What are your 2014 money resolutions?

[lorraineb]

Have you thought about what you money resolutions will be for 2014 yet? These are my three:

1. Save 15% of my income in 2014. I'm going to start paying my self first, something I didn't do in 2013 and it came back to bite me.

2. Find at least one new source of income outside my job that earns me at least $100 a month.

3. Fight for a raise this year. I'm not sure I can get one, but I will at least fight for one.

What, if any, resolutions are you making this year?

[cardtrick]

1. Max out 401K, Roth IRA and HSA. I already adjusted my contributions for all of this to happen.

2. Get rid of all debt except for mortgage. This should happen by end of Feb, when I get my 2013 bonus. I can't get a good night's sleep because of my 0% APR credit card debt. I just hate being in credit card debt.

3. $10K in an investment account outside of retirement funds. This one will be tough to achieve.

[rennigade]

The same as last year. Max my 401k and Roth again.

Also invest in some long term mutual funds.

[ThriftoRama]

Pay $15,000 in mortgage principal (about $6,000 more than normal payments)
Save $600/ month in the EF

[creditcardfree]

We plan to pay down just under $14K, to bring our mortgage balance to $X15,000.
Max Roth IRAs for myself and DH.
8% to my husband's TSP.
$2,000 for each of our two daughter's for college.
Retirement and college are set up automatically, paying down nearly an extra $8K will take the most work and effort, but I have a plan.

[kork13]

I'm still sorta finalizing my 2014 goals (I don't do "resolutions" -- I think they're ridiculous. I set measurable, attainable GOALS for the year), but here's what I've got so far:
- Finalize my Emergency Fund (currently just $2k short), and place the last $10k into I-Bonds. After doing so, I'll have $21k in I-Bonds and $4k in an online savings account (for a full 6-month EF)
- Pay off my car loan ($6k remaining) NLT June 2014
- (continue to) Save aggressively for my wedding, which we're planning for April/May timeframe -- I'm aiming to have $3k to pay for the rings, $7k for the wedding itself, and another $3k for the honeymoon (Alaskan cruise)
- On my '2014 goals' list, I've got "After wedding, re-evaluate the entire JOINT financial picture & plan" ...... not sure what else I can say beyond that. Because I'm planning to get married halfway through the year, I figure it's a bit pointless at this time to do significant goal planning beyond that point -- my entire situation is gonna change. I know some things that *I* want to focus on (learn to live on one income, pay off her student loans, save 25%-30% of our income, start saving for a replacement car for her, etc.), but all of those decisions will need to be made by the both of us later on.

One sorta fun non-financial goal I'm gonna work toward: Learn to write left-handed (I'm a "rightie"). I got the idea from a friend who taught himself to be ambidextrous this last year, and my mother was about 80% ambidextrous (though she was still more proficient with her right hand). Besides just being cool, I recently injured my right wrist (thankfully minor), which caused most things to be a bit painful for a week or two. Add on the fact that I know many individuals who have lost use of one hand for various reasons (physical injury, dismemberment, illness, nerve damage, etc.), it seems like a useful skill to have.

[kork13]

I ran into this article in the Sunday Wall Street Journal, seemed appropriate for the present conversation: New Year's Money Resolutions to Think About - WSJ.com

[MonkeyMama]

I am in the "no resolutions" camp, but it makes sense to set financial goals on an annual basis.

1 - First and foremost we always max out our ROTHs

2 - Save $5k to cash. (Home repair/car replacement fund).

{We achieve these by paying ourselves first}

3 - Extra monies to the mortgage (our only debt)

At minimum I know we can snowflake an extra $1,000 to the mortgage (little stuff here and there). Ideally we will add $4k to the mortgage - means more principal than interest payments, for the year. (I get enough overtime to cover that, in addition to all our side hustles, and parents getting generous with age. BUT, murphy was pretty brutal to us this past year, so I am feeling a little beat down on this goal).

[feh]

For the first time in probably 15 years we will not be maxing my 401K; I've reduced contributions to get the match from my employer. We also won't be contributing to any IRAs for the first time in 10 years.

All savings are going into short term taxable accounts in preparation for early retirement. Should amount to at least $40K.

[disneysteve]

For the first time in probably 15 years we will not be maxing my 401K; I've reduced contributions to get the match from my employer. We also won't be contributing to any IRAs for the first time in 10 years.

All savings are going into short term taxable accounts in preparation for early retirement. Should amount to at least $40K.

That's exciting!

Do you qualify for a Roth? If so, you might still want to consider funding one since contributions can be withdrawn at any time without penalty and it would give you the benefit of tax-free growth on the earnings.

[feh]

That's exciting!

Do you qualify for a Roth? If so, you might still want to consider funding one since contributions can be withdrawn at any time without penalty and it would give you the benefit of tax-free growth on the earnings.

We will be eligible to contribute to a Roth in 2014. I have considered what you suggest here, and may choose to do so. I need to spend more time thinking about it.

[disneysteve]

We will be eligible to contribute to a Roth in 2014. I have considered what you suggest here, and may choose to do so. I need to spend more time thinking about it.

There really is no downside to funding the Roths other than a bit of inconvenience if you need to turn around and pull the money back out. The upside, though, is that it grows tax-free while it's in there and the earnings, which you can't withdraw, continue to grow tax-free.

[feh]

There really is no downside to funding the Roths other than a bit of inconvenience if you need to turn around and pull the money back out. The upside, though, is that it grows tax-free while it's in there and the earnings, which you can't withdraw, continue to grow tax-free.

That's the downside - I can't access the gains until I'm 59.5.

[GrimJack]

That's the downside - I can't access the gains until I'm 59.5.

Yes you can - it just costs extra. Consider it as a hedge, if you don't ever need to access it you win big; if you don't need to access it within 5 years, you win a little; if you need to access within 5 years, something went wrong with your plans. What is your 5 year plan?

[feh]

Yes you can - it just costs extra. Consider it as a hedge, if you don't ever need to access it you win big; if you don't need to access it within 5 years, you win a little; if you need to access within 5 years, something went wrong with your plans. What is your 5 year plan?

Could you explain why 5 years is relevant? Thanks.