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Am I supposed to have goals?

December 24th, 2008 at 12:16 am

I see a number of entries and forum posts on the topic of financial goals for 2009. As I peruse them, it occurs to me that I really don't have any such goals. My goal for 2008 was to pay off the home equity loan. I did that on Saturday. We are now debt-free except for the mortgage. I'm going to add part of the former home equity payment to the mortgage, part to general savings and part to adding texting to our cell phone service.

I really haven't identified any other goals or change in plans for 2009. Everything is cruising along smoothly. I don't anticipate any changes in my employment or DW's employment.

We haven't made any definite travel plans but have pretty much decided to go to Disney World for two weeks at the end of August.

I'm hopeful that neither of our cars will need replacing in the coming year.

There are some things we need to do around the house, but nothing overly costly that would require special planning. Just stuff that can be covered out of our regular income.

We always max our Roths. DW contributes the maximum allowed to her 401k. Thanks to paying off the HEL, I just upped my savings rate from 19% to 20%. As always, in June, I'll see where things stand and up it to 21% July 1st if that seems doable.

There just isn't anything big on the 2009 horizon.

8 Responses to “Am I supposed to have goals?”

  1. monkeymama Says:
    1230080091

    Well, I think that is your goal. To save 20% and to up it to 21%.

    I was going to say, um, yeah, it's good to have goals (not that they need to be annual or in the same form as everyone else). But it sounds like you do already have some goals in mind. Big Grin

  2. whitestripe Says:
    1230082987

    not everyone needs to have goals set out each year. last year i didn't do any 'annual' goals. i just felt like doing it this year because there are many things i have been thinking about doing this year, and the start of the year just seems new and bright and fresh. i guess for a lot of people a new year motivates them into doing the things they procrastinate about. i set my goals this year just so i could have them written down, so i would think about them more often. even though it's not the new year yet i've already put a lot of things into practice that i had planned for my 2009 goals Smile

  3. scfr Says:
    1230085984

    I think goals help you stay focused, but no, you don't have to make goals for one specific year, and you don't have to make them around New Year's.

    Like monkeymama said, when I read your post it sounds like you already have goals:
    - Save 20% of income (consider upping to 21% in July)
    - Max out Roths
    - Wife max out 401K contribution

    I suppose if you're looking for a goal, you could set a goal regarding college savings, now that your daughter is getting older? (Do a checkup on where you stand, and adjust college savings if necessary.)

  4. Aleta Says:
    1230087613

    Since you know you might need another car in the future, it might be a good goal to start saving for one. One of my sub accounts is for car savings.

    I agree with everyone else that you seem to have your priorities in order.

  5. M E 2 Says:
    1230088469


    LOL . . . . IMO, everything you stated qualifies as a goal. :-)

  6. Broken Arrow Says:
    1230091792

    I have goals, but they're very basic. At this point, I'm mostly on cruise control.... So, I don't think there's anything wrong with not having a bunch of stated goals, since they're already being worked on it seems....

  7. disneysteve Says:
    1230127696

    I guess I don't look at something that I'm already doing as being a goal. To me, a goal is something new, something that I'm striving to achieve. I know we will max our Roths. I know DW will put the most she can in her 401k. I know 20% of my income will go to savings. I know how the former HEL payment is being reallocated. That's all done and over with in my mind even though it hasn't happened yet.

    The only thing I listed that would be a goal to me is upping my savings to 21% mid-year.

    I did think of something else, though. I'd like to shop around for auto and life insurance quotes to see if we can reduce those two costs. I'm pretty sure we can. So I'll make that my goal.

  8. snoopycool Says:
    1230602475

    Good goal Smile

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