Below is a review of how we did with each of our 2013 financial goals.

1) Increase net worth to $211,000 SUCCESS
This one was a gimme since we had already passed our 2013 net worth goal of $211,000 in December 2012.  We ended the year with a net worth of $245,457.24, 116.33% of goal!

2) Pass our 2014 Net Worth Goal 1 year early FAIL
Since we passed our 2013 goal one year ahead of plan, we decided to shoot for our 2014 goal of $251,900 one year early.  We almost made it coming up just $6,442.76 short.  The good news is that our current net worth of $245,457.24 means we will be starting off 2014 within sneezing distance of our 2014 net worth goal.

Today we passed the $240,000 net worth milestone! Our net worth is currently $240,095.38.

Today we passed the $220,000 net worth milestone! Our net worth is currently $220,270.39.

We passed our last milestone of $210K in December. Based on my forecasts, we should hit the next net worth milestone of $220K by July.

I will update our net worth meter (on the left side of the screen) at the end of the month.

Every year, we set goals that we hope to reach by the end of the year.  Below is our list for 2013.

1) Increase net worth to $211,000
 Our net worth goal for 2013 is $211,000.  We set these goals 6 years ago based on certain assumptions.  So far, we are WAY ahead of our goals and passed our 2013 in December 2012.  So, unless the market drops significantly in the next 12 months, we have reached this goal before even starting 2013J

2) Pass our 2014 Net Worth Goal 1 year early
We are ended 2012 with a net worth of $212,219.22, passing both our 2012 ($173,200) and 2013 net worth goals ($211,000).  Since we are 1 year ahead of our plan, it just makes sense to shoot for reaching our 2014 net worth goal ($251,900) by the end of 2013.

3) Contribute $15,000 to retirement accounts
 Our goal for 2013 will be to contribute $15,000 to our retirement accounts.  This is a big decrease from the $27,920.48 invested in 2012, but my wife was laid off in November, so we have to keep our goals realistic. Through my employer’s 401k plan, we have $10,645 automatically scheduled to be contributed.  We’ll have to make up the remaining $4,355 via Roth IRA contributions.

4) $100,000 total balance in retirement accounts
At the end of 2012, our total balance in retirement accounts was $77,993.16.  Through contributions and market performance, we hope to end 2013 above $100,000 in our retirement accounts.

5) Grow our family
 We would love to add a second child to our family, either through natural means or adoption.  Our son is a little over 1 years old, so it would be nice for him to have a sibling somewhat close in age.  Our current saves are earmarked for private adoption, should that be the route we go.

We started 2012 with 5 financial goals that seemed like a stretch.  We were blessed with reaching 4 of 5 of the goals.  My wife’s bonuses, totaling $28,093.27 gross ($20,683.50 net) really helped us achieve most of our 2012 goals.

1) Increase net worth to $173,200 SUCCESS
 We began 2012 with a net worth of $164,821.70 and reached our $173,200 net worth goal in August.  We ended 2012 with a net worth of $212,219.22, exceeding our 2013 net worth goal of $211,000.  It’s a HUGE blessing to be 1 year ahead of our plan.

2) Furnish our new home SUCCESS
 We purchased a 5 bed / 3 bath house in January 2012 and, while the overall task of furnishing our new home was larger than originally expected, we were successful.  The furniture, appliances, décor, etc. added up to over $30,000.  We had to put ~$9,000 on a 0% interest credit card, but paid the balance off in July before incurring any interest.  We are thoroughly enjoying our new home.

3) Rebuild savings account balance to $15,000  FAIL
 We ended the year with $12,213.11 in savings.  Passing $15,000 just wasn’t in the cards, especially considering that we pulled $3,000 out of savings for an auto down payment in July and paid off ~9K in 0% interest credit card debt.

4) Contribute $24,000 to retirement accounts SUCCESS
 We exceeded this goal, but in an unexpected way.  We contributed $22,244.42 to our retirement accounts during the year.  In November 2012, my wife’s company laid off the entire national sales force and, as part of the separation package, 100% vested her company 401(k) match and in profit sharing.  This increased our retirement accounts by ~$6,000 and brought our 2012 total retirement account contributions to $27,920.48.

 5) Increase son’s 529 Plan to $6,000 SUCCESS
 We reached this goal right at the buzzer.  We began 2012 with $3,158.24 in our baby boy’s 529 Plan, but did not get anywhere close to the $6,000 mark until the end of the year.  Sure enough, God blessed us with two amazing quarterly bonuses from my wife’s company, helping us reach this and other goals.  We ended 2012 with $6,018.02 in our son’s 529 Plan.

I’ll be posting our new 2013 goals shortly.

We passed our 2013 net worth goal of $173,200 back in August, which was great news in and of itself.  I’m happy to report today that we passed our 2014 net worth goal of goal of $211,000. 

Our net worth is currently $211,414.01, so we are one year ahead of our plan.  Below is a list of our goals and our progress thus far (click on spreadsheet).

Today we passed the $210,000 net worth milestone! Our net worth is currently $210,065.

We passed our last milestone of $200K in November. Based on my forecasts, we should hit the next net worth milestone of $220K by June.

I will update our net worth meter (on the left side of the screen) at the end of the month.

Today we passed the $200,000 net worth milestone! Our net worth is currently $200,435.

We passed our last milestone of $190K in October. Based on my forecasts, we should hit the next net worth milestone of $210K by January.

I will update our net worth meter (on the left side of the screen) at the end of the month.