My boyfriend is the best. He knows about this blog. He knows that money gives me anxiety even when I am flush with it in my fat little fists. He is always supportive of me no matter what I decide to do. He only shows his exasperation with me 10% of the time. I am lucky.

Recently I decided we should have a talk about some long-term financial goals. I want to save some money for fun. And by fun, I mean pretty much anything. Like a boat. Like a summer property in the woods. Like buying a house in the neighborhood we really want to live in. Like taking his mom for a cruise on the QE2 or some other such fantastical trip she’d like for her next milestone birthday.

Basically he told me he could save $1000 a month soon and he’s thinking of bumping up his retirement contributions because he can. For me, I should probably get out of debt first but that yes, we should probably saving for fun stuff we’d like to do. Ok, so he’s onboard. YAY.

Who knows what we will do, and yes, secretly this is my way of making sure we aren’t cash poor again and have an emergency fund of some kind. (I don’t think he has a dedicated Emergency Basket of Cash, but yet somehow he has cash when he needs it.) It’s separate from my Save-O-Meter, but I definitely am glad we had this talk.

I want some fun dammit!

Strategic Planning? is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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2010 Goal #1
Pay down credit card debt by $5000

PASS – I paid the minimum in July as I said I would. I do know that in August, I am going to pay more than than the minimum, but not much. I am still on target to pay off one card at the end of this year, but there wasn’t enough movement to change my Debt-O-Meter.

2010 Goal #2
Fill the Save-O-Meter to $4K

PASS – Filling back up for now.

2010 Goal #3
Save $10K in my 401k plan

PASS – Because I switched jobs and registered late for my 401k plan, I thought I wouldn’t be able to save $10K this year. But if combine what I am planning on saving with what I did add earlier in my old job’s 401k, I think $10K is still realistic. I’m currently putting away about $700 a month in the plan, which is more than enough for the match.

July 2010 Goals Update is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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2010 Goal #1
Pay down credit card debt by $5000

PASS – I am still on target to pay off one card at the end of this year. I am moving my Debt-O-Meter to 35% because I’ve been at that figure for the last month. I’m going to pay the minimum for the next two months while I figure out what I am doing for this summer’s weddings. I am on hold with travel plans for work and so I could end up paying a ridiculous amount of money for plane tickets till I know what is going on with work. (Work is sending me around the country to project sites and the timing is such that I may not be able to go for a reasonable price. They like to jerk people around schedule-wise. I wouldn’t normally care but the timing is starting to be an issue.)

2010 Goal #2
Fill the Save-O-Meter to $4K

I need to fill this back up. I dipped into it for covering work expenses till a reimbursement check came in, however, the balance on my Save-O-Meter fluctuates over the course of the month.

2010 Goal #3
Save $10K in my 401k plan

FAIL – I finally got my 401k sign up completed last month. I lost the little password card that was sent to me but I found it and made a point of calling and getting all of it done. My first paycheck deduction will come mid-July. If I can save $5K before the rest of the year, I will be satisfied with this goal.

June 2010 Goals Update is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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2010 Goal #1
Pay down credit card debt by $5000

PASS – There is a specific credit card I have in mind for this goal. I am on target to pay off that card by December 1st. I am on track with this, despite the hard time last month.

2010 Goal #2
Fill the Save-O-Meter to $4K

I considered this completed last month, but I’ve had to dip into savings to cover my corporate credit card and short of buying CD’s to keep this filled up, I am not sure what to do yet. I seem to never have enough reserve.

2010 Goal #3
Save $10K in my 401k plan

FAIL – I haven’t had time to think about the company 401k plan. For some reason it’s not allowing me to sign up automatically due to a previous account I held there. It’s annoying because I cannot call them for help at midnight which is when I think about this kind of stuff. But we’ll adjust.

May Goals 2010 Update is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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2010 Goal #1
Pay down credit card debt by $5000

FAIL – Things are still in flux with my payroll situation. I’m being paid, but I haven’t settled things out. I’ve paid off $1830 of it so far this year. I guess that’s on target for the first third of the year, but I don’t feel like it is.

2010 Goal #2
Fill the Save-O-Meter to $4K

COMPLETED! Working towards building this up even more. Doesn’t help that the Dow took a plummet yesterday though since I count my old ESPP towards this figure.

2010 Goal #3
Save $10K in my 401k plan

FAIL – Though I’ve already saved $5K+ so far this year, I won’t be able to contribute to my new company’s 401k till the next intake period later this summer. I should be able to get close to this target.

April 2010 Goals Update is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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2010 Goal #1
Pay down credit card debt by $5000

FAIL – Right now, I am in a huge state of flux money wise. Because of my aforementioned legal bill, I was conserving cash. I hope to move towards this goal once things settle down in May. April will probably be bad too.

2010 Goal #2
Fill the Save-O-Meter to $4K

COMPLETED! I hope nothing else comes up for the next few months.

2010 Goal #3
Save $10K in my 401k plan

PASS – I got an ok bonus this past month so I’ve already saved more than $5K in my 401k plan this year. I’m on cruise control.

March 2010 Goals Update is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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I’m having some professional difficulty right now and I feel like quitting and finding a new job. Unfortunately, I don’t have an emergency fund to float me during a period of unemployment. I have the windfall from the sale of my car and my tax refund which won’t be coming for a while since I haven’t filed for them yet.

This will teach me to keep a razor thin savings account.

Because I am consulting, I can hop to another project. Therefore I don’t really have to walk away from my job. But it does sharpen the heck out of my mind and motivate saving.

A few weeks ago people asked me what I was going to do with the money from selling the car. I really thought I was going to use it to pay off my credit cards, but I’m happier to save it now that I realize where I’m at. It may cost me more money in interest, but I feel like the smarter move is to build that emergency fund up.

I’m already meeting my Save-O-Meter goal then so it feels good to cross that one off this year.

Strategizing the Future is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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Like Grace says, it looks a lot like last year.

2010 Goal #1
Pay down credit card debt by $5000

2010 Goal #2
Fill the Save-O-Meter to $4K

2010 Goal #3
Save $10K in my 401k plan

I’ve modified my ambitions this year because well, just like Grace says, I make my goals the same as every year because I don’t meet them. So this year, I made them a little more achievable.

Goal #1 has always been to pay off my credit card debts. However, with buying a new car this year, I’m not going to fool myself. I will be glad to pay off $5K of my current balances. ($15,133.58 as of the end of December.)

Goal #2 is the same as it’s always been. It’s a mix of my regular bank savings account and my company stock purchase program. Since that’s a fast liquidating account, I’ve decided to include that into my Save-O-Meter.

Goal #3 is an aspiration. I never save the full amount I can, but this goal gives me a little flexibility to edge off my contributions so I can complete Goals #1 and #2. I also heard that I did very well in my ratings this past year, so if I contribute my full bonus to the 401k, then I’ll be able to edge off to my minimum for the match amount and have more left for Goal #1.

Say It. Then Do It.

2010 Goals is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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2009 Goal #1
Pay down credit card debt by December 31

An improvement over last month so no complaints. Would have been better if I restrained myself in New York City and skipped a shopping trip but that didn’t happen. At least I put it on a charge plate so I didn’t pay interest on it.

2009 Goal #2
Fill the Save-O-Meter to $4K

No improvement. But since saving is easier for me than paying down debt, I might have to make this my top priority for the rest of the year.

September 2009 Goals Update is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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2009 Goal #1
Pay down credit card debt by December 31

Big fat fail. Again.

2009 Goal #2
Fill the Save-O-Meter to $4K

A small improvement. It’s 30.5% but I will be drawing some of it down since I have some planned expenses coming due this month.

***

Of course today none of this mean anything. My friend, S, lost her battle to breast cancer after 5 long years of hope and crushing sadness. I am happy that she was able to control her end by selecting a hospice to make her comfortable in her final days. I heart goes out to J, her husband, who has stood by her for many years during her illness. They found each other later in life and seemed very happy together.

Please do your cancer screening self-exams.

August 2009 Goals Update is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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2009 Goal #1
Pay down credit card debt by December 31

After all was said and done, I was fooling myself through July. There is no way I’m going to make this goal this year. But it’s not a complete loss or reason to stop fighting towards this goal. I’ll be happy if I can get under $5k and have paid down about $10K for the year.

2009 Goal #2
Fill the Save-O-Meter to $4K

I made a little progress on this one, and there’s about $1225 in my savings accounts right now.

Also, per some tweets this morning by Liz Weston (@lizweston) and Debt Hater (@DebtHater), one good thing about these monthly goal and net worth updates is that you can see what’s happening to your finances before it’s too late. You can do a self-intervention *before* all your creditors come knocking and adjust your savings and budgets.

July 2009 Goal Update is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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Comment from Reader Slinky:

My mum recently asked me for a loan (and isn’t THAT weird?) and I felt really bad to say no. If I had the money and felt secure, she’s one of the few people that I’d give that money to in a heartbeat. But the economy is iffy, my job was looking rocky and the only spare cash I had was my small emergency fund. I also knew she didn’t absolutely Need this money. And in the end, I was right, she didn’t need it. She found a way to make things work on her own. (Which made me really proud of her!) It was an interesting conversation and an interesting experience to say the least.

I am certainly no stranger to this situation. A few weeks ago my sibling asked me for a loan at an unspecified amount. I was feeling flush so I said yes. But in the end I didn’t have to loan the money. Now that I’m moving for a 2nd time in 2 months, I’m not feeling quite so flush. So it’s making my Fiscal Challenge pretty rough in August.

My mom called asking for some help on her roof repairs. Several years ago, I promised mom I would help out with the house. I have already helped her buy new windows and this year seems like a good year to do the work because contractors are desperate for work. I’m proud of my mom because she shopped around several bids and the guy who did the windows came in under $7K for the job. (He’s also done the windows and roof for a neighbor and some other people we know. But you should always get a few estimates anyway.)

Right now I can only commit to helping her with $2K because I also need to scrape up cash to move into the rental my boyfriend and I are taking. It’s a bit of a mess right now.

The strategy is to:
1. Knock down my 401k contributions in August.
2. Take a $4k Balance Transfer on one of my credit cards.
3. Take my renter’s security deposit and rent and push it towards my higher rate interest credit cards.
4. Pay off all the high rate interest balances before Christmas.

This really kills my 2009 Goals. But goals are only aspirations and my mother’s roof has been needing a fix for a while. (Try something like 2 or 3 years. I hate to see a shingle out of place and I believe there is a slight sag underneath which will require a tear-off of the whole thing.)

Bad Timing is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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Life has been crazy in 2009. But in mostly good ways.

1. My boyfriend asked me to move in.
2. My car was telling me how old she is and I started to consider my options.
3. I got two performance bonuses and a raise on the way.
4. I fixed up and rented out my condo.
5. My pop turned 70 and we did an unexpected trip to CA for a birthday party.

Now there is still more craziness ahead this summer.

My boyfriend and I are finally sick of the neighbors and their externalities so we’re looking to rent another house in the area. I think we’ve found one and I hope we can move there on August 1st. That will be iffy since the place is a mess and the landlord needs to do a lot of work to get it ready.

I also really want to buy a new car. But I also want to get out of credit card debt. To buy a new car in cash, I would have to save about $35K for the car that lights my heart afire, which would take about 2-3 years. I also realize for that kind of money, I could have a down payment on another property. Nothing to sneeze at so I need to rethink my long-term life strategy and being a multiple-property owner.

Right now it’s still unclear what will happen with the potential rental. If we don’t get it, we may tough it out with the crazy people next door for another year. If so, I should be able to squirrel away a good chunk of money. If we do move, I should still be able to pay off all my credit cards and squirrel away a bit of cash, but a more modest amount.

Where Am I Headed This Summer? is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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2009 Goal #1
Pay down credit card debt by December 31

My balances are artificially high right now. I got hit with some late construction charges in June, so I didn’t have a chance to pay it down with my latest bonus. I should still be on track at the end of August.

2009 Goal #2
Fill the Save-O-Meter to $4K

I’m marking this a mega fail even though I bought a $1000.00 CD in June. I have to pay interest out to my renter if she stays past 13 months, so I put her security deposit aside in a CD to make sure the money would always be there. CD’s work best for me, so I think when I’m done paying off the credit card debts, I’ll have to create a CD ladder.

June 2009 Goal Update is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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2009 Goal #1
Pay down credit card debt by December 31

Strangely still on track at the end of May. However, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. My balances will remain flat for the next month. After that, if I get a renter in by July 1st, I’ll be able to push a lot more money towards my credit cards.

2009 Goal #2
Fill the Save-O-Meter to $4K

My tax return came in during May and it covered a large chunk of my condo renovations. However, I have liquidated everything and my Save-O-Meter is at its lowest since I began keeping track of it. 3% represents about ~$120.00. I will probably fail this one this year, but it’s a struggle between paying off my debt in Goal #1 and building up my savings.

If anything, I have changed my lunch habits by packing it a little more frequently. It’s a mix of needing to save up money for my renovation, but I am also packing lunch so I don’t have to leave the office. Work is picking up and I don’t have time to go get something. It’s either pack lunch, eat out of the vending machine, or eat nothing.

May 2009 Goals Update is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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