Please welcome back Cat, our regular Wednesday contributor. She has been out the past couple weeks taking some (much-deserved) time off.
I’m going to warn you right now – my money goals for 2014 are kind of boring…
It’s not that I don’t want to do amazing things with my finances this year. It’s just that much of my 2013 was spent financially planning for everything that’s going to go down in 2014.
Basically, with moving across the country, becoming a full time freelancer, and giving birth to twins in April, my big goal for 2014 is basically to stay on track and not go into debt again.
Of course, in comparison to last year, the goals below are downright simple. Last year, I vowed to track my finances, save tons of money, pay off massive chunks of my student loans, etc. etc. etc. Luckily, I was able to accomplish most of them, but I’m not nearly as ambitious this year.
Here are my top three priorities:
1. Spend Less Than I Earn
The last few months, I got used to a really nice cash cushion. I had a full time job as a university instructor, and my blogging and writing business grew exponentially from June to December. It was super nice to have double paychecks, but now that I don’t have two jobs anymore, things are much different. Because my freelance income is variable and we have twins on the way, I’m going to be extra careful and frugal, ensuring I always spend less than I earn. My husband has already been a great help with this, and even though we are only 7 days into the new year, we’ve been tracking our finances really well as a team.
2. Keep Paying $200 a Month on Student Loans
In 2013, I was paying anywhere from $800-$1,200 on my student loans every month, and the balance was really dropping quickly. Now I’m paying $200 a month, and my parents are paying the interest to help me out. I won’t be able to make huge strides with student loans, and that’s never fun. Basically, you won’t see any posts about big, massive payoffs from me even though I’d love to. However, the important thing is that I’ll be moving forwards not backwards and at least making a small dent in them along the way. Some day, hopefully not too far away, they will be gone. Until then, I need to keep my cash flow a priority.
3. Max Out My IRA
Again, I’d love to save more than $5,500 towards my retirement this year, but it’s going to be a toss up depending on where we live. We have to move for my husband’s med school, and we’ve requested to move to Michigan but we could just as easily end up in the New York City area (my husband’s med school decides where everyone goes based on a variety of factors.) If we live in Michigan, I know that we could meet many of our money goals every month. If we live in the NYC area, we’re going to be pinching pennies like it’s our job.
So, again, I have nothing fabulous planned for 2014 in terms of money and no big proclamations. I just want to stay on track, keep moving along, have these babies without any issues, and then be a bit more aggressive with my finances in 2015 once I know how things went in 2014.
What are your money goals for 2014?
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Me and my husband have a goal to save every month because we are planning to buy a new car hopefully next year. We need to control our expenses and save more.
Clarisse @ Make Money Your WayThat’s a fun goal!! I love looking at cars for the future.
Hey Catherine,
Max out al retirement accounts and grow our net worth by a certain %. Hopefully have a child in 2014, that is priceless.
Charles@gettingarichlifeOoh good luck with everything! I agree – priceless!
We are hoping to make some big strides in student loan payoff. Good luck in 2014!
BudgetforMoreWoo hoo! Gotta love that. Keep us updated. :)
Our money goals are just more of the same – I want to max out my SEP IRA and Roth IRA. We are also setting aside enough money for three awesome vacations!
Holly at ClubThriftyOoh the vacations sound so fun!! You’re going to Jamaica right?
I think you’re taking the right approach with so much change happening in your life. Right now it’s really smart to just make sure you can handle everything without getting yourself into trouble or biting off more than you can chew. Lots of exciting stuff going on though! I’m really happy for you guys.
Matt @ Mom and Dad MoneyThanks Matt I appreciate that! It’s hard to feel like we’re just treading water, but we’re so much better off than we were even two years ago so I think it will be okay!
Michigan compared to NY will be quite a HUGE difference. If you need any advice on neighborhoods or just living there in general let me know. But it’s dirt cheap there!!! My money goals are pretty boring too. Saving more for retirement is a top priority, but I also do plan on traveling a couple places so I guess that’s fun. :)
BeachbudgetI knowwww I reallllllly want Michigan. They have 16 spots there. and so far we’ve heard of about 25 people who listed it first so it’s just a waiting game. We find out in April. First priority goes to people who are from Michigan and the surrounding areas and second priority goes to special circumstances so I wrote a paragraph about the twins and all the reasons why they should pick us for that location haha.
Like Matt said, I think you’re right where you need to be with all the upcoming changes you have coming up. :) Our big goal is really more of the same – we want to max out both of our SEPs for 2014 on top of maxing out our Roth’s. It’s going to take some work, but that’s what we’re shooting for.
FrugalRulesThanks John! :D I think your goals are pretty awesome. Maxing out Roths and SEPs would be amazing. :)
Those sound like solid and reasonable goals. Here’s hoping for Michegan, as that will make a HUGE difference to your bottom line! Also – good luck with the twins this year :-)
UgifterThanks Anne! Yes I’m really trying not to get my hopes up and just to expect to be in the NYC area. Hopefully I get surprised, haha.
I think your plans for a low-key 2014 to focus on the little ones is wise. Having to slow down student loan payments isn’t fun, but it’s for a good reason. I hope you are able to relocate to Michigan so that your finances won’t be too stressed!
JourneytoSavingThanks us too! Trying not to get my hopes up. So many people requested Michigan for the same reasons so it’s just a waiting game.
Nothing wrong with keeping it simple. Good Luck with everything. My goal is to reduce my expenses to pay off the last bit of cc debt then start refunding the emergency fund.
Raquel@Practical CentsThanks Raquel. Those sound like awesome goals.
Simple is usually good, Cat! I only have 5 goals total and most of them aren’t even financial. Better to wait for your pitch, so to speak, then to swing at every ball (and miss on most).
DonebyFortyI read your post with your 5 goals and I really liked it!!
I think you’re smart not to set the bar too high with two babies on the way. Maintain is a great word during the first year. Hopefully you’ll get Michigan, but either way, it should be a fun journey. I am hoping to max out my retirement and HSA account, plus give more to charity this year.
EyesonthedollarThanks! I like that word – “maintain” I need to put it on a sticky note. :D
Wow, that is awesome that you were able to pay so much towards your student loans in 2013. Must have really dug into the principal. All the best in 2014
Thanks Kyle! It was definitely fun to see the numbers drop!
You probably know my goals, or goal. I am saving to get to that magic 20% mark for the down payment on our next house. It is going to be big!
DebtRoundUpThat’s going to be so awesome!
I am sure you are bummed about not making dramatic changes in your student loan balances; however, I think it is definitely smart to save that money elsewhere especially with twins on the way. My money goals for 2014 are to grow my business income from last year and get my family to a 20% savings target by the end of the year.
blonde_financeThose sound like awesome goals!!
I think keeping up with the spend less than we earn is always going to be our goal although there were a couple of months that didn’t happen in 2013, mainly December. Best of luck this year.
CanadianBudgetBThanks so much! Hope we can both rock it out!
Sometimes it’s the ordinary that brings me the most happiness. No drama, just making my payments and being in control.
brokeandbeauExactly! There’s peace in that!
One of my goals is to spend less than I earn for my regular full time job income, and then save the rest. Good luck on your goals!
Suburban FinanceLove that goal and thanks!
Nice goals Cat! I also want to spend less and save more money, so that I can invest more money this May.
moneysavingdudeThat sounds like an awesome plan!
With the IRA remember that if you are now in a low tax bracket you may want to consider a Roth IRA as it will grow tax free and you will not have to pay taxes on it when you take it out later.
stevenjfrommThanks Steven! It is a Roth IRA. :)
BudgetBlondestevenjfrommVery good. Then you are in good shape. Hope your readers understand the differences between a regular and Roth IRA.
stevenjfromm BudgetBlonde I actually have been working on a post about that very topic!
DC @ Young Adult MoneystevenjfrommBudgetBlondeI’m sure David with his accounting background will not lead them astray. :)
BudgetBlonde DC @ Young Adult Money stevenjfromm Oh boy, lots of pressure!
Go Catherine Go! My big financial goal this year is to put my entire salary on my student loans and live off of my side hustle money! Here’s to hoping! :)
LaTejana @ Debt Free TejanaThanks. Living off side hustle income is amazing!
Sound like good goals to me! Is there a particular reason why you are choosing to max out your IRA but reduce your debt payments as oppose to putting less towards retirement and more towards debt? Just curious!
Erin My Alternate LifeGreat question! I think it’s always a struggle to decide whether to pay down debt or to save for retirement. For me, I just decided to do a little of both. I read an article last year about how awesome it was to start saving for retirement at age 25 and how you can’t get the time back so it really impacted me to get started. I feel like saving $5,500 in an IRA is super low compared to what others my age are doing with their company matched 401ks etc. Still, the percentage rate for the retirement account beats the student loan interest rate for now. Things might change in the future once my family income goes up but for now I just wanted to at least get started!