Newbies and others: what are your goals?

[MonkeyMama]

My current goals are to:

*Max out our IRAs
*Save $5k/year cash (Car Purchase/House Maintenance Fund)
Well, I guess that is my plan for a goal of never borrowing money again.

We're on a 2-year timeline to get as close to this goal as possible. If we can do this by the time our little one starts elementary school in 2010, then we will feel confident in foregoing a second income indefinitely.

At that point, our goals will begin to revolve around early retirement.

[aida2003]

Hmm... I think we've got no immediate plans, just hopes which are:

- stay healthy and not have any issues/accidents, so that kids feel protected;
- hope that kids will be healthy, so we can pursue our careers (stay employed);
- hope that our current jobs stay as secure as they are, so that we can pay bills, save/invest in addition to 401k's and RothIRA's, and travel to Europe; Or if employment changes, then hope for a good change.

That's about my wishes.

[ceejay74]

Overall goals: Pay off all debt, save a lot of money, learn how to invest it, and live well (and well within our means) for the rest of our lives.

The Plan: Well, I formulated those goals gradually over the past year, after 33 years of not being able to see past next payday. So part of me thinks I won't get to where I'd like to be. But the good news is, every step I take at least gets me to a better place than I was before. :-)
Step 1: Only make purchases we can afford. Stick to a budget. (Has worked well for almost a year.)
Step 2: Pay off all credit card & personal debt by 12/31/09. ($63K to go.)
Step 3: Put future raises partly toward debt snowball and partly into quality of current life (travel, gifts, home improvement).
Step 4: Clear out room in budget to make and start tending to babies in 2-3 years.
Step 4: Learn best way to invest (we're planning an international move in 5-10 years and aren't sure if maxing out US-tax-free venues will save us anything if we have to pay UK taxes on them eventually).
Step 5: After CC debt gone, babies getting taken good care of, quality of life satisfactory, and investing knowledge gained ... find a good balance between paying down remaining (house & education) debt and investing/saving like crazy to make up for lost time!

Whew. Overwhelming when I look at it this way. Better to just focus on Step 1 for awhile. :-)

[dollarsaign]

Pay off $12,000 Debt
Get a new car.

Buy a home.

[kork13]

I always feel like I can't hold a candle to everyone here, because I'm only just starting my career and don't know what to expect... But, here's what I'm thinking... Note that all dollar figure savings are based on what I'll be making right now. As my pay increases, so will those dollar figures (thankfully...)

1) Max Roth IRA every year, contribute additional ~5% of pay to my "company's" retirement plan.
2) Build an emergency fund to at least $6000, $100/mo at a time... Thankfully, I already have $2500.
3) Save $100/mo for my personal indulgences... trips, camera equipment, collectibles (swords), whatever.
4) Never carry a credit card balance... 4 years running, so far so good.
5) Pay off the rest of my $11k car loan, currently at ~$6.5k (easy... I've got all the money in a money market, and I'm making double-payments on the loan. My 5-yr loan will be paid in just over 2 yrs.)
5b) Start saving $100/mo for the next car (~8-10 yrs down the road).
6) Save $100/mo (for now) to start saving to buy a house with a $50k-60k downpayment... It's likely gonna be a while before my line of work allows me to settle down enough to buy a house...

[sweeps]

I always feel like I can't hold a candle to everyone here, because I'm only just starting my career and don't know what to expect... But, here's what I'm thinking... Note that all dollar figure savings are based on what I'll be making right now. As my pay increases, so will those dollar figures (thankfully...)

You have the right mindset, kork. Keep it up.

[ladydii]

Just joined the board and this thread so as the year is almost over my goals are modest:
1. Make a Christmas budget and STICK to it!
2. Ensure that any Christmas expenses added to the credit card can be paid in full with the next payment.

[project15]

1. First house - buying this spring
2. Flat panel TV to go with our new house (been $20 a month for a LONG time for this)
3. Large down payment on wife's car when her current lease is up in July.

Just noticed this and thought I would give an update.

1. Bought the house - a fixer upper that we're doing all the work ourselves
2. Gave up on this and went with a cheaper way - projector screen in the basement
3. Paid off wife's car completely and it feels good.

My new goal is $100k by 30 (5 years).

[Inkstain82]

I'd like to think of it as a lifetime journey, but here are some major milestones I have in mind:

Before the end of 2009
1) Pay all outstanding debts except for student loans. When things hit rock bottom midway through the 2008, we had mountains of unpaid bills that we had to just abandon. Most of those are paid now, but there's still a few stragglers, plus an abandoned 5k debt on a CC. I want everything paid in full with no settlement.

2) Get a genuine six-month emergency fund saved up. Both my wife and I live in an industry where layoffs are the norm. There's always another job, but it'd be amazing to not have to worry about the intervening months.

2010-2015ish

1) Save up enough money to immigrate to Canada, perhaps one of us going to school there for a new degree, but only if we can pay tuition in cash.

2) Pay for a replacement for our current car in cash, no loan.

3) Be halfway to the downpayment on a house.

Long-term

1) Own a house

2) Take a major vacation overseas, preferably Europe.

[fruitbowlk]

Pay off my target credit card.
Fully fund my EF
Save for x-mas,car,vacation,house funds
Increase my contributes to my 401k and roth every year.

[FrugalTexan75]

How I've Done so far

My Plans for 2008:

Fully Fund 6 mo. EF (should happen by April)

Fund Car Replacement Fund to $4,000

Begin House Downpayment Fund (I have decided to put my Susie Orman Ameritrade money towards this, so by December I'll already have around $500 +interest towards this. If all goes well, I should be able to start allocating all savings funds to this goal by November at the latest.)

Every month I have a 5th paycheck, the whole amount goes towards whatever savings goal I'm concentrating on. I have a set amount each month that goes to savings - I treat it like a bill. I will be putting all but $50 of my Economic Stimulus money into savings (taking a little out for some kind of a treat.) Any extra money earned via babysitting, selling things, etc. goes towards savings. Also, any money "bonuses" I get for opening accounts, etc. goes towards whatever savings goal I'm concentrating on at the time.

Also, any interest I earn on my ING Orange account goes to savings.

1. My EF is fully funded for six-months
2. I'm about halfway funded with my Car Fund
3. I have begun my house downpayment fund - $50/mo to TDAmeritrade, and then I've also had 9 ING referral bonuses so far this year (which I put in my DP fund.)

As for my Stimulus Check and my extra paychecks - didn't exactly go where I meant them to go every month - but more of them got saved then didn't get saved!

I also started two part-time jobs which have helped with the savings goals.

[mommyof4]

Short term:
Pay off rest of credit cards via snowball method by May 2009
Pay off auto loan
Pay off personal loan to a family member
No more debt! I save, save, save for everything I can.

Long term:
Finish paying my own student loans
Pay off house mortgage
Put more away for retirement
Pay as much as I can for the 4 kids' college education
Take a trip to Italy (paid for in cash, of course)
Donate more to my favorite charities