I just sat down and re-did my finances for the next year. It is hard to come with goals as things are still topsy-turvey.
The biggest news right now is that I traded in my $640/month van and leased at $210/mo small, good gas-mileage vehicle. All maintenance, among other things, are paid for in the lease amount. So all I will pay for the next three years (knock on wood) will be the lease, gas, and insurance. I am feeling a lot better about my car situation. Hopefully when my income stabilizes, I can start saving up for cash for my next vehicle.
My 2017 goals are quite simple, but yet tough at the same time:
1) Fully fund HSA - This should be easy. I have it on autopilot. $255/paycheck. This is a high priority due to my children's diagnoses. I will be cutting other discretionary areas in order to be able to do this the first few months.
2) Get rid of credit card debt - I currently have about $4,000 of credit card debt. I expect it to go up here once I get December and January's lawyer bills. It is a 0% credit card thru this year (and some of next). If I can, I will need to put at least $400/month towards it on average, without putting anything else on it. This will be impossible in the first few months of this year, but I sure hope it will work out later the year.
3) Create an EF fund - Start off goal is $1,000. I think I might even focus on that before the credit card payoff. After debt is gone, every extra penny is going to go into this for this year. Eventually, I want to get to $2,000 (one month of expenses), then $6,000, $15,000, and finally, the ultimate goal of $30,000! Someday, that is... ah, dreaming.
4) Contribute to 401K - I don't get employer match, so for the moment I am only putting $10/month in. Once my income bumps up to where it was again, I plan to put in as much as I can. Someday goal includes maxing it out. I need to plan to take care of myself without help from husband or children. I can do it!
5) Create "adult" documents - I need to create a will, power of attorney, medical directives, etc. I will probably do an online DIY one for temporary, and once I have more financial wiggle room, I will get a lawyer and get it nice and cleaned up and tight. I would rather have something than nothing.
2017 Goals
December 29th, 2016 at 08:30 pm
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December 30th, 2016 at 12:09 am 1483056584
Many of us are working on cash flow for 2017, figuring out anticipated monthly sums for the repetitious expenses like mortgage/rent/insurance, utilities .
I'm confident that the plan you make for the next three months will work well.
December 30th, 2016 at 01:04 am 1483059882
December 30th, 2016 at 03:00 am 1483066816