At the beginning of January, I set new financial goals for 2009. These goals aren’t quite as grand as our 2008 goals, but they’re still an important step toward our financial future. Though it’s only been a month, we’ve made some progress on several of them:
Goal 1: Buy a House
We haven’t bought a house yet, but we have started visiting open houses and received a loan estimate from a broker.
Goal 2: Pay Off That Little Debt
While we do actually have the money in the bank to pay off that little debt, we’re delaying on that for now. Instead we’re socking away money for our 2008 tax bill (sigh) and more money for our closing costs/down payment.
Goal 3: Boost Our Emergency Fund
Right now, all of our savings is for taxes. But we should have the tax money saved up fairly soon. I’ll know the total amount due just as soon as our various 1099s arrive so that we can actually fill out our taxes. We’re socking away about $2500 a month right now, so anything leftover after taxes will go toward an emergency fund, until it gets used for closing costs. Then we’ll start over saving money.
Goal 4: Increase Retirement Savings
This is on hold until the tax/closing costs/emergency fund issues are dealt with. I’m not concerned, though. I checked my year-end statement and learned that my savings did increase by $100, but only because I contributed $500!
Goal 5: Buy a New Car
I’ve got my options narrowed down, but the car comes after the house. No new debts until then!
Goal 6: Save for a Vacation
Also on hold. The house and the car and everything else are definitely bigger priorities. We did take one step towards accruing the miles, though. We upgraded our Amex so we now get more bonus miles than before. With this new card, we should have enough miles for two tickets to Australia by late 2010. If we don’t, the new card also gives us the option of paying with miles, which will at least reduce the cost of the tickets significantly.
It looks like we may have more goals than we can manage this year, but I’m still hopeful that we can pull them all off! How’s your progress on your financial goals? Tell me in the comments.