Happy New Year everyone! Today we are kicking off the New Year right with a $100 giveaway.
The theme of this giveaway is Finances in the New Year. As I mentioned in some of my posts the past few days one of the best things about the New Year is that you can give yourself a fresh start. It is largely a symbolic new beginning, but it is still a time that can be used to reflect on what you want to accomplish in the New Year.
As far as finances go for me personally, I am going to focus on making more money in the New Year and in turn buffer my savings so that I have more safeguards in place in case of unexpected expenses. Last year I had an unexpected surgery which cost me “only” $3,300 in medical bills.
I did not expect to have this major expense, but thankfully I had started to put money away in my HSA account, which helped me pay down the bills without too much effect on my finances. This was kind of an eye-opener for me, since medical issues could happen at any time and I should be ready to at least pay the out of pocket max each year. There are certainly other unexpected expenses that could arise: auto, home, etc. Because of this, I hope you will also make an effort to build up more savings this year, even if it means working more to get additional income coming.
Let me know in the comments what your financial goals are in the New Year. Do you want to make more? Save more? Track your spending closer? Work on developing new skills that will help you in your career?
What better way to start the New Year than to win some cash? To enter the giveaway use the rafflecopter widget below. The prize is $100 cash through Paypal or Amazon gift card (winner’s choice). Best of luck!
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MY financial goal for this year is to survive on just my income while my wife is off work. We won’t be setting any debt pay off records this year that’s for sure.
@MonsterPiggyBank That’s a great goal!
I have two goals. One, save money for a down payment on a new house. Two, figure out how the new baby will affect our finances and manipulate the change.
@DebtRoundUp Both very solid goals, best of luck!
Wow, only $3300 that’s a lot of cash! I’m not used to paying for medical care like you do in the USA. What else do you have to pay for? In 2013 I’m hoping to make more money and stash away cash into investments and build back up our emergency funds once we use our money to pay off the mortgage. It’s going to be an interesting year but we’ve learned plenty simply from our blogging mates. Happy New Year!! Mr.CBB
@CanadianBudgetB It’s different here haha. Honestly, you either pay for it through taxes or you pay for it in a more visible way, so I’m not too concerned about it. It’s a lot better than $22k that I would pay if I didn’t have insurance! I actually prefer how it’s set up right now in the US, and would prefer less government intervention (i.e. Medicare and Medicaid) and more voluntary savings and voluntary donations to nonprofits. Anyway, I could go on all day on this topic ;)
Happy New Year to you as well!
I have a root canal and crown that I had to pay for out of pocket, so I feel your pain. I doing both (saving and earning more)! well hopefully earning more! I do feel like January is a fresh start as well!
@Beachbudget Earning more is the best way to deal with expenses! My wife needs her wisdom teeth out and from my understanding it’s basically straight up out of pocket : /
@DC @ Young Adult Money @Beachbudget
Very little is covered by the insurance, but the HSA will be a big help with that too! I was grateful to just be able to whip out the HSA card when I had to get my three remaining wisdom teeth pulled in October.
My goal is to boost my emergency fund
HSA’s are great aren’t they? Being self-employed is saves us a ton of money in premiums and as our kids get older and less sick, we have much less out of pocket medical costs as well. Happy new year!
@KyleJames1 I love our HSA, even though last year we had to spend a lot of $ and were unable to save (even with max contributions), I think long-term it’s the best way to save for medical expenses.
Happy New Year to you as well!
I’m looking to restructure my long term savings and investments, and to get rid of surcharge- and low-interest accounts in favor for better rates and fewer charges
@shmarv Best of luck!
I think our biggest change will be creating sinking funds for the expenses that sneak up on you like taxes and maintenance. I went through and gathered all my expenses from last year and figured out what could be cut back on and what we did not plan for properly and now know how much to set aside from each paycheck.
@MomofTwoPreciousGirls That’s awesome! I need to create sinking funds as well…furnaces never last forever, yet most people do not set aside money for when the inevitable happens.
Our changes is to spend money carefully from now on so we could save more towards our child’s college.
@TianAyubi Best of luck with your goal! College is crazy expensive, but I can attest to the fact my parents helping out a bit each semester really brought down my overall student loans. I’m forever grateful for it and will do the same for my children.
Pinterest username: Mrs Ayubi http://pinterest.com/mrsayubi/
i’m going to spend less on groceries/eating out and put more toward paying debts
@Tiffany Winner Best of luck in paying down debt!
Best of luck on your focus to make more money this year. I think most of us are working on that. Happy New Year DC!
@TacklingOurDebt Happy New Year to you too!
I am all about making overpayments this year! :)
I amostly n track in my goalt be debt free by the end of 2014 currently projected for Aug 2014
We have a post coming out soon about our 2013 financial goals. Mostly, we are just looking to hit some targets in terms of savings, investing and debt repayment. After starting a new job and buying a condo last year, we’re hoping this year is a bit more of a slow and steady period.
Raising my net worth by 30% is my biggest goal, ideally I will be debt free but for mortgage by the end of the year.
Curb my impulse buying!
Entering as “Deanna G.”
I plan to use my credit card less
I just get 100$ amazon gift card from http://win-amazon-cards.tk/ there you will get a referal link,and you must refer more than 10 friends to get a free randomly 10$ 25$ 50$ 100$ gift card. i was lucky!my random gift card is 100$ :)) i’am so excited!!!