2015 Goals: An Uphill Journey

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a fun and safe time. I just hung out with family at a church potluck/party then went out for a few drinks with Ray and some friends after he got off work. Overall it was a fun but subtle way to bring in the new year and I’m so excited for 2015.

But that means it’s time to announce my goals I’ve procrastinated on for the last month. This year is the first year in a while that I’ve actually planned out goals and shared them with others. Don’t get me wrong, I always make goals that I’d like to accomplish for the new year but I never really check up on them or create a process to assess my progress. I just know what I have to do each year and do it, if that makes sense.

I think the issue most people have with achieving their goals each year is creating a realistic process and plan to follow in order to achieve each goal. This is something I tried to do this year.

This year I’m being more accountable and I actually think it’s going to be fun to publish my goals in writing, check up on my progress, and reflect on how far I’ve come. I’m participating in the Moneystepper’s 2015 Savings Challenge for added accountability and support for my financial goals this year and I couldn’t be more excited!

Goals for My Finances

Open a Roth IRA and contribute monthly
This is something I’ve been putting off for too long and I need to just do it already. Saving for retirement earlier rather than later is very important to me because starting early will give my money time to grow and accrue interest. Having a nice sized retirement fund also provides financial security and gives you more options to stop working early if you wish. Since I’ve already learned a great deal about Roth IRAs and how to set one up, it should be fairly easy to do but I will need to add retirement contributions to my monthly budget. I have no intentions of maxing out my Roth IRA this year, but my goal is to just get started already and make steady monthly contributions.

Make at least $300/month in side income and establish new side hustles
This goal will be a little tough since I work fulltime and I’m not interested in getting a second traditional job (traditional meaning physically going to work and clocking in somewhere). Primarily, I would like to get more into freelance writing and maybe monetize my blog someday, but I am not opposed to trying out different types of side hustles to earn income outside of my day job. In the past I’ve freelanced and been an independent contractor and product demonstrator. In order to achieve this goal I’ll need to research different types of side gigs to determine what I’d like to do and set aside some time on weekends and evenings to pursue these endeavors. I’m also planning to start getting up at 5a.m. instead of the usual 6 a.m. on workdays to write and work on improving this blog.

Get emergency fund to a steady $3,000 and pay off $8,000 in debt
Establishing my emergency fund while paying off my debt is extremely important to me and the two go hand in hand in my world. Since I started aggressively paying off my debt last year, I want to keep that momentum going this year and really knock my car note down. I might not be able to pay it off in full this year, but by paying more than the minimum balance and dedicating extra income from bonuses and side gigs to my debt payments each month, I’m confident that I can knock at least $8,000 off my grand total this year. I’m already about 1/3 of the way there with my emergency fund. To reach my goal, all I will need to do is keep contributing monthly and paying myself first no matter what.

Related: How to Achieve Goals You Set This Year

Goals for My Life

Declutter My Home
This is also way overdue. I’d really like to go through each room in my house and just declutter all the crap that’s accumulated over time. I’m not a pack rat at all, but when I feel myself heading toward that way I get really OCD about cleaning up and getting rid of old stuff. I’d like to set up a decluttering challenge for myself, hopefully by March, to go through all the excess stuff around my house and either trash it, sell it, or donate it.

Be More Appreciate of Life’s Blessings and Enjoy Each Day
Sounds cheesy I know. But I’m sure we all need to do it. I always get so caught up in the high and lows of life that I forget to just enjoy being alive and cherish the people in my life and the experiences I share with them. I want to work on being more content with my life no matter what’s going on and be grateful for what each day brings. No more Mondays where I’m longing for Friday to arrive. Life is short and I’m going to try my best to cherish each day.

Goals to Achieve With My Son

Keep teaching him about money and life
I truly enjoy being a mom and watching my son grow and learn each day. This year I’d like to teach him more about money, something I never learned about or discussed with my parents as a kid. I want to teach him about how money is earned and why he can’t get everything he sees in the store. Also saving is another topic we might get into. After his 5th birthday this month, I’m going to assign him small chores like picking up his toys and making his bed in the morning for a small weekly allowance that he can either save or spend.

Well there you have it. With 6 life goals and a savings and net worth challenge I’m going to be one busy, goal orientated woman this year. I refer to this year as an uphill journey not to be negative, but because I have so much work to do in order to get my finances in order. Some of my financial goals are going to be difficult no doubt, but I’ve got a solid plan and plenty of determination so I’m sure I will be pleasantly surprised with my results at the end of the year.

What is your most challenging goal for this year?