2009 End of the Year Financial Progress Review

Our Financial Goals for 2009

It’s the end of December and I wanted to review how we did with our financial goals this year. First off, let me list our goals.

We did it!

• Debt: We would like to pay off my car loan by March 31, 2009.
• Debt: I’d like to reduce our monthly expenses by 10%.
• Spending: We’re going to limit eating out $100 this month.
• Savings: We want to have 3 months worth of expenses saved by December 31, 2009.

How We Did on Our Financial Goals in 2009

• We would like to pay off my car loan by March 31, 2009.

We accomplished on time and it saved us 1 year and about $901 in interest. That’s over $200 we can redirect to other goals. Having more wiggle room has been great as we’ve had some bumps in the road this year, such as the cat getting sick.

How We Paid Off the Car Loan

• Developed a realistic budget and automated our regular car payments
• Snowflaked extra payments and sent them in between scheduled payments
• Used mini windfalls to pay big chunks of the loan
• Asked other for their advice and either adopted or adapted them

• I’d like to reduce our monthly expenses by 10%.

It took some time and work, but we managed to meet this goal by the beginning of October. Cutting down on consumption was a bit of work, but it was worth it.

• We’re going to limit eating out $100 this month.

We did really well with this as an average. On certain months, like my in-laws’ 30th anniversary or the wedding we spent more, but it was planned. I think as we’ve become more about of what we spend on eating out, we’re making them special occasions. It’s been great for our waists and wallets.

• We want to have 3 months worth of expenses saved by December 31, 2009.

Yep, we have money in the bank to cover expenses in case of emergencies. We’ll be building our house fund in 2010 as we now have to start the process over again to find another place.

End of Year Financial Tips

I’m not the only one wrapping up their finances this year.

• 17 Tips for End of Year Tax Planning
• End-of-Year Financial Checkup Checklist
• Year End Financial Moves for 2009
• Start Making Year End Tax Moves and Save Big Money
• Year End Tax Tips 2009
• Year End Tax Strategies

Your Take

How are you doing with your 2009 goals? Have you had some unexpected changes? What successes have you had so far?

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