The New Year is finally upon us, and it’s time to start making resolutions. Since I first wrote for TF, I’ve spent a lot more time making plans and setting goals for myself. That made it easy to come up with the following resolutions for 2013:
Save at least $1500 in an emergency fund
Achieving this goal will be a piece of cake. I’ve got a new savings account with ING Direct that has $200 in it already. All I need to do is keep up with my biweekly transfers of $50 for the whole year and I will reach my savings goal.
Pay off all non-student debt
I recently paid off my car, and consolidated all of my other debt onto one low-interest Visa card. My plan for achieving this goal is to put $475 per month towards paying off this debt. If I am able to stick to the plan I should be free of all debt (except my student loan) well before the end of 2013.
At the regular interest rate of 11.99% the card would take about 10 months to pay off, but I am currently on a promotional rate of 0.99% for six months. I plan to put my tax return directly onto the card, which will shorten amount of time it will take to pay off by at least a couple of months. My goal here is to have it completely paid by August. (Editor Joe’s Note: if your consumer debt repayments are going to extend beyond the six month low-interest period, then please get another low-interest card!!)
Slow down, and get organized
This is my personal goal for the year. I was doing really well with keeping up a regular swimming schedule to help fight stress, but illness and moving got in the way in December. The last quarter of 2012 was a really hectic, difficult time for me. Now that I’m getting my finances and home in order, I want to start exercising more and stressing out less. I think this will also positively impact my income, because being healthier and more organized will give me more energy and time to devote to new money-making endeavours.
I’m positive that I will have no problem meeting all of these goals by the end of 2013. I’ve purposely given myself challenges that won’t be overwhelming, so that I won’t be tempted to fall off the wagon by February, as so often happens with New Year’s resolutions. I expect that I’ll exceed my goals. If anyone has any tips or resolution ideas of their own, I would love to hear them!
Sounds like you know where you want to go with your finances this year. One of the hardest part for us as well is keeping organized so we have to make sure that everything has a place and that it is all clearly marked. Good Luck in 2013 mate! Mr.CBB
Thanks, you too
Thanks Mr. CBB! I have always been very disorganized, so that goal will be much harder to achieve than the others. I’m thinking obsessive scheduling will help a lot with that.
These are great plans, Sara! You may end up finding new ones along the way, as you achieve these ones (and it sounds like you will before the end of 2013). Definitely keep us posted on the progress!
Thanks Adina. I’m sure I won’t have any trouble accomplishing these goals (except, perhaps, organization, lol) but I think by setting the bar a bit low now I can proceed without any anxiety and get that sweet rush of success. Maybe I’ll do a mid-year resolution as well… just to keep myself motivated.