FINANCIAL GOALS 2008

I'm going to shift gears here for a post and do something a bit different than usual. I do have 1 Atlanta post coming up, so stay tuned! I stumbled across a blog entry on Beingfrugal.net which directed me to Cash Money Life Blog with a enticement to get my financial life in order by writing out my goals for 2008 and be entered to win an Ipod. H and I are going to sit down for New Year's and work on our 101 list, review our finances and get ready for an incredibly busy 2008. I thought posting my goals on my blog would provide some accountability.

First goal is to pay off all revolving credit card debt. Hopefully this won't even be a goal for 2008 because I think we can have it paid off this year! This is a big step for us and I'm very excited that we've been so blessed and are in the position to pay off all the credit cards. Since graduating college 5 years ago, I have purchased rental property & a home with 10% down on each, did major remodeling on the rental property and threw a fabulous destination wedding. I have been saving money for down payments or in debt for all those years. I am so relieved to finally be debt-free and able to start saving towards our next major goal.

Our second goal is to sit down together at the end of the year and adjust our budget now that we are married and all of our consumer debt is paid off. As part of our marriage prep class, we developed a budget, which has evolved over the last 9 months. It needs to be modified again now that we are shifting into saving instead of pay-off mode. Part of this goal will be the review our budget and see how we are doing every month. Related to the budget review is some strategic planning on how we can open up (or buy) a business within the next 5 years. I would like for 2008 to be the year we do lots of research, take business classes, make contacts and set up a plan to achieve our goal.

Our third goal is to start a real emergency fund and to save a designated amount of cash ASAP. It will really depend on how much extra we have from our monthly budget as to how quickly we can reach this goal. It will also depend on H's income, which is flexible because he is on commission. That's one of the reasons we both feel so strongly about having such a large amount of reserve money in case he has a bad few months in sales. Having that e-fund will also allow us to start saving money for possibly opening up our own business in the future.

Our forth goal is to do a better job of tithing and giving to church and other ministries. I do quite well with my tithes and offerings to the church, but it's just not something that H is interested in contributing to at this time. I had made quite a substantial pledge to our capital campaign to build a new church in a fast-growing area of Houston. It was a 3 year pledge and I'm about 1.5 years into the pledge, but less than 1/3 of the way to my goal. I am expected to get a raise again this summer and I will (like I did with my last raise) give all the extra money towards my pledge to reach my goal by the summer of 2009.

Finally, I would like to have a better grasp on our expanding lifestyle. It's going to be a battle that is more difficult to fight now that we have more disposable income, but I'd really like to maintain our standard of living or even reign it in a little bit. I'm a bit shocked when I review how much money we spend every month eating out or on other unnecessary items. I think we can both do a better job of being frugal and better managers of the blessings that we have received.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Though not always easy to discuss money with my husband, we have both been great about keeping the lines of communication open, sacrificing when necessary and working towards our common goals.