2019 Money Resolutions

[Pom]

What money specific or adjacent goals do you have for the new year?

[minionkevin]

FIL, as part of his estate planning, is gifting us $30k up front ($15k each for me and H). We do plan on spending some of it - the lease on the minivan is up in June and we need to decide whether to buy at the end of our term, or get something new - but to do so smartly and save some so we can do some renovations or add on to our house in 2020 without taking on a HELOC.
Less shopping overall. Only necessities for me and H, not overbuying for the kids (shouldn’t be too hard, my mom buys the majority of the kids’ clothes anyway).
Better meal planning, less food waste.
Continue with our trend of (technically) oversaving for retirement - 12% + 3% match for me, maxing to federal limit for H, maxing Roths x2 while we still can.

I had a windfall in 2017 that affected 2018 taxes due to payout dates and I hope I overpaid my estimates so I get a decent refund whenever I file. Every extra $ back goes to the house fund.

[laterz]

Less Ubering to work. (And using Lyft when I do really need it.)
Less buying breakfast/lunch at work.

And if I can make a dent in both of those, maybe I can make a dent in my waistline. :-) And use that money for longer-lasting things or experiences.

[seeyalater52]

We have finally recovered a bit from my wife’s terrible situation with her business partners and the tax drama that went along with that AND got it all sorted and her off the LLC before year-end so one of my main goals is to get our 2018 taxes all sorted ASAP since it’s our last tax year dealing with this nonsense. I’m pretty sure we did ok paying estimating taxes and we put aside some extra in case we underpaid but getting all the paperwork in order so the K1s and other documents can be created is a PITA because everyone else involved moves likes molasses.

Our big savings goal is to start saving for adoption. We are very limited in our choice of agencies due to several factors and it’s going to be more expensive than we even realized when we started looking into it. We are definitely “MM poor” and won’t have any family help so it’s daunting but we are hoping to save $10k this year out of the $50k we will need which will be a start.

We will also likely be paying for PGS testing for another round of IVF this summer which impacts our ability to save as much as we’d like to this year.

[melmel48]

~Save for a bathroom Reno
~Save all of my one dollar bills and change towards my fundraising goal for a charity I am running a race for
~Pay down half of my credit cards
~Spend less on food/ stop wasting food
~Use cash more instead of my debit/credit cards. This will force me to spend less I think.

[IrishBelle]

Pay down about $3k remaining on our LOC
Pay for repairs go our porch in cash
Save for our planned addition
Build our savings back up after this years renos

[farmvillelover]

Just continue to save aggressively.

This may sound stupid but I want to start paying down principal on my student loans. It's at 2.65% but I only have about $45k left which I think is 14 years? If I paid an extra $200ish a month I'd be done in 3 years roughly. Sounds good to me even though from a numbers standpoint this is foolish since i have higher interest debt (mortgage at 3.75% and significantly more than 45k lol).

[Susie]

Nothing crazy here.  We're expecting kid #2 in early June, so in August we'll start with 2 in daycare ($$$$$).  I mostly want to prepare for that, and survive it -- it will only be a year before #1 starts public school (kindergarten).  We're mostly aiming for:

- Promotion/raise for Calvin
- Hit my billing targets at work in 2019 despite maternity leave
- Estate planning documents in order, sometime after birth of kid #2 (2nd half of year)
- Start 529 for kid #2 (2nd half of year)

[Velar Fricative]

1) Resume using YNAB and really stick to it, which will help us focus on the rest of our goals.
2) Finish saving up for a backyard reno this spring.
3) Stick to our restaurant/coffee/lunches out budget.
4) Be more mindful of what we are bringing into the house. I’ve had a bad HomeGoods spending habit lately.
5) DH wants to increase his retirement contributions but we may have to increase another major budget line item so we are going to wait until decisions are made and costs are confirmed.

[konapoppy]

1) Figure out how to make things work while dramatically decreasing our income.
2) Get back on the budgeting train (the last year has been a mess, plus see #1).
3) Figure out new revenue streams.
4) Continue to be good about buying stuff used and selling stuff we don't need.
5) Spend only low triple digits at starbucks I will work on cutting my habit, but H will still go at least a few times a week.

[raangoli]

-Fully fund retirement (401k and Roth)
-Continue the pace at which we’ve been funding 529s
-pay for our “big” vacation (location TBD) in cash
-Figure out our estate planing and be actual adults
-Continue supplementary investing

[sadlebred]

This is the year of no travel and paying stuff off.

[Roc A Bee]

Well it should really be not buying more house stuff or other TJ Maxx finds. But that is very unlikely.

So my goal is to save $3000 for summer vacations. Depending on my tax refund, this may just be possible!

[dreamcrisp1]

Try to get back on a budget and save some money. Now that my husband’s 30% tax ruling has kicked in, we have almost $1000 extra per month so we should be able to save quite a bit. We have some big expenses coming up next year so it’ll be nice to try to get some savings before they happen.

[aspentosh]

2018 was the year of very expensive home renovation projects, so we're going fairly low key for 2019. We want to redo our bathroom but don't think it'll happen until 2020.

Continue:
1- maxing 401k
2- paying extra $500 on mortgage
3- funding 529

New to do:
4- Pay off my phone ($850)
5- Pay off our soffits/gutters ($4000 at 0% APR until June, so definitely before then)
6- Take killer trip to Ireland/Scotland (this requires saving an additional $5k or so towards our vacation fund)

I would LOOOOVE to pay off my new car (bought in Nov, financed $18k of $30k price because we were NOT planning on buying a car in the next couple years) but we'll see.

[kadams767]

First is just making it through my 2018 taxes, hoping that my estimates have been mostly accurate and if not, that I’ve put enough extra away to cover whatever else I owe. And honestly, hoping I’ve oversaved so that I can put some of that money back to our regular accounts and use it for something we want, like some remodel stuff or a vacation.

Second is a combo money and health goal. I need to get my eating and healthy lifestyle back on track, so I’m aiming to cut back on grocery and food spending, and redirect the savings towards fitness expenses like classes, training, etc. I’d like to keep total for groceries and going out to $100-$110/week. Lately, we’ve been over $100 just grocery shopping, plus whatever we feel like eating out and I need to reign that in. Cutting back on expensive cheeses and snacks stuff like the olive bar will help my diet and budget, and then I won’t feel so bad dropping money on expensive gym classes.

Other than that, just keep on keeping on. I am going to increase my monthly mortgage payment by $50, increase our charitable giving by another $50 monthly, and keep saving aggressively for a future job change/vacation house/rainy, rainy day.

[OG Jo]

I have decided that I want to spend more for quality, less for quantity. Example: I recently bought a coat at Costco because it was cute and only $25. For $75, I would've gotten a much higher quality coat the Columbia outlet that is better made, warmer, and would last longer. I want to retrain my brain!

We also really need to boost back up our savings. My husband was unemployed for several months this year and we really took a hit there, plus some very high $$$ repairs to our home.

[starlily]

Pay down debt. It won't all be gone this year, but there will be some changes to my cash flow during this year, which will help eliminate a substantial portion of it. This is pretty much my only financial focus for the year.

[tcu2003]

Actually open a Roth for DH, and then contribute to his and to mine (which I haven’t touched in years). To do that, I also need to figure out the back-door option, I believe.

Get our estate planning stuff done and in order.

Keep on keeping on regarding 401ks, 529s and general savings.

I also want to de clutter stuff from my house (especially kid clothes and toys), and be mindful about anything we buy/bring into the house.

[Velar Fricative]

Dec 30, 2018 20:02:39 GMT -5 OG Jo said:

I have decided that I want to spend more for quality, less for quantity. Example: I recently bought a coat at Costco because it was cute and only $25. For $75, I would've gotten a much higher quality coat the Columbia outlet that is better made, warmer, and would last longer. I want to retrain my brain!

We also really need to boost back up our savings. My husband was unemployed for several months this year and we really took a hit there, plus some very high $$$ repairs to our home.

I definitely concur with this sentiment and aim to do the same, but I'm chuckling at the Costco example because my $40 coat I bought last winter from Costco (which was also the cheapest winter coat I recall ever buying) is the warmest coat I've ever owned.

[carmenere]

Dec 31, 2018 8:53:23 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Dec 30, 2018 20:02:39 GMT -5 OG Jo said:

I have decided that I want to spend more for quality, less for quantity. Example: I recently bought a coat at Costco because it was cute and only $25. For $75, I would've gotten a much higher quality coat the Columbia outlet that is better made, warmer, and would last longer. I want to retrain my brain!

We also really need to boost back up our savings. My husband was unemployed for several months this year and we really took a hit there, plus some very high $$$ repairs to our home.

I definitely concur with this sentiment and aim to do the same, but I'm chuckling at the Costco example because my $40 coat I bought last winter from Costco (which was also the cheapest winter coat I recall ever buying) is the warmest coat I've ever owned.

Agreed - I think Costco is an outlier because you can get really nice stuff at a discount, with lifetime returns. This winter I got an Eddie Bauer down coat for $40. I also have a kirkland brand jacket that's held up for years and is machine washable. But I definitely want to get better at avoiding impulse purchases and buying things just because they seem like a good deal. I really need to go to Costco less because I always come home with large amounts of stuff we don't need.

[OG Jo]

Velar Fricative, carmenere, good points. I'm hardly ever disappointed in any Costco impulse purchases, but this coat left me feeling very "meh" and disappointed in myself for jumping on what felt like an amazing deal. I need to retrain myself = less "amazing deals," more quality! (Excluding Costco. LOL!)

[carmenere]

Dec 31, 2018 10:18:19 GMT -5 OG Jo said:

Velar Fricative , carmenere , good points. I'm hardly ever disappointed in any Costco impulse purchases, but this coat left me feeling very "meh" and disappointed in myself for jumping on what felt like an amazing deal. I need to retrain myself = less "amazing deals," more quality! (Excluding Costco. LOL!)

Return the coat! Seriously, lifetime returns are part of what your membership fee pays for. Why not use it?

[carmenere]

I forgot to post our goals. Our biggest goal is for H to find a new job making more money so we can pay off student debt from his MBA. I'm hoping to find a new job for career growth, which will probably mean taking a slight pay cut.

Other goals:
1. Finish saving for a down payment on a SFH by the end of February
2. Hopefully make enough on the sale of our condo to pay off student debt (I'm praying the local housing market holds up - we may have missed our window) otherwise live super frugally to pay it off by summer
3. Save up to buy H a new car

For Christmas H cashed in all his skymiles and surprised me with a plane ticket to visit my brother in China. So I'm saving for that and hoping to earn some $$ on the side so that it won't interfere our other goals.

[ssmjlm]

Our only 2019 goal is to add to savings.

1. DH will probably need a new truck in 2020, so my hope to have about $20k to put down on that.
2. I want to increase our vacation savings so that we can plan some bigger trips. We usually just cash flow those.
3. Add an investment account to our portfolio. We closed our vanguard account a couple years ago for our house DP (that was the purpose of starting it) and now we need to increase our investing/saving.

I just had to adjust my daycare FSA and healthcare FSA, so the bit of extra money in my check I'm going to increase savings.

[mlkgls]

Primary goal: Figure out what I need for a will, trust, guardianship, etc. (This goal is the one that will be the hardest and most likely to cause me to bury my head in the sand)

Secondary goals:
- Pay off HVAC (should be done by end of Feb)
- Focus on “new car” fund. I love my car and I’m not currently looking to buy anytime soon, but it IS 12 years old.
- Beef up DS’s 529 and efund
- Up my 401K contribution again at review time...after I figure out whether to put it in the 401K or Roth
- Meal plan to reduce food waste

[gt7301b]

-Pay for some home repairs coming up out of pocket rather than dipping into savings.
-Fewer amazon.com orders

[keweenawlove]

- I'm starting a new job with a 17% raise so I'm aiming to max out my 403b.
- My H told me when I started grad school that when I get a full time job we can put in a sauna so I'm working on 0lans for one. Me and my dad can do a bulk of the work so we'll mainlyjust have to oay for supplies and an electrician.
-We're 7 months into an adoption process so we're continuing to make sure we keep saving for the ongoing expenses.

[chpmnk1015]

- up my 401K another 1%.
- Pay off Hubs Truck
- I have an increase going in for HSA Jan 1, Hope to do a second increase if I get a raise.
- Save for roth IRA amount for 2019 for hubs
- more smart grocery shopping and really planning out meals.

[dcn]

Move money from kids’ savings to 529 plans.
Rollover my 401k from the job I just left.
Adjust to one income, as I don’t know if I’ll look for a job anytime soon after we move.