Hopefully we can get this to sticky at the top for easy finding for the year!
Welcome to the 2019 debt reduction thread. Make your goals ( and tweak as needed throughout the year).
My goals are as follows:
1. Fully fund 2 IRA accounts.
2. add extra to our mortgage payments. last year the goal ( a lofty one) was to try and have this paid off in 5 years. Still trying to reach this goal, but won't be surprised if it does take longer than the original 5 year goal. DH is on board with this. 3. Add to our savings account to get that balance up to where I feel more comfortable.
4. continue to keep the CC's paid off each month. We use the CC instead of our debit card for most purchases, simply because of the amount of fraud out there and the number of times that stores have had data breeches, just for safety sake. and the cash back bonus is always nice too.
5. thinking of others to add here. We will see where we are throughout the year.
Feel free to join. post away and build others up and cheer each other on in our goal.
I didn't even come close to hitting my 2018 goals. I'm only going to have 3 goals in 2019.
1. Pay off my student loans ($35,000) - This one will be tough. After I complete goals #2 & #3, I'm going to throw everything I've got at this.
2. Buy a new-to-me car with cash ($5,000-$10,000) - Want to get a part-time job so I need my own car. Hopefully under $10k - it has to be reliable. I'd like to pay for it with cash but if I can get low monthly payments, I will get a loan and then try to pay it off ASAP.
3. Put $1,000 into an emergency fund - I need an emergency fund before I can do anything else.
I didn't do so well in 2018 but 2019 looks like it will be a lot better.
1. Pay off Ohio House - Hoping for September.
2. Increase 401k in April (the same amount as my raise, if I get one) and another 1% after I pay off the house.
3. Save $1,000 to plant fruit trees (December 2019) and other permanent garden plants/bushes (throughout the year) to lower food bill down the road.
well probably just status quo here. everything is going up gas/electric now every year 5 to 8 percent, property taxes 3% and the list goes on and wages go up 1% we do play extra on mortgage and have retirement funds going.
home repairs, selling some things, declutter the garage. focus on our family. will see what the year brings.
Ally-
I think you can find a reliable car for $5000. A honda civic is always good or a older lexus. I have a 2004 lexus rx and honestly, I wouldn't give it up. Blue book says it's $5000 or so.
My goals this new year:
1) Save some $ to pay both kid's student loans/college. It will be a trick to do, as you will see by my next few goals..This may be put on hold for a while.
2)Keep working at trying to pay extra on the mortgage.
3) Keep trying to keep spending low. Whether it be for food or whatever. 2018 saw me spending way too much on food!
4) I'd like to have a Vanguard ETF or index fund account. But at $3,000 to start, I just don't know. It has a very good interest rate and great ratings, though. It would be a passive income idea and I would like more passive income ideas. Working more than I do is not an option.
5) Keep saving $ for any medical issues. I want to make sure I have enough to pay the total out-of-pocket-expense in case I land in a hospital. Basically, this expense is 23% of my net income!! I do need eye and throat surgery, so I have to make sure I can pay these expenses as DH pays most of the household bills and cannot afford an expense like this.
2018 was so-so. Our savings rate ended quite low, since we bought a second car. But at least we were able to buy it for cash, and ended the year a little closer to our goals than we started. Current status: 4 goals done, started on the 5th:
DH and I are still discussing 2019, so there might be some changes. Our house is on a municipal land lease, and we can buy it for 9500. It is a 50 year lease with $50 annual rent, so financially it doesn't make obvious sense. But there are a lot of people who don't like leases, so it might make the house easier to sell later on. And the purchase price will go up in 2020. There are also some other legal stuff that need to be fixed in the house (getting a couple of extra rooms in the basement and changes to the fasade approved by the city). The changes were already there when we bought the house, but the sellers hadn't done the proper paperwork. The fees to get it fixed will be $500-1000. Annoying, especially since the city has decided to treat this in the strictest bureaucratical way.
I would like to focus on getting rid of loans, but DH wants to increase the savings. We have agreed on a compromise, where we increase the investments to $600/month until the land lease is paid and the last student loan is gone. After that, we revisit the discussion.
Slush fund: $2 500 (done)
Student loan #1: $9 000 (done)
House renovation: $35 000 (done)
Full size EF: $ 12 500 (done)
Property lease and paperwork: ($ 10 000 left)
Student loan #2: $7 200 ($19 800 left)
Index fund and stocks: $4 200 ($7 200 left in 2019)
Mortgage main part: 0 ($115 000 left)
Mortgage rest: 0 ($50 000 left)
Total paid/saved: $70 400
Total goal 2019: $50 000
Total goal: $272 400
To do: $205 000
Welcome everyone! Its a great start to the new year. I plan on getting my first deposits into the IRA's next week. I am sending my DS#3 off for his final semester of University this Saturday. Got our Mazda back finally from the repairs and the money to pay it ( huge bill) thankfully is set aside for that. will get that paid off in the next 3 or 4 weeks. and then hopefully we are rolling fully for the year. Good luck all, and post away.
Due to a fluke not in my control, I still needed to add $200 to an IRA from last year for tax purposes. so that was the first thing accomplished for this year and that is now done. Then, got $600 more into the IRA's for this year. It is a start and I pay on them like they are a debt and get it done as quick as I can. Looking forward to getting more into those accounts. More has also been added to the savings account as well. Hoping to get that much closer to a more comfortable amount for me. Until the next update!
I contacted Russ this morning and he stickied it. Thank you again Russ
1. I have several "goals" with the biggest being a new to us vehicle. We want it to be a good one and not a beater as we're set to close the business this year... maybe real soon. I've said that before but his health isn't getting any better. No idea when though. Maybe real soon... maybe later on in the year. Anyhoo... want one that hopefully will last a long long time and not have major mechanical issues. DON'T want one with bells and whistles like push to start.
2. Want to do this without breaking all savings. Those are the main goals.
3. Want to do something as a head start for Christmas. Our bank does Visa/MC's and no activation fee. Thinking of doing one a month... or more like whenever I can swing it .... in $25 dedominations. Between that and doing Swagbucks I can cover Christmas I think. Guess this could be considered a sinking fund but whatever. Same thing.
That's the ones I can think of for now. I might think of something else down the line and will add if I do.
1. I have several "goals" with the biggest being a new to us vehicle. We want it to be a good one and not a beater as we're set to close the business this year... maybe real soon. I've said that before but his health isn't getting any better. No idea when though. Maybe real soon... maybe later on in the year. Anyhoo... want one that hopefully will last a long long time and not have major mechanical issues. DON'T want one with bells and whistles like push to start.
2. Want to do this without breaking all savings. Those are the main goals.
3. Want to do something as a head start for Christmas. Our bank does Visa/MC's and no activation fee. Thinking of doing one a month... or more like whenever I can swing it .... in $25 dedominations. Between that and doing Swagbucks I can cover Christmas I think. Guess this could be considered a sinking fund but whatever. Same thing.
That's the ones I can think of for now. I might think of something else down the line and will add if I do.
4. Adding the hot water heater to this. I mentioned on another thread this one is leaking and sure don't need it ruining the floor. I've acquired a crap ton of my points and swagbucks and close to being able to cash in and cover it but not yet. Hopefully this one can be crossed off before long. Right now have a thick towel under the spiget.
5. Another appliance or appliances. Washer and dryer. Can still use them but.... Hoping for them to hold out till I can acquire more points to cover at least a couple hundred on them. I think they will.
NikoSan- Speaking of cars....I think we are due for one really soon as well. DH's 2005 car leaks a lot and has duct tape holding various things together. It's trade-in value is $400. If it's driven further than 5 miles, DH has to turn the engine off to "reset" the dashboard as he said that it gets stuck in a higher gear or something. He shuts it off at a stoplight....Uh-huh. I figured it will cost $2000-$3000 to repair. Not worth it. Even our mechanic won't touch it!
Some financial goals here:
1) Find a reasonable used car for DH. He will need one this year for sure. Not sure how it will get purchased, however. (Spend $3-6000)
2) Keep contributing extra to both mortgages. Pay off the smaller mortgage in 5 years. (Contribute extra $1-200/mth)
3) Help pay the kids' college loan/expenses. ($4000)
4) Keep accumulating credit card/online rewards for gift cards and travel. ($1000)
5) Save money to put into my personal healthcare expenses fund ($2500)
6) Consider/Start a estate planning fund
2018 started off good. Then “stuff” happened. I’m still on track to have my car paid off and a no interest cc in June. Any tax return will be used to re-fund the E fund and then pay off as much of the “stuff” as possible. Hope to be back on track by June.
I did pick up a new piano student so a bit more money coming in. ( yay) I was able to add more to the IRA's and and working on getting a CC paid off before the interest hits. I haven't paid interest on this card in probably 20 years. I am not going to start now. It just cuts down the amount I can add to the IRA's at the moment. Still adding extra to the house too. ( down to 6 yrs 10 months left.) Hope to shave that by a few more months.
I found out that the amount we can add to the IRA's has risen so I am upping the amount I will add to those accounts. We will have our car repairs paid off in about a week. ( yay, it was a huge amount but we had the money saved for it. It is on a CC that I get cash back on) I also picked up another sewing job. hemming 2 pairs of men's pants. sewing jobs like this come in to me all the time. I usually put in savings accounts. so another boost to the accounts is coming in. ( unless they pay in cash, then it gets added to the money saved at home for emergencies where we can't get to the bank, or ATM's are down etc)
KnotMe- Glad you're able to put some $ in the IRA and keep on hand. Glad you're getting jobs too. When DS2 had to choose a skill and sewed a costume for high school as a final project, it had to be approved buy the teacher. She said sewing was a "dying breed." Not on this site, but there are tons of people who cannot sew or hand stitch. I'm sure you will pick up more work. My friend does that for wedding gowns and she is crazy busy.
I'm pretty sure we'll get a tax refund this year and a used car will cost $3000-$6000. The refund should cover most of that.
If DS2 goes to the community college and state college, he can get his degree in 3 years and only need a semester of cash as a final payment. I hope to cover it when he needs it.
I get swamped with sewing orders. I just finished a Colonial men's vest and did the wife's Colonial dress in matching fabric. turned out nice. It will slow down a bit and then pick up. so sad that they don't teach this skill any more. Thanks!
I actually wasn't planning on doing my banking/errands etc today. I was planning on later in the week, but there is icky weather on the way and DH told me he was taking my vehicle to work as it has AWD whereas the pickup does not and he doesn't want to be out stuck in icky weather with the truck. therefore, that meant banking today, so I was able to add more to our IRA's today. ( nickel and diming it I call it. adding small amounts to the account and before you know it. Boom you've reached your goal) So we are now at 10% added to the accounts so far for the year.
Not a bad month. We had a lot of bills, but thanks to several refunds we still made a good start on the 2019 goals. One refund was a prepaid ferry card that we don't use anymore, the other was from the car shop who decided one of the repairs last year should be consider warranty. Also, my union negotiated a .5% lower interest on our mortgage (down to 1.99 %). The extra savings of $50/month is appriciated. The extra savings of $1.5 from a slightly increased interest on the checking account has less economic value, but is quite fun since it gets deposited monthly.
We have received the bill for the land lease, and have filled out all the paperwork and forms. So if everything goes smoothly, we might check off that goal on the list before Easter. Fingers crossed! Even if we calculate a few delays, it should be possible to get if fixed before the summer holidays.
Slush fund: $2 500 (done)
Student loan #1: $9 000 (done)
House renovation: $35 000 (done)
Full size EF: $ 12 500 (done)
Property lease and paperwork: $2 250 ($ 7 750 left)
Student loan #2: $7 400 ($19 600 left)
Index fund and stocks: $4 800 ($6 600 left in 2019)
Mortgage main part: 0 ($115 000 left)
Mortgage rest: 0 ($50 000 left)
Total paid/saved: $73 450
Total goal 2019: $3050 done ($46 950 to go)
Total goal: $272 400
To do: $198 950
I was able to finish the hem job on the 2 prs of pants and got paid cash for that. I have picked up another hem job. I keep thinking that nickle and diming is the best way for me as the little bits add up to the big amounts. We were able to stash about 10% into the IRA's last month. New month and new amounts heading into those accounts. ( also down to 6 yrs 10 months on our mortgage and hope to shave it down a lot more this year) and it is snowing again today. the vehicle I usually drive has the AWD on it so the DH has been taking it all week for his commute. This leaves me stranded at home as I really do not care driving the pickup. So since I can't go out, I sure don't spend money at all the stores I have frequented this week. ( haha) Next payday will be more amounts added to our IRA's.
Niko, if you need an appliance, you might want to buy now, before the tariffs kick in. Expect a 25% increase in prices then. I think that may start March 1 but can't recall for sure.
today is my oldest DGD's birthday so Happy Birthday Miss T. I was surfing the web ( boy that can be dangerous) and founda CD offer that was way better than what I currently have any of mine in. Opening a new CD was one of my goals this year. so I was thinking and planning on how or when, and I checked again. Rats......... at a bank not in my area and I won't do one online if I can help it. So still saving up for a new CD when the rates get better in my area. Tomorrow I plan on hitting the errands to add more to our IRA's for this year. I am watching the weather and next week it is not looking all that great so I guess earlier is better. Got my CC paid off that had our vehicle repair on it. Money had been set aside for it so no interest. And I got my big wedding dress alteration done in plenty of time for the wedding. Update for now. hopefully you are having good experiences with your financial goals.
Was able to make it out Friday for my errands and did get money into our IRA's. Nickels and dimes here I come. Well, actually more that just change but still small amounts at a time. Yes, the bad weather did come in and DH is taking my vehicle as it has AWD, and can handle the snow and ice better than his truck. I will be without my vehicle for at least 2 days this week. Means I don't go out to the stores. So no money spent. I guess that is a win.
I am working so hard to get my car paid off! After tax refund and another unexpected lump of cash, I’ve been able to pay $3000 towards it this month! It feels really good. It is down to $5100 today. I’m so excited to get under $5k. It started out at $27k.
Welcome KPalmer. We are glad to have you with us. I have managed to get some more put into our IRA accounts. We are up to 25% or just a bit more than that. Slow and steady, nickle and dime, large chunks at a time it will get filled.
Did some updating to my debt spread sheet. So excited to see my car at $1000. It will be paid off in 4 months and best buy will also be paid in 4 months. Then we'll roll all that toward the next one. After those two are paid, we hope to have 5- 6 more bills paid off by the end of the year.
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