Financial Resolutions
Posted on December 31st, 2008 – 7:00 AMBy Kara McGuire
Happy New Year! I’m not much for New Year’s Resolutions. But I do try to take stock of what worked and what didn’t regarding my finances around this time of year.
And based on that assessment, here are three things I’m going to do:
#1: Track the amount of money I save using coupons and rewards programs to see whether it’s worth the time to clip and snip and go to more than one store for deals. In particular, I’m curious about how much I’m spending at CVS to receive ExtraBucks that can be spent in the store like cash. Along those lines, I wonder how many free tubes of toothpaste one linen closet can hold?
#2: Start using that gym membership or cancel it. I joined a new gym near my house for $42 per month a few weeks before I found out I was expecting a baby. I have the best intentions to use it and did so two or three times a week until November, when I fell so far off the wagon that I can probably count the number of times I’ve been in there on both hands since then.
If I use it a dozen times per month it would only cost $22, but I’ve yet to make that commitment. And no, I’m not going to go there just to shower so I can get my credit (although with my love of hot water showers, it would save some $$$).
Maybe I’m fooling myself, but I’m going to try to drag myself to the gym more in January.
#3: Save even more for emergencies. Right now my family has three months of bare minimum living expenses. But I’d like to get that amount to six.
I’d also like to have some cash at the ready so that we can trade up to a bigger house if living in our current home starts driving us nuts with three kids. I also wish I’d had some more money to invest in stocks during this downturn. So I should start saving more cash now so I have no regrets if an opportunity presents itself in the future.
Share your financial to-dos too. Maybe yours are so good I’ll add them to my personal list.
One response to "Financial Resolutions"
Sorry I don’t keep up regularly here… but this blog got me thinking about your entry from LY. Here were my goals for LY:
1. When I get my taxes and get an idea of what my bonus will be,
consider paying off my car a year early.
2009 update…Didn’t happen. Found out we were expecting in January and decided to save the $$$’s to afford the 3 months of maternity. Worth every penny. Will pay it off this spring.
2. Set-up my wife with an IRA plan (Roth), we haven’t had the second
income be consistent for the past two years due to some medical
emergencies and job changes.
2009…Didn’t happen but probably a good thing, from a losing your rear standpoint…..
3. Max out my ESPP stock purchase plan, I’m at 10% now and want to get
to 20%, next chance to do that is April.
2009 update… Didn’t make it happen for April but did in October. Lost my rear on the April-Sept ESPP… due to timing
4. Take a vacation where we have to fly somewhere without having to use
credit.
2009 update… we did a baby moon on the North Shore. It was great! But we just booked a flight to AZ for March… since I work for BBY, hoping I still have a gig come that time.
5. We’re only about a 1/3 of the way through our house projects… knock
a couple of those off and maybe plan for the kitchen next year.
2009 update… did all the affordable updates. Nothing spendy (Kitchen/Batroom)… good thing because our house value has likely fallen below what we owe… ugh…
6. Start an investment club with friends, mostly novices…
2009 update… no GO.
Wow, I could probably list 10 other things I would really like to get
done next year, but I better stop here.
2009 update… good thing I didn’t go much farther or I’d be much more depressed right now!
Here’s to hoping 2009 is more financially rewarding. But I know I’m without a bonus…. so there goes 12% of my pay so that’ll be difficult to make up for… 
