Last year, with graduation, moving, buying a house and moving again, and seeing the first bill for my school loans, our we did not accomplish any wealth growth. In fact, we used about half of our savings to pay for the house and to get my business started.
Now that things have slowed down, it's time to get serious about debt reduction and building up our savings again. It would be even better if we could get to the point this year where we can invest in a retirement plan. For now, we're going to prioritize and keep the goals simple:
1. Pay down 1/3 of our debt (excluding mortgage). Our house is at such a low rate, we'd rather pay off the school debt and minimal other debts first. We have no credit card debt, but my school loans are substantial. If we can pay off 1/3 of the debt, we will free up more liquid cash - definitely plus!
2. Double our savings. By the end of the year, I would like to have our savings back to where it was when we started 2012. Paying ourselves back for the legitimate investments we made is our top priority after debt reduction.
3. Secondary savings. This account is where I dip into for travel and other "fun stuff." Right now, it is high enough that I can pay for one of my planned trips this summer. I would like to increase the amount to cover both trips so I don't have to budget it separately.
Easy-peasy. Except that I like shoes and fancy coffee. I just keep reminding myself that I like financial security more!
1 comment:
Have you considered "investing" in an at-home fancy coffee machine? I like my homemade concoctions better than anything I've gotten at a cafe...makes it easier to resist coffee runs. :)
Post a Comment