2022 MM Goals and Intentions

[heygrey]

Anyone ready to share? 

[heygrey]

I'd like to find a second income stream for myself. I'm finally at a place where I can take on a bit more in the evenings/weekends, but I'm not sure what I want to pursue. I'd love to be an editor, maybe for people who self publish books? Nothing with big contracts, but I could turn around small projects quickly. I have no idea how to find legit jobs like that though.

I'd like to pay off my student loans. We paid off H's a long time ago, but haven't bothered with mine because the payment is low and reasons, but it's our last debt besides our mortgage and I'd just like it to be gone. It's currently at ~$17k.

ETA: Also need to finish up some will stuff. Since h and I are from different countries and our preferred guardians are not in our current country (nor are permanent residents of their current country, but will be soon), it's a hot mess. I'm not sure if we'll decide to go with a 3rd choice guardian to get someone in Canada or figure out the immigration process to have our son go with our 1st choice. It's such a hypothetical anyway, how much effort should we really invest here? Our second choice also requires immigration for DS, but is slightly less complicated. 

[wildrice]

I may add more later, but here's a start:

1. Start paying off H's student loans aggressively. I am budgeting 1k a month but I would love it if we could actually do a bit more.

2. Ensure my PSLF goes through. I am hoping I'll get a bit of a refund and can actually put it straight into H's loans.

3. Sell our 2nd car - this one will hopefully be within the next few weeks so barely even counts.

4. I think the two big house projects are going to be refinishing or replacing our living room floors and doing something to make our backyard more usable, so saving up enough money to pay cash for those.

5. I've continued dragging my feet on making a will or doing anything related to estate planning, so I should probably focus on that this year.

We also really need to figure out what to do with our money that we have budgeted for saving. I think our efund is large enough that we don't need to keep adding to it, but I'm not sure if we should invest more in retirement, general investments, focus on house improvements, or some combo of those things.

[quesyrah]

Replace my beloved minivan that I desperately miss!



Last spring my minivan needed $6k+ worth of work (it was 12 years old) and with my husband furloughed (I am a SAHM), our state being behind on unemployment payments, having had to replace our hot water heater and not receiving our stimulus, we just didn’t have the money to fix it.

So instead of selling my dad’s car when we moved my parents to a memory care facility, we sold my van and kept my dad’s car. It was 100% the smart and right choice but it’s 2 years older than my van was and is lacking 2 major features that I really miss.

Now we are totally back on track financially, contributing to savings again, and ready to figure out how we’re going to go about getting a new van.

[sadlebred]

1. Be in a better financial position. This will mostly come from trying to quit bleeding money every month and increasing savings. Also quit discresionary spending. I've just taken steps to automate the savings. I will redo my budget in Feb. once my company's HR dept. catches up with the new tax tables. My auto insurance went up, so I need to find the money somewhere. I also recently took up horseback riding again (lessons only--so far), so that has to be included. Starting back this hobby has been in the works for a long time. It's time to tighten up the belt.

2. Try to have the side gig bring in some additional money. I run a website that is currently undergoing a small refresh by the company I use for web design (Local company owned by a friend that does marketing work, web stuff, etc for companies all around the US. They do great work! They did a major overhaul of the site about 6 years ago; this is to freshen it up). I'm hoping a website refresh will bring in more revenue via direct paid advertising. I also need to identify some new revenue streams for it. I'm open to suggestions if anyone wants to DM me. The website is in the athletic/sports space.

3. Try to get my health stable. I'm hoping to have some answers by April. Unfortunately, it's just time and waiting at this point. While not MM exactly, it may have an impact on my other aspects of finances this year. (I have a very rare side effect that developed this fall from my open heart surgery in late 2020. It's being treated by my team of doctors at a major US hospital system.)

4 Save, save, save! I want to build back up my e-fund to 6 months (this will take me more than 2022, probably 2023 as well). I hope to be 100% debt free by the first of the summer. I had to put a roof on my house unexpectedly a couple of years ago, and this will be paid off! Finally! It's not much at this point, but I hate having it hanging out there.

5. Contribute more than a token amount to my ROTH. Once I get some savings built back up, I want to start contributing to my ROTH more than the small amount I did this year.

I'm sure I'll come back to these and edit them or post something else as I think about them. Being a single income, it can be challenging to do EVERYTHING. I want to make sure I live for today (biking, horses, friends, etc.) while taking care to save for tomorrow.

[Susie]

We had some major changes in 2021, so I feel like the dust is just barely settling for us now to start goal setting for 2022.  We bought a house and sold our old one, and made some improvements right away.  I paid off the loan I took out to pay for the purchase of a share of my firm in 2017.  I also landed a client that has resulted in significant additional income for me (but also a problematically small amount of free time).

I don't know when my next opportunity will be to buy another share in my firm, but I want to be ready to negotiate that when the time comes.

I'd like to increase what we're saving in the kids' 529s.

We should start investing outside of retirement.

I will need to think more on what else.

[dr.girlfriend]

1. Finish consolidating/simplifying our accounts and start DH's SEP

2. Regularly invest in non-retirement brokerage account

3. Increase all our monthly charity donations significantly starting in January now that we know DH is still making good income freelancing so that's my job for the next two days lol -- why do charities make it SO HARD to adjust your recurring donations?

4. Travel although god only knows what's up with that but we have trips booked for February and April and had hoped to travel in June as well

5. Ugh I'm turning 50 next year so dealing with increased maxes for retirement although TBH I am not too worried about retirement I think we're in good shape and I want to focus more on enjoying money now

[midwestmama]

1. Make a principal-only lump sum payment of $5,000 on our mortgage after DH and I get our bonuses. Continue to pay extra on the principal monthly.

2. Use some bonus money toward home improvements - a few small ones inside like new countertops and sinks for our master bath and 1/2 bath and possibly some landscaping.

3. Travel - we have enjoyed taking a trip somewhere warm right before Christmas the past two years, so I think we're going to make it an annual trip from now on.

4. I'd like to possibly review our will and trust, specifically as it relates to changing the executor (currently BIL), but DH and I haven't decided on who else we could pick to be executor.

I'll have to think more about any others.

[egeiger]

1. Max 2021 and 2022 Roths to double as college assistance for our daughter.

2. Reign in food spending. Too many days where I don't feel like cooking so we eat out, and have groceries go to waste. It's a terrible cycle. I just have to figure out how to snap out of it. Tracking the numbers will make it easier for me to see it.

3. I work full time, but also have 2 part time side hustles. Time to close one of them, and focus any side energy to one hustle. Seriously considering whether to keep the second one or not, and need to do some soul searching there and look at it more strictly from a financial position and not just an emotional one.

[lilypad1126]

1. I'd like to hopefully get my federal student loans/PSLF stuff taken care of/forgiven. That will free up a good chunk of money each month.

2. Split the monthly payment from #1 into more retirement savings and paying down my private student loan.

3. Stop impulse buying so much random sh!t. I can afford it, but it's annoying that I do it.

4. we are hoping to buy a house this summer, so do whatever I need to make that happen smoothly.

[dragon's breath]

Max Roth IRA since it could be the last year I'm allowed to do so.

Start to figure out a realistic budget for building a house (it's taken so long that I've lost all my help and will now have to hire nearly everything out).

Reduce retirement contributions to match only in order to save more for the house build (not sure if I'll be doing this with a construction loan or with cash. Cash would give me a lot more time and options.)

Max HSA (finally get to start one this year, as long as the change was handled correctly during open season, will hopefully find out tonight).

Not financial, but do a lot more decluttering in the house to make an eventual full move easier.

Redo my will to reflect my new state residence. Mine is very simple, so it should move over fine, it's just buckling down and getting it done.

[minzy]

My main financial goal this year, as has been in the past, is to give away more than we did the year before. I still need to look at numbers and give some away these next few days, then, including to the four charities my daughters selected for Christmas. (I have been making donations at their birthdays and Christmas each year, and this time, they selected the orgs all on their own. Last week: “Mom, can we actually each pick two instead of one?” Um, YES! I’m impressed with what they came up with - two environmental groups, a children's hospital, and our libraries. Hooray - all these years of parenting, and actual proof that some of what I’m always yipping about has sunk in!)

I want to focus more on donations to environmental groups in the coming year. I’ve signed up through work for the Combined Federal Campaign for 2022 to give to multiple groups per pay period, and we’ll definitely do some on our own, too.

And I’ll try to get us to spend a little more. Not like willy-nilly because we’re not shopaholics by any stretch and I’m trying to “save the environment” and not create mounds of shit to be landfilled, but on experiences or things that improve the quality of life for us and/or others/our community.

[krystee]

1. Save at least $5K more in our emergency fund.
2. Increase 401k by 1%.
3. Invest at least $300/month in non retirement investments.
4. Save for bathroom remodel.
5. Save for 40th birthday trip with my mom and a family trip.
6. Take care of updating our estate plans, which were last touched before we had kids.

[konapoppy]

1. Continue wealth redistribution.
2. Buy less “stuff”. I have cut waaaaay back on stuff in the last few years (and a lot of what I declutter is from a decade ago). It would be fun to do a “buy nothing” category, but I’m not sure what it would be.
3. MH is reducing his hours, so I hope that reduces the amount of takeout ordered and thus door dash charges.
4. Enjoy not spending 100k on home renovations. We will probably refinish the hardwood and we have some stucco to fix. But other than that it should be minimal.

[aspentosh]

After H losing his job last year and having no income for 4+ months, we're in a pretty good place financially. We've worked hard over the last 10+ years to pay off all our debt (except mortgage) and increase savings and charitable contributions. I mainly want to keep doing that. The only house project we have left is our kitchen but that is probably a few years down the road because it's still functional.

1. Continue maxing 401k for H and Roth IRA for me
2. Continue saving for H to buy an electric truck and decide if we'll sell my car and continue being a one car household (so far so good)
3. Continue paying an extra 25% to our mortgage each month
4. Increase charitable contributions even more, especially to minority and women owned businesses
5. Be mindful of my purchases and don't just buy because it's on sale or looks cool
5b. Purge purge purge things that don't need to stay in our house
6. Go on a kick ass 15 year anniversary trip (currently have a place at Fiji booked but I'm not convinced things will be improved w/r/t COVID so may reassess)

[twinmomma]

I was able to use my year end bonus to pay off my car and the small credit card balance I had. That leaves me with the mortgage as my only debt to kick off 2022 and it feels amazing!

1. Actually save the rent money my boyfriend pays me each month to build up an emergency fund and fund some house updates/repairs. I can afford all the monthly bills on my own, so his contribution can go straight to savings in theory. I was ok about this for a while this past year, but need to refocus on that goal for 2022.
2. Figure out our house buying plan. We had hoped to purchase a larger home together and move, but the housing market is so crazy that it hasn't made sense for us to seriously pursue it. I'd like to figure out what a timeline is for seriously house hunting and listing my house.
3. Get a better handle on our grocery and eating out budget. We've basically ignored having a budget and just spent whatever, whenever. It hasn't been a big deal, but I know we're overspending by a lot for food. Time to reign it in.

[ohgillian]

1) Figure out benefits and such when I start my new job.

2) Maybe buy the vacation place; at least keep looking in this terrible market.

3) Figure out if we want to reduce our retirement contributions, which is kind of related to #1 anyway.

4) Pay for house painting (exterior) and some new furniture.

[shortstax]

I just scheduled a "goal setting lunch" with DH for tomorrow where we can solidify our 2022 goals. Will report back!

[chpmnk1015]

Love reading a these for inspiration.

So far:

1. Roth Ira contributions for 2022 for h and I done by early Feb (may take some out of savings since my reg savings account is doing nada anyway)

2. Have an amount for both kids accounts I want funded by aug.

3. Since I don't have a 401k until Oct, I want to take what would be my contribution and put in an investment account I just started.

4. Get vaca fund to x amount

5. Save for a new car for me that I need. Have the dp done but would like to not take out too much of a loan or take too much out of savings for it

6. Get mortgage to under a certain amount... continue paying at least 250 extra per month

I'm sure I'll have more...

[quesyrah]

Dec 28, 2021 23:12:18 GMT -5 minzy said:

My main financial goal this year, as has been in the past, is to give away more than we did the year before. I still need to look at numbers and give some away these next few days, then, including to the four charities my daughters selected for Christmas. (I have been making donations at their birthdays and Christmas each year, and this time, they selected the orgs all on their own. Last week: “Mom, can we actually each pick two instead of one?” Um, YES! I’m impressed with what they came up with - two environmental groups, a children's hospital, and our libraries. Hooray - all these years of parenting, and actual proof that some of what I’m always yipping about has sunk in!)

I want to focus more on donations to environmental groups in the coming year. I’ve signed up through work for the Combined Federal Campaign for 2022 to give to multiple groups per pay period, and we’ll definitely do some on our own, too.

And I’ll try to get us to spend a little more. Not like willy-nilly because we’re not shopaholics by any stretch and I’m trying to “save the environment” and not create mounds of shit to be landfilled, but on experiences or things that improve the quality of life for us and/or others/our community.

Can you share some of the orgs you’ve donated to?

My kids asked this year for Christmas if we could make donations so then each chose a charity (11 year old DS chose Greta Thunberg’s foundation and 8 year old DD chose our local homeless shelter). We also took stuff to Ronald McDonald house and toys for tots.

But they’re asking if there are more places we can donate to and I’m trying to make a list.

[twinmomma]

quesyrah, My kids have a couple favorite places to donate to. The local animal shelter is a big one, they love animals and helping locally brings it home for them. The other one is a group called End 68 Hours of Hunger. They send bags of food home with kids for the weekend. These are kids who otherwise only rely on free school breakfast and lunch for their main sources of nutrition, so they may go a whole weekend without real food available. Again, it's local and helps kids in our school district, so my kids have really learned a lot about how not everyone has what we have, even kids in their own school.

[niq]

Everything kinda feels like it's on cruise control? We will get a $800/month "raise" as O moves from daycare to school, but I am betting most of it goes into kid activities. We've done most of our money/adulting stuff. Maybe will do a couple of medium-sized home renovation projects?

I am trying to make a one-off gift to the local Boys & Girls Club to underwrite afterschool tutoring. The main challenge at this point is identifying where they can find good tutors on short notice.

[mommin]

1) Stop hemorrhaging money like it’s my job.
2) Finish saving for our house addition and patio that should start in spring. We are currently at $40k of the $50k we need.
3) Save for a new-to-us car since DS1 will start driving this summer. 😭
4) Figure out and pay for a vacation. We booked a cruise in January that will sail in August. I was so hopeful that the vaccine would be a miracle that I think I jumped the gun a bit. We don’t owe our final payment until April so we will see but I have a feeling I’m just going to be out the $600 non-refundable portion of our deposit.
5) Start contributions to DH’s stock purchase plan. He started with the company in August so we are now eligible. He’s never worked for a publicly traded company so this is new territory for us.

[madringal]

My new job has me making way more money than I ever have before - like more than double. But because it is commission based (mortgages) I know it can go away in a flash. Our goals are all savings based. We need a solid plan so that this money doesn't slip away. These are pretty much in priority order.

1 -I need to stash away about another 10k in cash. We don't need my income at all, so it is so easy to just spend it, but we have been pretty good at trying not too.

2- I will have a lot of medical bills this year, so I need to max out my HSA. I already have 2k scheduled to go in there for Jan. So I plan to do a large lump some during some of my "bigger" months.

3- I can't participate in my company's 401k until April, so my goal is to get 6k into a Roth IRA before then, then max out my 401k contribution.

4- Resist the urge to pay down my mortgage and instead invest that in this home so I don't feel tempted to sell/buy a new place. Finish saving 15k for a new deck and save 25k for a kitchen reno, and 10k for a master bath reno (probably won;t all happen in 2022, but those are the goals)

5 - Start car replacement fund - $500/month.

[brooke77]

-Max 401K
-Save for down payment on house (and hopefully purchase new house in Spring/Summer)
-Contribute to 529
-Get estate plan in order
-Make separate savings account for 40th birthday trip to Maldives or Bali (and hopefully actually take this trip in the fall of 2022)

This should be a good year financially. We are almost done with paying for expensive preschool and only have about 5 car payments left. We will be able to buy a larger house to accommodate home offices.

[gt7301b]

We are planning a kitchen remodel, so I don't expect it to be a great year for our overall savings goals

Most of my goals are for my DH

- Update remaining beneficiaries on retirement accounts per our estate instructions (mine are done)

- Have DH contact the state and get numbers about buying back his previous years of retirement from another state ( I have started actually including this account in our retirement estimates)

- Stay close to budget on our remodel

- Stop buying so much from Amazon/Target

[Mushe]

I meant to set these last year and kept forgetting!

1) Be diligent in following up on PSLF, since with the waiver I should be more than done with my loans, which I’d had on set and forget since grad school. I WILL focus on being grateful for the unexpected opportunity and not dwell on whether I get a refund.

2) Holy cow, stop wasting money on crap. A box arrived today with a microdermabrasion thing I ordered as an add-on from a subscription box, and I completely forgot I’d even ordered it. I also bought this red light wand thing with a friend when they were BOGO. Haven’t used it yet. Long story short, be mindful.

3) Continue the car fund savings, because supply is so low and I’m not driving anywhere these days anyway.

4) Continue focus on direct contributions. I kind of gave up on tracking charitable contributions because we were so close to the standard deduction last year, and it was freeing. Instead, I did things like purchased new bedding (and some toys) for two kids who just got a house, after being unhoused for a long time.

[minzy]

Dec 29, 2021 11:27:14 GMT -5 quesyrah said:

Can you share some of the orgs you’ve donated to?

My kids asked this year for Christmas if we could make donations so then each chose a charity (11 year old DS chose Greta Thunberg’s foundation and 8 year old DD chose our local homeless shelter). We also took stuff to Ronald McDonald house and toys for tots.

But they’re asking if there are more places we can donate to and I’m trying to make a list.

I love that your kids are thinking about this! And such thoughtful choices.

Really ideas come from whatever you have an interest in. My kids did a lemonade stand once and agreed to donate a portion of their sales to a charity - my kid was six and said she wanted give the money to “kids whose legs don’t work good.” And I was like…. Uh… Shriners? So we literally sent them a letter with $4 and they sent her back a fleece blanket. 🤣 Not a net win for them, but it got her little wheels turning. The same with the Angel tree every year, they pick a kid their own age and we go buy stuff they think the kid might like.

I’m counting that we gave money to 22 orgs this year, many repeats from prior years, but some different ones sprinkled in because of deaths or birthdays or a random kid’s read-a-thon or whatever. Libraries are big for us, both our local one, and I always give to the one in the town where my mother worked. Health charities are a priority. Ones you may have heard of are Doctors Without Borders, Special Olympics, St. Jude, more local cancer funds. Female empowering nonprofits like Girl Scouts and Girls on the Run. The PTAs. Environmental groups are something I’m trying to focus on more - the kids like watching Mark Rober and Mr. Beast on YouTube, so this year we did Team Trees and Team Seas. I donated to the Baltimore Tree Trust and another tree planting group. I like what they’re doing at The Crayon Initiative, and I may do a couple more environmental groups before tomorrow’s over. Through work in 2022, I’m slated to give to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (I live in Maryland), Meals on Wheels (I drove for them a few years before Covid), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (…enough said).

[quesyrah]

Dec 30, 2021 22:23:24 GMT -5 minzy said:

Dec 29, 2021 11:27:14 GMT -5 quesyrah said:

Can you share some of the orgs you’ve donated to?

My kids asked this year for Christmas if we could make donations so then each chose a charity (11 year old DS chose Greta Thunberg’s foundation and 8 year old DD chose our local homeless shelter). We also took stuff to Ronald McDonald house and toys for tots.

But they’re asking if there are more places we can donate to and I’m trying to make a list.

I love that your kids are thinking about this! And such thoughtful choices.

Really ideas come from whatever you have an interest in. My kids did a lemonade stand once and agreed to donate a portion of their sales to a charity - my kid was six and said she wanted give the money to “kids whose legs don’t work good.” And I was like…. Uh… Shriners? So we literally sent them a letter with $4 and they sent her back a fleece blanket. 🤣 Not a net win for them, but it got her little wheels turning. The same with the Angel tree every year, they pick a kid their own age and we go buy stuff they think the kid might like.

I’m counting that we gave money to 22 orgs this year, many repeats from prior years, but some different ones sprinkled in because of deaths or birthdays or a random kid’s read-a-thon or whatever. Libraries are big for us, both our local one, and I always give to the one in the town where my mother worked. Health charities are a priority. Ones you may have heard of are Doctors Without Borders, Special Olympics, St. Jude, more local cancer funds. Female empowering nonprofits like Girl Scouts and Girls on the Run. The PTAs. Environmental groups are something I’m trying to focus on more - the kids like watching Mark Rober and Mr. Beast on YouTube, so this year we did Team Trees and Team Seas. I donated to the Baltimore Tree Trust and another tree planting group. I like what they’re doing at The Crayon Initiative, and I may do a couple more environmental groups before tomorrow’s over. Through work in 2022, I’m slated to give to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (I live in Maryland), Meals on Wheels (I drove for them a few years before Covid), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (…enough said).

These are great suggestions, thank you!

Today they convinced me to finally donate to our local NPR station that we listen to all the time.

They were appealing to people who listen but hadn’t become members yet and my kids were like “hey mom I think they’re talking to us.” Lol!

[simpsongal]

1. Pay down heloc from bathroom Reno. Not sure how much but it’s like $65k, so half would be awesome

2. Fund kids’ 529s $4k each

3. Estate plan - make will or trust

4. Set up advanced directives for mom. Figure out her estate and finances

5. Rebuild savings
6. Look into extending term of our life insurance

7. Invest some money in landscaping now that the cicadas are gone. (trees that need time to grow).

I have some diy projects in mind for next year too. Hoping I can keep costs low to focus on debt repayment. Dd finishes preschool in the spring too - my last baby in daycare ($$$$).

Link to bathroom pics do you can see why we took out the pandce.proboards.com/thread/630722/bathroom-bedroom-reno-reveal-pip?page=1#post-14082027