Looking Forward – Goals for 2009
Posted on January 2, 2009
Filed Under Attitude, Couples | Leave a Comment
After a disasterous 2007 (completely my fault), 2008 was a very good year for us financially. 2009 isn’t starting out to look quite as good though. Our biggest challenge will be to maintain our current level of income. My wife works in the casino industry, which is being hit hard by the recession. They are predicting that 2009 will be one of the slowest years in recent memory. As for myself, I am a state employee on a year to year contract which expires in June. Our state is in the middle of a budget crisis, so my once secure job is no longer secure after next June. With that said, we have some pretty hefty financial goals for 2009.
Savings
I would like to increase our savings account by at least $12,000, not including interest earned. This sort of acts like an emergency fund, and also like a self employment fund. The eventual goal is to have 2 years’ worth of living expenses so both of us can quit our jobs and pursue self employment.
Investing
In 2008, I put $500 per month into a 403(b) at work. For 2009, I’m going to change this account to a Roth 403(b) and up my contribution to $1,266 per month (making my annual contribution close to the maximum allowed, $15,200). We will also fully fund my wife’s Roth IRA early in the year to take advantage of the current stock market levels. For 2009, I will also open my own Roth IRA and fund it to the maximum allowed.
As for what to invest in, my 403(b) at work is 100% in Fidelity mutual funds and will stay that way. Our Roth IRAs will be a mix of mutual funds and individual stocks.
Spending
My wife wants new blinds (our old ones really do suck) and I don’t know yet what that will cost. I also want to spend about $15,000 fixing up my Barracuda and about $3,000 on a deer rifle and related gear.
Conclusion
If we consider ourselves as living on one income, we will need to earn about $170 above what I make at work each and every day in order to meet our goals. A lot of this is covered by my wife’s earnings, but I’ve decided to make a goal of earning $170 net every day, above my regular salary. If we can achieve that, we should be OK even if both of us lose our jobs.
Cheers,
Ken
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