We were very happy with how we did on our 2011 financial goals. While it’s unlikely the economy is going to dramatically improve anytime soon, that’s no reason not to shoot for the stars:) Here are our 2012 financial goals.
1) Increase net worth to $ 173,200
We are beginning 2012 with a great head start on our net worth goal, having passed our 2011 goal by $26,721.70. Based on my calculations, we should be able to reach our 2012 goal by September 2012.
2) Furnish our new home
We are moving from a 2 bed / 2 bath condo to a 5 bed / 3 bath house. As you can imagine, we are a bit short on furniture. Our wish list of items totals $25,000. Thanks to the $14,995 sale of our recreational 4×4, we can afford a good chuck of that wish list, however, there is another $10,000 worth of furnishings that we would like to get. I’m not sure we’ll be able to buy it all the first year, but we’ll give it a try.
3) Rebuild savings account balance to $15,000
We plan to use most of our $107,722.13 in savings ($52,696.37 + $51,000 pulled from retirement accounts) in savings for our down payment and to furnish our new home. So, we have set a goal of rebuilding our savings account balance to $15,000 by the end of the year. This will include emergency fund money and private adoption money.
4) Contribute $24,000 to retirement accounts
After cutting our retirement account balance in half for our home down payment, we intend to work hard to rebuild our retirement savings. We have averaged ~$15,000/year in contributions over the past 5 years. For 2012, our goal will be to contribute $24,000 to our retirement accounts. $18,569 of the $24,000 will be automatically deposited into our 401(k) accounts. The remaining $5,431 will be deposited into our Roth IRAs as we have the extra cash.
5) Increase son’s 529 Plan to $6,000
We opened our baby boy’s 529 Plan with $3,000 in October 2011 and ended the year with $3,158.24 in the account. We hope to increase the balance, through contributions and market performance, to $6,000 by the end of 2012.
I thought you could pull only $10,000 from an IRA to fund your first home purchase. Are you planning on paying a 10% penalty or is there some other rule that I’m not aware of?
That is so true, 1mansmoney. Each one of us should have a financial goal this 2012. One thing I learned before I became a bestselling author and long before Inc Magazine voted my company as one of the fastest growing companies is setting my financial goals and saving money for the future. It’s good that you have shared your financial goals so that we can learn some tips from it.
Stephanie- You’re allowed to withdraw regular contributions from your Roth IRA (not traditional IRA) at any time without paying tax or penalty.
Daniel- Thank you for following.
I notice that you don’t invest any of your non-retirement funds in the stock market? Have you thought about doing that in the future? Love your blog, congrats on the new house.
Here are my goals for 2012:
Financial:
– Accumulate at least $40,000 for investments during 2012, beginning 2013.
– Create feasible plan 10 year and review the priorities.
– Diversify the nest egg.
– Think about additional source of income.
Blog:
– Regular monthly updates
– To cover 6 themes
I have no intentions to move towards an entertaining blog with 2-3 weekly posts. I will endeavor my best efforts to stay on personal subject of financial independence.
Educational:
– Create list of books to read & read them- 12 books in minimum.
– Publish reviews.
– Have solid understanding of mutual funds and energy sector stocks.
Family Budget:
– Stay under $75,000 with the family expenses
– Accumulate $7,000 towards durable goods replacement over 10 years.
Be happy.
Anonymous – Possibly, but we want to max out our retirement accounts first. Thanks for following!
niterainbow.com – Nice goals!
People can surely relate to the topic and the rest of the articles in your blog. Indeed, it is certainly everyone’s dream to be financially independent for the rest of our lives.