Roth IRA: $2200 (On track!)
~~Pay ~3k out of pocket for college:~~ $2950 DONE!

Hell yeah! House fund goal is complete with two paychecks to go. Should be able to get that up to around 24k by the end of the year.

Doubtful I am going to hit that net worth goal. Oh well.

# ? Oct 30, 2018 00:52

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

spinst posted:

Doubtful I am going to hit that net worth goal. Oh well.

Congratulations on hitting on your savings goals, that's awesome. The NW goal is really just easy when the market is easy and hard when the market is hard, I wouldn't take it too badly.

# ? Oct 31, 2018 12:31

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

The end of October!!! Hard to believe we're another year in the ledger.

EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:

Current Liabilities -
- A bunch of student loans all registered and eligible for PSLF.
- Approximately 24 months into a 5/1 ARM with approximately 80% remaining.
- Two car loans.
- Some tax liability related to cashing out my crypto holdings early this tax year.

Current Assets -
- A house assessed roughly 50k over our remaining mortgage.
- Cars worth about what we owe.
- Retirement savings floating along in the market. No changes anticipated other than ongoing contributions.
- "6 month" emergency fund and advanced budgeted spending on-hand.

Net worth -
- We good.

By end of Q1:
- Pay remainder MBA tuition in full.
- Begin a taxable investment account.
- Document approval and payment status for student loan forgiveness.

By end of Q2:
- Breach zero net worth.
- Acquire MBA

By end of Q3:
- Pursue baby 2. We pregnant!

By end of Q4:
- Our 403 (b)s fully funded. Automatic.
- Under 80% value remaining on the mortgage so we can refinance if we have to. We're just going to move instead.

Yearly Goals:
- Acquire second medical directorship, commensurate pay increase and administrative time benefit. This is upcoming.
or
- Leave and found a startup. Not going to do it. Doing some consulting work instead. Has proven to be very lucrative.

Things we will not try to do:
- Acquire any new debt. Might have a new house and new car incoming.

Stretch Goals
- 457 plan launched at work. University president has agreed, will begin January 1, 2020.

Stretch Personal Goals
- One muscle up. Got sick for about 10 days in October, really set me back.
- Thirty (30) new books read. I'm at 49 for the year so far, going for 52. Red Dead Redemption and Black Ops 4 really set me back here.
~~- Rower used 100 times.~~ I've been going to the gym instead 2-5x a week, the rower is really just when I can't get there.
- Cook 48 meals. Great, I think I'm somewhere around 44 so far.
- Clean basement to where I would be comfortable hosting a World Cup viewing party. Done, yay France.
~~- Write a book to self-publish.~~ Scrapped.

Time to start thinking about goals for 2019 and 2020, I'd say!

# ? Nov 1, 2018 18:37

BEHOLD: MY CAPE: Jan 11, 2004

EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:

The end of October!!! Hard to believe we're another year in the ledger.

Time to start thinking about goals for 2019 and 2020, I'd say!

Great job!

# ? Nov 1, 2018 19:07

GoGoGadgetChris: Mar 18, 2010; i powder a
granite monument
in a soundless flash

showering the grass
with molten drops of
its gold inlay

sending smoking
chips of stone
skipping into the fog

I didn't make a post because I wasn't very active in BFC at the beginning of the year, but I've been crushing it with my goals so here's my retroactive goal & current update

2018 Goals
Hit $1M net worth - Depends on the day, but as of this moment it's a success. Most of this was good luck with my specific neighborhood getting gentrified.
Max 401k in first half of the year - Done! Trying to finish this a month earlier every year.
Raise average monthly commission by 10% - Annihilated it, 20%!
Build up a 2-year Emergency Fund (Burnout is a HUGE problem in my field and taking a Pretirement is widely accepted) - Briefly succeeded but then dropped down to 6 months because of... uh... a dumb purchase
Continue side project with coworker - this one took an interesting turn. Buddy and I were making a new database system to use at work, and he quit unannounced to sell our product to real estate firms across the globe. After an unpleasant few months, the partnership and friendship are over but I've got some court-mandated side income for the rest of that company's existence :toot:

Get engaged - in progress. Her family is big on Ask The Father so I've got to schedule a trip and do some dumbass bonding time
Lose 20lbs - did it, gained it back, halfway there again.
Find an apartment for ~$2,500/month - in progress. Housing market is really softening up here, so our budget is going a lot further now than it was before.
Regain the use of my left foot - After a spinal injury 18 months ago, my left foot was completely numb and I had to walk like Dr Frankenstein's creepy assistant. Twice weekly PT and daily exercises have got me walking, running and jumping like a normal person, but you could seriously cut off my foot and I wouldn't notice. Success!

# ? Nov 1, 2018 19:33

BEHOLD: MY CAPE: Jan 11, 2004

BEHOLD: MY CAPE posted:

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
Interest rate on loans went way up due to increases in LIBOR. Good news is I was able to re-refinance to 3.0% on a shorter term for >$3k interest savings this year
-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.
Again will just hit goal, unlikely to stretch unless we settle wage lawsuit favorably before the end of the year. Hitting stretch for 2019 should be trivial.
2. Increase NW $250k, stretch $300k. NW here defined as mint account NW inclusive of net real estate and vehicle equity.
+$190k, should still get close to goal through year end with some late-breaking pay and profit share but market turmoil has threatened the home stretch.
3. Reaccumulate $50k cash after house purchase and 12/31 tax prepayments (thanks Trump)
Recovered after using the emergency fund
4. 75% of take home, post estimated tax payments to debt reduction, savings, or investments
Haven't calculated this but no way we even got close because of the unpaid wages
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
Student loan interest rate has been steadily creeping up, so making extra payments to student loans when possible cash situation depending. Interest rates have held fairly steady for several months which is good. I was concerned student loan rate would creep over 4%.
6. Max backdoor Roth IRAs
Done
7. Max combination of Solo 401k, 401k, 403b, and mega backdoor Roth
Maxing both of our 401ks and now I have profit sharing with my new job, which is great
8. Work credit card sign up bonuses and 0% APR periods to maximum advantage, 2017 was a great year for points
Another 0% APR intro rolling for 15 months, having 0% APR credit was also helpful when I wasn't paid for a couple months
9. Attempt to do all travel this year on points or expensed, spend less than $5k cash on travel
Really blown on the family vacation, but making great use of points. I also have a very generous expense account with my new job so will try to combine some business and leisure travel using that this year.
10. Investigate establishing LLCs for rentals and retitling for tax benefits
Verdict: not worth it at this point but may acquire future properties in LLC going forward
11. Investigate converting some or all of my wage income to 1099 income for tax benefits
New job is still W2 but configured for maximum tax advantage, specifically with expense account and profit sharing
12. Try to increase professional side hustles e.g. consulting, maybe expert witness?
Have made a few thousand with research and consulting work, which was nice to have when my main source of income fell out. Not sure what the real upper limit of this is or if it will ever really rev up but it's decent to have either way.
13. Consider adding a rental property, cash situation and opportunity providing
Didn't buy anything. Eyes still out.
13a. Consider consolidating IRAs/403b/Solo 401k to purchase rental property in self directed plan
See above
14. Make appointment with my lawyer to do actual estate planning
Called him but still haven't set a date for a real sit down. Still failing on this.
15. Consider trading toy car for less expensive toy car if I can walk away with cash.
traded in the toy car for a different toy car that was somewhat cheaper. Interestingly, as I was talking to the loan officer to redo the financing, they told me they would lend me significantly more than the value of the car because they believe that it was worth more than the sale price based on the VIN, and they would also offer up to 110% financing. Because the interest rate is fixed and lower than my student loans, it made sense to take out the maximum amount of cash they would loan me and apply the balance to my student loans, thereby reducing the overall interest rate and interest rate risk of our debt and converting student loan hell debt into regular secured debt.

Non-financial Goals:
16. Work out six days a week consistently
Still doing well on this, averaging about 5.5 days a week
16a. Build a cheap gym in my basement to facilitate this goal.
No activity, a 24/7 Planet Fitness opened two blocks from my house and for $10 a month has pretty much crushed the logic of spending money to build out a home gym
17. Run two races after a fat sad zero in 2017
Race #2 this weekend!
18. Make friends in the new neighborhood
Planning a holiday party with the neighbors!
19. Do some improvements to the house and yard, possibly revamp the deck, do some gardening and landscaping
Got our driveway built, decorated our deck all cute, hired a landscaper to fix up our bushes and stuff
20. Try to cook more regularly
Still doing good on this
21. Lose 10 lbs as a result of 16 and 20
minus 4 lbs, a little progress
22. Fun splurge for anniversary or birthday at a Michelin star restaurant, location TBD
Alinea was real good. Wonder what to try next year

BEHOLD: MY CAPE fucked around with this message at 23:17 on Nov 1, 2018

# ? Nov 1, 2018 19:53

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

BEHOLD: MY CAPE posted:

October update. The work drama situation is that the defendants say they want to settle and are securing funding. We will believe it when we have proof of funding and a settlement offer in hand. Hoping that will happen this year, would not be surprised if it drags several months.

Glad you liked Alinea! So did we.

# ? Nov 1, 2018 21:05

GoGoGadgetChris: Mar 18, 2010; i powder a
granite monument
in a soundless flash

showering the grass
with molten drops of
its gold inlay

sending smoking
chips of stone
skipping into the fog

I don't doubt it's the most delicious food on the planet, but heehee gourmet cuisine is some goofy looking stuff.

The balloon is one of the courses. As is the flaming pile of rocks (actually meat)

# ? Nov 1, 2018 21:16

BEHOLD: MY CAPE: Jan 11, 2004

The balloon is permanently on the menu as a post dessert. It's made of apple taffy. Every other course is cycled off the menu seasonally. The level of constant creative menu development is incredible. I had a salt baked pumpkin dish that was on the menu for only the second day and the servers have to do a significant amount of skillful table preparation which is impressive in its own right

# ? Nov 1, 2018 23:15

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 8, 2024 22:20

Hoodwinker: Nov 7, 2005

Going to a restaurant like that has been on my list for a while. Seems like a great time.

# ? Nov 1, 2018 23:22

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Financial Goals 2018: Saving Dogecoin to pay for my horse wedding

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