2017 Goals

Hello. I know this post is a little late compared to most bloggers, but better late than never, right?

For 2017 I have 3 financial goals, Before I let you in on what they are, I want to preface them by telling you that they are all attainable. I also want to be honest and tell you that they have been my financial goals for the last 3 years or so, and I haven't reached them yet.

This year is going to be interesting. We are looking in to selling our house, and then of course buying a new one; and we have some travel planned, so although we should be able to meet our goals, I'm not sure what's going to happen.

With out further ado, here they are:

1. Get out of credit card debt once and for all and never to go back again!

2. End the year with $10,000 in the bank. (This would be across all of our bank accounts: our conventional bank and 2 credit unions.)

3. Get one month ahead with our finances.

Now that you know what they are, let's talk about them, shall we?

Goal number one is self-explanatory. I want to get out of credit card debt. I have set a super stretch goal to get out of debt by March 30. I don't know if that is realistic, but I'm shooting for it. If we are unable to hit that goal, the next date I would like to be credit card debt free by would be my 15th wedding anniversary in May. With all the travel we have planned, this goal is still a stretch, but we are shooting for it. In all honesty, I will be happy as long as we are debt free by December 31, 2017, but the sooner the better!

Goal number two has eluded me for years! $10,000 would only be an emergency fund of about 2 months of bare bones expenses, but I think it would give me major piece of mind. It would be enough money to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle and cover any emergencies that would come up. We have several bank accounts and I would be happy if we reached $10,000 throughout all of them.

Goal number three is really about breaking the paycheck to paycheck cycle. If we were a month ahead with our finances we would be living on last month's income, not relying on future income. Currently, the way we pay bills is with money we don't have yet. We pay bills with money we are planning on receiving, not money already in the bank. I really want that to change!

I guess I actually have a fourth goal, too: I don't want our consumer debt to increase at all, for any reason, in the year 2017. I will post a numbers post this time next month to see exactly where we are. Then I can use that post as a benchmark for the rest of the year to see if we are actually paying off debt.

As always, wish us luck!