2008 Financial Goals and a Review of 2007

I can’t believe the year went by so quickly. It was overall a good year. We celebrated our 1 year anniversary this month and I like to thank my husband for a wonderful first year. I graduated about 2 weeks ago. I decided I should review how I did in 2007 financially and then give my goals for the upcoming year.

2007 Financial Goals

• Income: I would like to earn $20,000 for the year. This would be from my internship job and the remaining from any side jobs. Verdict: Yeah about this…..I came really, really close (approx. 19k), but not close enough.
• Spending: I’m trying to lower my expenses on eating out. I want to get it down to $40 a month. I would also like to cut down my magazine habit and subscribe to two magazines to save money. I can usually spend $50 a month by paying the newsstand price. I want to go from $600 a year to $30. Verdict: I actually did well with this goal. I still buy magazines on occasion, but I subscribe to one and read online from the others. I do eat less, but not as drastically as I hoped.
• Investing in Roth IRA: I would like to contribute $500 into a Roth IRA, but only after I’ve taken care of my medical bills first. ($257) Verdict: Failed. I do have an IRA, but it’s not fully funded. My bill is for approximately $100 now since paying some of it.
• Saving: I would like to have $1,000 in my emergency fund just to build some momentum. Verdict: Still a work in progress.
• Debt: I would like to pay off all my small high interest bills by December 31. Verdict: I paid my credit card debt off and I feel good.

2008 Financial Goals

• Income: I would like to earn $37,000 for the year. This would be from my ‘regular’ job and the remaining from any side jobs. (Since I didn’t make my goal last year I’m being conservative.)
• Spending: I’m going to continue cutting back on eating out to twice a week, including weekends.
• Investing: I’m going to enroll in my company’s 401(k) and meet the employer match . I’ll also continue to contribute to my Roth IRA.
• Saving: I will have $2,000 in my emergency fund by September 1, 2008. I would also like to put our income tax return into our house fund.
• Debt: I would like to pay off my car loan by July 31, 2008. I would like to have my car loan out before I have to start paying student loans.

Well, that’s what I came up with and please continue coming back to see if I reach these goals on time. I finished my first guest post, please look at how to maximize a minimum wage job. Paid Twice is a great site and there are wonderful guest posts this week. Have a wonderful weekend!

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