2018 financial goals - what are yours?

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Topic Author
notmyhand
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2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by notmyhand »

Is it too early for New Years resolutions? Well I totaled all of our 2017 and compared to our goals and so of course I had to make next year's goals. Any I should change? And anyone make 2018 financial goals yet?

2 income household, 0 children, late 20s

2017 goals -
3 months emergency fund - done
max our IRAs - done
max out 401ks and solo 401ks - one last pay period's worth left
25% increase in networth - done, thanks stock market!
20k home improvement - done
10% mortgage reduction - done
Purchase 10k in IBonds - done
6 months emergency fund in cash - no done, home improvement ate a lot more money than saved for

2018 goals (in order) -
15% increase in taxable account
6 months emergency fund in cash
max out IRAS
max out 401ks
purchase 10k in IBonds
25% mortgage reduction
25% increase in networth
save for a round if IVF

This will be around 45% of our gross income which is what we managed to do last year.

Should we switch order or change anything?

Share your goals!
hightower
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by hightower »

Make a lot of money.
Either pay off my student loans (100k at 2.6%) or put the money in my taxable brokerage account.
If the stock market crashes, I will definitely start pouring money into buying shares and hold off on paying down debt.
We will also max both 401ks, Both backdoor Roths, and the HSA.
We're also trying for a kid, starting IUI this week actually
umk
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by umk »

Same goals like every year:
Increase net worth by 10%
Reduce outstanding debt by 10%
Topic Author
notmyhand
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by notmyhand »

hightower wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2017 5:01 pm Make a lot of money.
Either pay off my student loans (100k at 2.6%) or put the money in my taxable brokerage account.
If the stock market crashes, I will definitely start pouring money into buying shares and hold off on paying down debt.
We will also max both 401ks, Both backdoor Roths, and the HSA.
We're also trying for a kid, starting IUI this week actually
How exciting! Best of luck to both of us - hopefully this year brings both of us a child.
raamakoti
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by raamakoti »

hightower wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2017 5:01 pm We're also trying for a kid
Don't forget to plan 529 plan.

We are planning to experiment with living off of one salary, preferably lower one and save the entire higher salary for a year. We always spill over to the second one because of 1k we save every month for my girl's 529 plan.
Dec 31 of this year pay off all credit cards to get a perfect starting baseline. We have less than 2k in CC debt.
Educate myself more and find good companies to invest in.
grettman
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by grettman »

I just want to do what I did last year:

Fully fund 401K (TSP), Roth and IRA. Pay 2K extra per month towards mortgage. Live my life. Have some fun along the way.
flyingaway
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by flyingaway »

Take an 8-month sabbatical leave to see the world and experience retirement life. If I like the life, I might not want to return to work.
If the market will have above 7% return, I will be very happy, and of course, move from 70/30 allocation to 60/40 and mentally prepare myself for real retirement.
Bwlonge
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by Bwlonge »

I'm a little wary of posting my finances online but 4 big buckets for me:

-Continue learning how to be a landlord in my owner occupied duplex. Keep fingers crossed things continue to go well.
-Hit a new 403b and IRA hard.
-Start Tier 2 of my "emergency" fund- a taxable with something like 50/50 total US/Bond. This is at odds with paying off a last bit of debt, at an average 4%- but i figure if i can match the interest rate with net yield plus have the funds on hand to make moves if I need to, that's better. In fact, I could pivot this to a down payment to a second investment property.
-Manage my current level of leverage and prevent too much stupid spending. I like to collect stuff and it's easy for me to rationalize buying treats when I'm squirelling away. But too much is going to chip into what I can put away for goal 3.
BogleWogle
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by BogleWogle »

1. Max 401K
2. Max Roth IRA
3. Max HSA (new for 2018 8-) as it’s the first year my employer has offered a HDHP)
4. Pay off Car Loan (I’ve been waffling on this due to the low rate)
5. Continue to save excess in Taxable

Number 4 was a late 2017 addition to the list and after making progress on the goal, the new I Bond rate made it less favorable (however slightly :happy ) in my eyes. The lack of a payment is however very appealing and would make the mortgage the only remaining debt.
itstoomuch
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by itstoomuch »

What we do ever year, Beany, +10% in the Discretionary Accts.
That implies, , don't lose wealth :oops:
Rev012718; 4 Incm stream buckets: SS+pension; dfr'd GLWB VA & FI anntys, by time & $$ laddered; Discretionary; Rentals. LTCi. Own, not asset. Tax TBT%. Early SS. FundRatio (FR) >1.1 67/70yo
Dottie57
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by Dottie57 »

Max 401k and Roth ira.
Save extra $500 each month.

Figure out retirement age. Am nearly 61. The current politixal environment is driving me crazy.
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peterinjapan
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by peterinjapan »

Build on the success of 2017. Keep paying down "bad" debt while not worrying about "good" debt. Keep teaching my son about investing, since we're having fun learning together. Maybe find a new way to hedge. (Considering buying some RVs to rent for income through my sister, who could use the help herself.)
sailaway
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by sailaway »

grettman wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2017 5:47 pm I just want to do what I did last year:
Watch stocks go up by 20%?
2comma
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by 2comma »

Retired, conservative investor, no debt. As long as we beat inflation we're good, that's the goal.
If I am stupid I will pay.
TwstdSista
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by TwstdSista »

Mine are simply to do better. I think we can manage it!
carolinaman
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by carolinaman »

2comma wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 12:15 am Retired, conservative investor, no debt. As long as we beat inflation we're good, that's the goal.
Retired also and conservative investor. I have goal of 2% real investment gain.
S&L1940
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by S&L1940 »

carolinaman wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 6:54 am
2comma wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 12:15 am Retired, conservative investor, no debt. As long as we beat inflation we're good, that's the goal.
Retired also and conservative investor. I have goal of 2% real investment gain.
Retired, 55/45 portfolio, heavy draw down expenses last couple of years yet buckets have actually increased
We also use a 2% growth projection and have been exceeding that
Will settle for more of the same
Don't it always seem to go * That you don't know what you've got * Till it's gone
raamakoti
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by raamakoti »

Dottie57 wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2017 8:13 pm The current politixal environment is driving me crazy.
Ask yourself every time something drives you crazy. By going crazy are you in anyway helping the situation to get better. If not then you can let go the crazy part and relax. I know this forum does not encourage political discussion but last Nov - 8 my wife's best friend went crazy and stopped talking to my wife completely. Initially my wife was upset but after few chats between us it does not bother my wife any more and more than a year went by the same way 2014, 15 or 16 went by. Kids are growing, we are getting old and wonderful life keeps moving forward.
Jayhawk11
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by Jayhawk11 »

Max 401ks
Start actively looking (and maybe buying!) a house
convince my wife to save extra for her retirement
Get vested in my pension (before they change it)
Get my folks into better situations as they age
Have that first kid and start the college fund
Save enough for a fun trip to Ireland

2018 is going to be challenging.
vested1
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by vested1 »

2018 will be a banner year (we hope)

1. Getting to July when our withdrawals in retirement will be cut in half with the initial onset of joint SS.
2. If markets stay strong and merely match our current WR, in July our WR will be approx 2.5% or less until my age 70 when full SS kicks in (July 2022).
3. Leaving the big island today after 16 glorious days. Come back in 2018 for an even longer stay.
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randomizer
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by randomizer »

Pay about 60k off mortgage.

Max 401k.

Invest about 20k in taxable.

Pay huge tax bill.

Save about 75k for home renovations.

Brace for the unexpected.
87.5:12.5, EM tilt — HODL the course!
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market timer
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by market timer »

Not expecting to make any major financial moves in 2018. Will just keep adding to my growing cash balance, hopefully earning a slightly higher interest rate than I did in 2017, after the Fed hikes a few times. Might start to think seriously about buying a proper house for my growing family, rather than renting in a high rise.
IowaFarmWife
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by IowaFarmWife »

1) add to emergency fund;
2) pay off debt
3) learn more about investing
4) enjoy my daughter's wedding in April!
"A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore." Yogi Berra's financial wisdom.
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Edie
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by Edie »

1) Have spouse deemed disabled by SS (hearing in January, almost 3.5 years after last day of work due to disability).
2) Get first credential for my profession and get 15% raise (will still be substantially (30-35%) less than if I worked in private sector but there are more important things than money and public service "fills something" inside me).

The other goals depend on the first two:

3) Max 457b again (2017 was first year) but faster because of goal 4.
4) Start 401a (have to be 40 to enroll, and it's a one-time irrevocable choice of percent to contribute, but I want to do it as soon as I turn 40, so I will be working the math to figure out the maximum amount we can afford, and will probably stop contributing to 457 as soon as I'm 40 to start contributing to this, and then start doing Roth contributions to the 457 if future raises come).
5) Max both Roth IRAs instead of just one of them.
6) Home upkeep (repair/replace fascia and paint house) and upgrade (replace tub and vanity in kids bathroom).
7) Pay off 1/3-1/2 of 2017 auto loan (totalled vehicle caused purchase to be moved up :oops: , and the accident made us rethink replacing SUV with smaller vehicle :shock: so we have a shiny new minivan instead of a car, a couple years ahead of when we were planning on it).
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Chief_Engineer
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by Chief_Engineer »

1) Finish my PhD
2) Rebuild emergency fund
3) Keep maxing out HSA
4) Hopefully, 2018 will be the first year of our marriage with a positive change in net worth.
cheapindexer
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by cheapindexer »

my goal is to listen to the noise less. I've done a good job indexing and maintaining 75/25 portfolio, however I listened to the noise with regard to "bond bubbles" and shifted most of our bond funds to short term instead of leaving them all in total bond and or intermediate term. To be honest, it was a few videos of Alan Greenspan that freaked me out the most with regard to interest rate risks.
poker27
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by poker27 »

I'm happy with my mortgage rate (2.875%), so I dont intend to pay down
My Emergency fund is solid.
My only concentration (after auto 401k deductions) will be adding to my taxable. We may be doing some home renovations, so determining an amount I'd like to fund is tough.
sailaway
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by sailaway »

carolinaman wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 6:54 am
2comma wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 12:15 am Retired, conservative investor, no debt. As long as we beat inflation we're good, that's the goal.
Retired also and conservative investor. I have goal of 2% real investment gain.
As a BH, I must ask: is this a goal (something you will be working towards) or a hope/wish?
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SmileyFace
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by SmileyFace »

Same goals as last year:
1) Continue putting kids through college (pre-funded through 529s)
2) Stay out of debt (no car or mortgage payments - fund anything new purchased through savings/cash-flow)
3) Maintain Retirement savings plan
3a) Max out 401K and Roth-Backdoor.
3b) Buy iBonds
3c) Add to taxable with inflationary increase over last year
4) Maintain emergency account
5) Focus time/energy on career to assure continued employment and income growth
6) Continue to Live-Below-Means
7) Enjoy life with some excess cash-flow (2 major travel-vacations; some weekend get-aways)
8) Maintain home and cars
9) Continue charitable contributions
Last edited by SmileyFace on Mon Dec 11, 2017 11:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
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SmileyFace
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by SmileyFace »

randomizer wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 9:30 am ...
Pay huge tax bill.
...
Paying a huge tax bill is a strange goal to have. :happy
One of my goals is to do whatever I can to minimize my huge tax bill (should have listed that above) :)
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triceratop
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by triceratop »

DaftInvestor wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 11:53 am
randomizer wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 9:30 am ...
Pay huge tax bill.
...
Paying a huge tax bill is a strange goal to have. :happy
One of my goals is to do whatever I can to minimize my huge tax bill (should have listed that above) :)
I can relate to randomizer. I may be facing such a large tax bill that paying it will itself be a financial goal.
"To play the stock market is to play musical chairs under the chord progression of a bid-ask spread."
marcopolo
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by marcopolo »

1) Hit a nice round (never thought possible!) milestone in net worth - If market avoids meltdown, a generous severance package coming in a few months should accomplish that

2) Retire - See #1
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.
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randomizer
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by randomizer »

DaftInvestor wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 11:53 am
randomizer wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 9:30 am ...
Pay huge tax bill.
...
Paying a huge tax bill is a strange goal to have. :happy
One of my goals is to do whatever I can to minimize my huge tax bill (should have listed that above) :)
I expect the bill to be huge despite my efforts to minimize it.
87.5:12.5, EM tilt — HODL the course!
heyyou
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by heyyou »

If continuing to no longer have financial goals, is a goal for the 13th year of retirement, I'm set for 2018.
boglewill34
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by boglewill34 »

Zero out CC debts. Pay down some tax bills in arrears. Contribute to our 457. Have a sane amount in our EF.
ncbill
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by ncbill »

Send the last kid off to undergrad.

Preferably on someone else's dime.

They're trying their best to get Uncle Sam to pay for it.

Time will tell.
Ron
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by Ron »

KISS method.

Claim my SS benefit (I turn 70 in three weeks) :mrgreen: ...

- Ron
TravelforFun
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by TravelforFun »

randomizer wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 1:12 pm
DaftInvestor wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 11:53 am
randomizer wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 9:30 am ...
Pay huge tax bill.
...
Paying a huge tax bill is a strange goal to have. :happy
One of my goals is to do whatever I can to minimize my huge tax bill (should have listed that above) :)
I expect the bill to be huge despite my efforts to minimize it.
No income tax if there is no income so congratulations to randomizer for having a huge tax bill. Seriously.

TravelforFun
rg422
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by rg422 »

2017 is the first year we have maxed out our 401Ks, ROTHs and HSA (plus starting 529s for our two young daughters). Maxing these out will be our main financial goal for 2018. Hoping we can do better, though; we still spend quite a bit on 'wants' so getting this down will be another goal of ours.
TheNightsToCome
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by TheNightsToCome »

Save > 50% of gross income and > 80% of after-tax plus tax-deferred income.
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TheTimeLord
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by TheTimeLord »

Increase the value of my portfolio by 14.635% (seriously, this is my goal)
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triceratop
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by triceratop »

TravelforFun wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 2:28 pm
randomizer wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 1:12 pm
DaftInvestor wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 11:53 am
randomizer wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 9:30 am ...
Pay huge tax bill.
...
Paying a huge tax bill is a strange goal to have. :happy
One of my goals is to do whatever I can to minimize my huge tax bill (should have listed that above) :)
I expect the bill to be huge despite my efforts to minimize it.
No income tax if there is no income so congratulations to randomizer for having a huge tax bill. Seriously.

TravelforFun
I'll get back to you about that.

Anyway startup employees know that this isn't true because the taxes on their options must be paid despite them not being able to realize income.
"To play the stock market is to play musical chairs under the chord progression of a bid-ask spread."
sschullo
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by sschullo »

2comma wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 12:15 am Retired, conservative investor, no debt. As long as we beat inflation we're good, that's the goal.
Mine too exactly. Here is my absolutely BORING portfolio AA as a 70-year-old retired k12 LAUSD teacher:
Image

Did I mention the 7.5% return on this portfolio YTD!
Never in the history of market day-traders’ has the obsession with so much massive, sophisticated, & powerful statistical machinery used by the brightest people on earth with such useless results.
FootballFan5548
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by FootballFan5548 »

I'm excited for 2018. I just found this site and started following some of these principals in about May of 2017.. so for the past 6+ months I've been shifting things around to increase simplicity and focus. Now, for the first time, I can start a year off in January with a goal and a plan... to really keep things simple. I've got $895k invested, I'm maxing out 401k and performing 2 Roth IRA conversions (me/wife), and I'm looking forward to hitting the $1M number and having a full year of info to go off of instead of constantly feeling like it's a half year view of things.

I'll plan to save/invest $75k this year between 401k/IRA/529's/Taxable (VTSAX) and keep my 80/20 AA.
jh-1391
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by jh-1391 »

1. Max Roth IRA

2. Weather the sale of old home/purchase of new home with keeping 3 months of income in savings (I know, I know, EF is off limits, but I know myself so I'm being realistic).

3. Increase taxable savings to $400-$500 per month.

4. Increase 401k to 11% of income.

5. Finally get my vacation and periodic expense accounts to maintenance and replenish levels rather than constantly filling levels.

6. Restructure accounts so each is a piece of the overall pie, rather than a bunch of little pies (currently in progress!).

Stretch goal - pay off car

Super stretch goal - rebuild EF to 6 months of income after home purchase.
Tal-
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by Tal- »

I actually do a 4-5 page document outlining our annual goals for the year, and track performance against those goals throughout the year. Anyhow, we are 30-somethings; here are our goals:

Overall:
1: Save $100K with priority to maxing all tax advantaged accounts and at least $28K in Roths.
2: Increase taxable account by $50K (includes new dollars and growth)
3: Increase net worth by $300K.

Real Estate:
4: Increase actual income from real estate by $6K (no additional purchases planned) and our "ideal month" income by $400. (Ideal Month is a self-made metric that is, exactly what it sounds like).
5: Maintain equity in real estate of between 40% and 50%.

Personal
5: Twelve date nights, four date days, and one vacation without the kids (our favorite goals of the year!)
Debt is to personal finance as a knife is to cooking.
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TierArtz
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by TierArtz »

Track the AA of the Vanguard Targeted Retirement 2025 Fund (not including kids' 529 funds) and enjoy the simplification and consolidation achieved a year ago (sold all active funds).
- Max Roth IRAs
- Max 401K
- Keep feeding 529s
- participate for the first time in a NQDCP @ 12% of base salary.
- add to taxable accounts if we spend less on toys and home repairs than usual.
Chadnudj
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by Chadnudj »

1. Max my 401k (have done this in recent years)
2. Max my wife's 401k (got close this year, will finally do it next year).
3. Max both of my kids' 529 accounts (going to do this in 2017, will do it again next year).
4. Split all extra money (bonuses, tax refunds, credit card rewards, anything else that's left over each month) between taxable accounts/new house down payment account/paying down low interest debt (all below 4.5%).
5. Maybe explore selling rental property (on the one hand, I have good tenants; on the other, I don't enjoy being a landlord and there's a lot of other good things I could do with the equity I have in that house if I sold it).
6. I'll also have a net worth growth target, but I want to see where I finish in 2017 before I set the goal for 2018. Of course, that's not necessarily nearly as important, since the market returns are out of my control (if the market tanks, I probably won't hit my net worth growth goal, but I'll be buying shares at a discount so it might make hitting goals easier going forward...)
lolbatross
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by lolbatross »

1.) Max his 401k
2.) Fund her 401k to match
3.) Max HSA
4.) Cash flow the 40k basement project
5.) Rebuild Cash buffer to target level
6.) Add to taxable as needed to achieve 20% gross savings (Not counting any equity from basement finish)
7.) hodl

For the past 4 years we have been funding 529s. We are at a level we are happy to be done with 529s, but not necessarily with college savings. However, 2018 is a year where we will take on a big home project which will be largely offset by a higher than normal bonus. The ~20% savings rate will be one of our lowest ever, but our cumulative gross savings rate will still be 30% for the last 6 years. I held the wife off on the basement for 2 years - that alone allowed us to gain 40% on the money that would have otherwise been consumed.
Last edited by lolbatross on Tue Dec 12, 2017 8:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
Dottie57
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Re: 2018 financial goals - what are yours?

Post by Dottie57 »

notmyhand wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2017 5:14 pm
hightower wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2017 5:01 pm Make a lot of money.
Either pay off my student loans (100k at 2.6%) or put the money in my taxable brokerage account.
If the stock market crashes, I will definitely start pouring money into buying shares and hold off on paying down debt.
We will also max both 401ks, Both backdoor Roths, and the HSA.
We're also trying for a kid, starting IUI this week actually
How exciting! Best of luck to both of us - hopefully this year brings both of us a child.

Well I don't literally go crazy. But I am worried about potential changes to Ss and medicare. It would have been so much better if changes had more leadtime.
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