Financial Goals 2023: Head Start to get Ahead

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moana: Jun 18, 2005; one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web

cheese eats mouse posted:

This is going to be a weird year for me. I'm taking a hiatus this year from working for few months starting in April, so I have no clue about money this year!

Before I quit
Max 401k
Pay off any outstanding debts
Get my 2022 taxes completed
Complete my living will and power of attorney process
Launch my portfolio
Finish updating my resume

After I quit
Stay within my $500 month fun budget
Sell any extra clothing I haven't used this past year
Sign up for health insurance via the marketplace
Set up my Squarespace and start selling my pottery to make my hobby self-sufficient
Find a new job by July.

New job
Max Roth
Save 30% of new salary

I wanna see your pottery! Just signed up for a class/open studio time this spring but it's been too long.

# ? Jan 8, 2023 08:23

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# ? Apr 16, 2024 18:56

Gucci Loafers: May 20, 2006; Ask yourself, do you really want to talk to pair of really nice gaudy shoes?

My big goals,

1. Max out 401k; front load the whole thing
2. Max out Roth IRA
3. Max out HSA
4. Save $1k/mo

My small goals,

1. Eat a fancy restaurant at least once a week. Sometimes I turn into a shut-in and just work, work, work. This is a way for me to get out, meet normal people and it's no way to live just eating bagels and coffee.
2. Cook at home, Chipotle while convenient is a little pricey. Getting away from the internet, work, etc. is also a small plus just trying to cook eggs, bacon and whatever else.

Gucci Loafers fucked around with this message at 17:53 on Jan 14, 2023

# ? Jan 12, 2023 03:19

Lawman 0: Aug 17, 2010

I need a new job or another raise.
I also need to make a budget and stick to it because my spending while low now is probably ramp up this year for social events.

# ? Jan 14, 2023 14:58

5MinuteButtermilk: Mar 5, 2014

I'll be exiting the job rotation program I'm in in June, so I'll be starting a new job and possibly moving this year. I think the best way to approach setting financial goals will be before/after the end of the program:

Before Exiting:
1. Save 200/month for potential moving expenses.
2. Save additional 200/month for emergency savings. Goal emergency savings balance: $10.5K. Currently at $3.1k.
2. Continue saving 10% of income for retirement.
3. Refine budget to make sure that large recurring expenses (bulk cat food, car maintenance, ect) are being properly covered.
4. Get better at sticking to budget overall.
5. Stretch Goal: negotiate for relocation benefits if I take a job that I have to move for.

After Exiting:
1. If I do move, try and find a place with cheaper rent (this one is pretty area dependent).
2. Redirect 200/month moving cost savings into HYSA.
3. Increase emergency fund savings as much as feasible.

General Goals:
1. Reduce how much takeout I order by at least 1/2.
2. Try for at least 60 minutes of cardio exercise each week.
3. Try for at least 30 minutes of resistance/strength exercise each week.
4. Plant some native plants-- potted or in-ground, whatever is feasible depending on where I'm living.
5. Finish 4 cross-stitch projects.
6. Practice pattern creation. Learn to integrate pixel art techniques into patterns.

# ? Jan 15, 2023 19:02

cheese eats mouse: Jul 6, 2007; A real Portlander now

moana posted:

I wanna see your pottery! Just signed up for a class/open studio time this spring but it's been too long.

I'll DM you my instagram! I have some stuff up, but most of my in progress work shows up in my stories. Portland winter weather isn't great for taking pictures outside.

# ? Jan 19, 2023 10:33

poisonpill: Nov 8, 2009; The only way to get huge fast is to insult a passing witch and hope she curses you with Beast-strength.

laxbro posted:

I started flipping art in 2022 and have learned a ton over the past year. Made a ton of mistakes but I�ve gotten a decent strategy worked out by now. Setting a goal of 10k in profit for 2023.

Flipping art, as in paintings and sculptures from young artists?

# ? Jan 30, 2023 01:44

LanceHunter: Nov 12, 2016; Beautiful People Club

Woof. This was a very BWM month. Put down a bunch of money for my February trip to New Orleans and my 2024 Costa Rica trip, bought most of the materials for an installation art project I'll be debuting in May, and then had some unexpected car repairs come up. In theory I've done most of my splurging for the first half of the year already, so if I can keep my spending down for the next few months these goals won't fall out of reach.

Financial

Get emergency fund/liquid cash savings to $2000. - Fund down to $100, rebuilding phase begins now.
Decrease total debt by $20,000 - Debt down just a touch over $300. Not on pace.
Max out company match on 401k - Still on auto.
Max out my work's charity donation matching. (For real this time!) - Still on auto.
~~Put down the 50% deposit on villa rental for 2024 Costa Rica trip~~ (stretch goal: also buy the plane tickets). - Reservations for 2024 opened the second week of January. I got one week reserved and put down the 50% deposit. Plane tickets won't happen until December at the earliest.
Maintain $0 in CC debt - Managed to stay at $0 here, just barely. Maybe on pace.

Life

Lose 50-55 pounds - Monthly average weight for January was down 4.2 pounds from monthly average weight in December. Wegovy rx was delayed because of pharmacy and insurance gently caress-ups, but I have confirmed that it will be in my hands on February 1st.
Complete >104 units in Duolingo's Spanish course - Finished unit 9. Technically, unit 1 of course 2. Duolingo changed their layout for the lessons so now they don't all have continuous unit numbering between courses, so I can't just say "finish unit 110" now, I have to finish unit 25 of course 5 (Intermediate Spanish 1).
Read >12 books (at least one in Spanish) - Not on pace.
Deadlift 400 pounds again - Haven't maxed out this month, but repping out 5x330# still.
Run <10:00 miles again - Haven't run a full mile yet this year. Not on pace (literally).
Take an actual vacation (as in, at least 3 days of PTO and going to another city) - Work is still good with my New Orleans trip, and all tickets/hotel have been paid for. Gonna do what Professor Longhair suggested...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9zYM1D3cLk

# ? Jan 31, 2023 15:44

spinst: Jul 14, 2012

January Update

1. Raise net worth by $304k to $340k. $307k

2. Increase emergency fund from $18k to $20k. $18.2k

3. Make one extra mortgage payment. 0.09 extra payments made

4. Contribute a minimum of $4.4k to Roth IRA. $360

5. Stay at or under my Eating Out budget for 10 out of 12 months. 0/12. Unplanned lunch with coworkers killed it this month.

6. Explore moving my Roth IRA from Betterment to a somewhere... better. No progress.

7. Make a celebratory "11 years of YNAB" post at end of September. Not time yet.

8. Lose 15 pounds. -3 pounds. Certainly was hoping for more, but I'll take it.

8. Read 12 books. 1/12. This month, I read "Spare" by Prince Harry. I regret nothing.

# ? Jan 31, 2023 15:45

Good-Natured Filth: Jun 8, 2008; Do you think I've got the goods Bubblegum? Cuz I am INTO this stuff!

January Update

2023 Financial Goals

~~Annual budget reassessment~~ Done. Some minor shifts, but generally, we're pretty good at staying in our budget.
~~Max out backdoor Roth IRAs~~ Done
Max HSA On track
Meet company match on 401k On track
50/month into kids' 529s On track
Use my company's life insurance benefit for free estate planning to actually estate plan
Furnish the basement. Stay under 20k all in 12k spent so far, and we're pretty close to done.

2023 Personal Goals

Read 16 books (Stretch goal: 1 in Spanish) 1 of 16 read*
Exercise 100 times 9 of 100
Use all of my vacation 0 of 200 hours
Reduce unfinished game list ~~to 85% of my backlog~~ by an amount that makes me feel happy. Longer update below**
Take the kids one place new every month We took them to the Winnie the Pooh musical at a nearby Performance Arts Center that was really fun.
Engage more in community I've left some Discords that I don't ever look at and have improved my participation there. I have been posting slightly more in other parts of SA, too. I've also been randomly texting friends more about silly poo poo. I have a ways to go to feel "engaged," but it's progress.

* I post when I finish a book over in TBB, but I highly recommend The Lies of Locke Lamora. A great, low-fantasy story following a con-man and his friends.

** I went through my backlog (that I keep track of on Backloggery) and recategorized games and removed things I know I'll never play. I have my "unfinished" list down to 83.8%. Now that I have things in order, I'm updating the goal to be more subjective since specific numbers would be challenging to meet (1% of my backlog is 28 games...).

Good-Natured Filth fucked around with this message at 15:53 on Feb 1, 2023

# ? Jan 31, 2023 18:14

Turbinosamente: May 29, 2013; Lights on, Lights off

Financial

Overall: hoard money to buy a house.

• Add 13k to my savings. On pace with $250 a week, haven't need to tap the account.

• Curb my bullshit spending on collectibles. So far 4 extraneous things bought, but I was able to cover most of one by selling other poo poo.

• Get a raise next October. Waiting and seeing.

Personal

• Get to bed on time, bitch. Lol, failure so far.

• No new craft projects or mediums. Nothing new bought, no projects completed yet either.

• Buy no more than 5 video games.
0/5 purchased.

• Beat 5 games, read 5 books, watch 5 DVDs.
0/5 games.
0/5 books.
3/5 DVDs. Might not need this category next year, my backlog is dwindling!

• Keep decluttering. One load went to the thrift store, the next box is getting pretty full. Going slow and scattershot, but going.

• Play more bass. I'm a bad person who hasn't practiced, but my interest level in it is up.

• Cook more often/ find new recipes. Got a recipe book for Christmas, have yet to do poo poo.

# ? Jan 31, 2023 19:41

Pipistrelle: Jun 18, 2011; Seems the high horse is taking them all home

January Update

2023 Financial Goals
1. Repay myself - $737 of $4,490
2. Contribute full amount to 401(k) - Set on auto, on track
3. Contribute full amount to IRA - Done
4. Get veterinary e-fund back to $3000 - $508 of $3,000
5. Sell old company stock - Looking into this
6. Rollover old 401(k)s and HSAs - One transfer initiated
7. Stretch: Extra house payment
8. Reevaluate goals in July

2023 Personal Goals
1. Find a new primary doctor - Done
2. Yoga at least x2 a week - lol nope
3. Cut down on eating out - Done ok so far with this, stayed within budget so pretty happy
4. Read 15 books - 0 of 15, in the middle of a book but haven't finished yet

# ? Feb 1, 2023 05:08

moana: Jun 18, 2005; one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web

Thanks for the Ethan Frome recommendation, I ended up reading Summer and The Bronner Sisters and got thoroughly depressed by Edith Wharton. Of the Farm by Updike was equally depressing. More colonially depressing was Coetzee's Waiting For the Barbarians which was phenomenal. Then I thought I should go for something more uplifting so I reread Blood Meridian.

Actually, I've started out with a string of really good books. The Three-Body Problem was super fun scifi, and then I read The Wright Brothers which was so immersive, I want to read more of that author. Then the new David Sedaris collection.

I DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ BOOKS okay well Here are a couple of my favorites short stories from the 20 Under 40 collection in 2010. All from the New Yorker:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/07/05/the-erlking A delightful parental horror.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/06/14/the-pilot More awkward to read than watching The Office, such a great cringe character.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/06/14/here-we-arent-so-quickly Oh my god this one made me cry and then I made my husband read it and he told me never to make him read anything again.

moana posted:

Gooooooooals!

Three words for 2023 are: compassion, positivity, art.

General goals:
- Keep track of all financial activity in an overall spreadsheet to make end of year planning easier ON TRACK
- Go back to using a spreadsheet to track discretionary purchases ON TRACK, January was a low-spend month for discretionary
- Make sure we're hitting 10% of total expenses as charitable expenses - ON TRACK, need to do stock transfer to Haiti charity though
- Read 100 books - ON TRACK, 13 books in January.
- Make pottery and build pit in backyard to try out reduction pit firing - signed up for March pottery studio

Garden goals:
- Get compost for garden (Jan) - this dude is coming by to give me some this week but I need to get more from the store legit style
- Plant a bunch of pumpkins (March/April)
- Plant flowers for cut garden on top of leach field (April)
- Get curly willow cuttings and make wreaths to dry out (April/May)
- Do mother's day succulent pots for neighborhood (May)
- Get more blackberry cuttings and plant them up in front yard (May/June)
- Do at least 20 hoshigaki (September/October)
- Don't buy any more houseplants. Keep the ones I have alive. Split some to give away as presents. ON TRACK

DIY goals:
- Build loft in garage (Jan/Feb) - We have half of a loft up! Need to install the attic stairs, the divider walls, and seal the concrete. But I did the concrete patches and took out the old insulation and now I've got it down to studs which is how a house should always be, right?
- Hire out electrician (Feb)
- Insulate and build floor (Feb)
- Hire dry wall guys (March)
- Restain the back deck (March)
- Paint garage (March)

# ? Feb 1, 2023 05:10

EricBauman: Nov 30, 2005; DOLF IS RECHTVAARDIG

January update

Financial:

Replace my side job income with a bonus I get from working in-office in my main job
In office bonus was around 600, side job around 400. I'm ok with this, but I'm also seeing that hours at my side job are sliding, so I should go to the office even more often
Pay off my home renovation loan in full (around �18400 after this month's upcoming payment)
currently at 16789.89
Contribute the maximum in my private tax-advantaged retirement account (Likely only about �2k. I'll only know the exact amount in April because employee retirement savings is so well organized in the Netherlands that self-employed retirement savings schemes have been allowed to devolve into a mess)
nothing yet, waiting for the calculation of how much I can contribute (likely in April)
Keep my emergency fund at �10k (no effort, just avoid emergencies!)
still at 10k
Keep my apartment fund at �10k. It can go over, and currently is, awaiting renovation bills and furniture purchases
currently a bit over 18k

Apartment:

Get all walls and floors done so I can move my bed into the bigger (now empty) bedroom
going to get some painting done soon on the balcony door and some other stuff. Getting an interior door replaced
Get electricity for that bedroom and the balcony done so I'll later be able to get an induction range in the kitchen (long story, stupid setup)
electrical will be done simultaneously with the painting. The electrician and the painter are brothers
Get plumbing for my washer and dryer where I want it
no progress

Projects:

Finish and launch at least one software project, even if it's only for me to use myself
Making progress on my time tracking website that has two users (me and a friend). Development is slowing down a bit because I spent too much time on the project below
Help a friend finish and launch at least one project, probably a cookbook
Cookbook launched, in more of a magazine form. If it works out, we're looking at doing one every few months

Life/general:

Finish a book every month. I used to be a book a week guy, I need to get back on the horse
I finished Sapiens (which I started late 2022), hated it. It's just Guns, Germs and Steel with a veneer of cultural philosophy, and a pointless chapter on transhumanism tacked to the end. Takes huge logical, cultural and historical short cuts. Zero parts of this book would stand up to scrutiny as a scholarly work on history, so it makes sense that it's being sold as pop sci. I can't believe this guy is held up as this huge intellectual
Cook for other people at least once a month
My guests had to cancel because their baby was coming. I'll make it up to them later.
Take two vacations
Booked the first one for early March, to see some friends in Spain
At least four hours of exercise every week, measured in fitbit move minutes.
Falling short of this goal due to medical reasons (intestinal issues that are going to take a few months to resolve and hopefully aren't bowel cancer) Also, my Fitbit isn't that accurate and will often not track my biking unless I specifically tell it I'm biking as exercise.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 12:15

YeahTubaMike: Mar 24, 2005; *hic* Gotta finish thish . . .; Doctor Rope

January Update

Alright, let's see how pretty & organized I can make this post look...

Financial

- $5,000 travel (keeping in mind that I have two trips coming up)
I'm still not really sure how to track this. Technically I have -$2,033.59 to go, but I'm going on at least three trips this year and I still haven't dipped into the reserves yet.

- $8,000 new apartment
Yeah, I'm using my emergency fund to pay for a new apartment. My rent is supposed to go up by $300+ -- why not get another, better apartment with more bedrooms in a building with a laundry room & gym for the exact same price? :toot:

- $20,000 emergency $4,620.05 to go (this will change after I sign the upcoming lease)
- $5,000 bills $1,540.96 to go

Personal (habits)

- get out of bed before 10am at least six days a week
This has been a resounding success. The only day I got out of bed after 10 was the second day after my period, which is the Doomsday, which deserves an exception.

- walk at least one mile a day at least six days a week
- listen to at least 3 hours of NRK Alltid Nyheter a day (jeg m� �ve! :norway:

)
- limit five takeout/order-in meals a week
Getting there but not quite, for all three of these goals. Listening to Alltid Nyheter feels like doing brain yoga.

Personal (one-timers)

- buy a new computer
DONE. A nice little Acer TravelMate.

- have my fibroids removed (or the whole uterus, whatever works)
- have my wisdom teeth removed
- buy a drat vacuum
Eeeeehhh I'll get around to it, for all three of these goals. :effort:

# ? Feb 1, 2023 20:43

Doccykins: Feb 21, 2006

Doccykins posted:

Happy New Year all, lets hope this year is more profitable than last. Most of my goals this year are rolled from last year just because I managed to complete the grand total of 1 goal (short term savings) last year...

Financial Goals for 2023

- Increase Pension Pot from �105k to �130k
- Increase ISA from �10k to �15k
- Increase Short Term Savings from �5000 to �7500 (if not cleaned out with personal goal)
- Increase Net Worth from �142k to �170k

Personal Goals for 2023

- Complete Curtain/Blind refurb on living room and front bedroom
- Sort out skiing for early March
- Buy new Office Chair (rolled over from 2021)
- Buy new Fridge/Freezer | Washing Machine for kitchen (this is more of a stretch goal as the current ones work but aren't particularly good)
- Run and/or cycle at least twice a week - added for this year is to get in on the ground floor of my work's cycle to work scheme to force this a bit
- Take a two week holiday in Q2 or Q3 and delete my work email app from my phone
- Take one hour a day off screen at lunch when working
- Find a piano teacher and clear Grade 1

End of January

- Pension Pot �109k
- ISA �10k
- Short Term Savings �5200
- NW �146k

- Decided on fabric, just need to get the living room curtain made up
- Booked flights/accommodation/transfers
- DID NOT RUN. MORON.
- Playing a bit of piano during lunch hours, have got the major scales down and am starting plinky plonky pop chords (I can mangle Stay by Rihanna) - Not looked for a teacher yet

- One of the valves in the boiler popped during the coldest week in the last year because of course it did, Emergency fund to the rescue on that one. Also still need to bolster the back fence before the next heavy winds. Our neighbour is shaming us by getting hers done today.

# ? Feb 2, 2023 11:30

YeahTubaMike: Mar 24, 2005; *hic* Gotta finish thish . . .; Doctor Rope

Well, I got laid off the day after I made my post. Not sure how to keep up with my financial goals now, but I'll be sprucing up my resume in the meantime.

# ? Feb 4, 2023 17:16

Turbinosamente: May 29, 2013; Lights on, Lights off

YeahTubaMike posted:

Well, I got laid off the day after I made my post. Not sure how to keep up with my financial goals now, but I'll be sprucing up my resume in the meantime.

Think positive? Maybe the next job will let you blow past the financial goals? I should be more proactive about my job, morale is in the dumper where I work and lots of black humor about how much longer the company itself will last going around.

# ? Feb 4, 2023 19:42

Ornery and Hornery: Oct 22, 2020

laxbro posted:

Hoping to get some side hustles really moving in 2023.

I started flipping art in 2022 and have learned a ton over the past year. Made a ton of mistakes but I�ve gotten a decent strategy worked out by now. Setting a goal of 10k in profit for 2023.

I also bought a snacks related domain name and want to get some sort of blog/YouTube/TikTok snack hustle going. Not sure yet if I�ll just review snacks, resell snacks, or try making my own. Probably will do all three first and then see what sticks. Goal is to break even on money invested.

I would be interested in learning about your lived experiences related to selling art.

# ? Feb 20, 2023 01:17

Ornery and Hornery: Oct 22, 2020

Goals:
idk, stack more paper

# ? Feb 20, 2023 01:19

spwrozek: Sep 4, 2006; Sail when it's windy

Goal this year is to get my brokerage account to have more money than my Roth IRA. As of today ~$18K to go

# ? Feb 22, 2023 02:51

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

spwrozek posted:

Goal this year is to get my brokerage account to have more money than my Roth IRA. As of today ~$18K to go

I mean, there's two ways to accomplish this.

# ? Feb 22, 2023 12:48

spwrozek: Sep 4, 2006; Sail when it's windy

Dik Hz posted:

I mean, there's two ways to accomplish this.

Get a $20k bonus and then chip away? Might work.

# ? Feb 23, 2023 03:45

LanceHunter: Nov 12, 2016; Beautiful People Club

February report: Another BWM month. It turns out that vacations are expensive, y'all.

Financial

Get emergency fund/liquid cash savings to $2000. - Fund at $225 (up $125 month-over-month). Not on pace.
Decrease total debt by $20,000 - Total debt down by $1100 for the year so far (down $800 month-over-month). Not on pace.
Max out company match on 401k - Still on auto.
Max out my work's charity donation matching. (For real this time!) - Still on auto.
~~Put down the 50% deposit on villa rental for 2024 Costa Rica trip~~ (stretch goal: also buy the plane tickets). - Done. (plane tickets tbd)
Maintain $0 in CC debt - CC debt sitting around $700 (Up $700 month-over-month). Once again, vacations are expensive.

Life

Lose 50-55 pounds - Holy poo poo. Wegovy is no joke, y'all. I started it on the second of this month and my monthly average weight for February was down 17.5 pounds from the monthly average weight in December (down 13.45 pounds month-over-month from January average). The actual challenge for this one is going to be making sure that I don't lose more than 55 pounds by the end of the year.
Complete >104 units in Duolingo's Spanish course - 99 units remaining (3 units completed this month). I need to complete 2-3 units per week to hit this goal. Not on pace.
Read >12 books (at least one in Spanish) - 1 book read. (Sarah Vowell's The Wordy Shipmates, which was a very interesting read but also completely stuck in the Bush administration.) Not on pace.
Deadlift 400 pounds again - Still haven't maxed out, but still repping 3x5s at 330# pretty comfortably. So far the weight loss hasn't been accompanied by a loss of strength, but I really need to max out here soon so I can get an idea for just how far I need to go to hit this goal.
Run a <10:00 mile again - My best 1 mile run time so far this year was timed at 13:14. This is extremely bad, but it's better than not running at all.
~~Take an actual vacation (as in, at least 3 days of PTO and going to another city)~~ - Took the train to New Orleans and saw the Mardi Gras. Nearly died. Done.

# ? Feb 28, 2023 12:27

Turbinosamente: May 29, 2013; Lights on, Lights off

February round up!

Turbinosamente posted:

Financial

Overall: hoard money to buy a house.

• Add 13k to my savings. On pace with $250 a week, haven't need to tap the account.

• Curb my bullshit spending on collectibles. I think I'm up to 6 extraneous things? I need to watch it here.

• Get a raise next October. Waiting and seeing.

Personal

• Get to bed on time, bitch. Still failing to do so.

• No new craft projects or mediums. Two projects completed!

• Buy no more than 5 video games.
1/5 purchased.

• Beat 5 games, read 5 books, watch 5 DVDs.
0/5 games.
0/5 books.
3/5 DVDs.

• Keep decluttering. One more box of poo poo went out, have been tossing a lot of smaller stuff lately.

• Play more bass. Still half assing it.

• Cook more often/ find new recipes. Another lol nope.

My time management skills are the real problem here....

# ? Feb 28, 2023 13:04

Good-Natured Filth: Jun 8, 2008; Do you think I've got the goods Bubblegum? Cuz I am INTO this stuff!

February Update

2023 Financial Goals

~~Annual budget reassessment~~
~~Max out backdoor Roth IRAs~~
Max HSA On track
Meet company match on 401k On track
50/month into kids' 529s On track
Use my company's life insurance benefit for free estate planning to actually estate plan
~~Furnish the basement. Stay under 20k all in~~ Done. 13k spent

2023 Personal Goals

Read 16 books (Stretch goal: 1 in Spanish) 2 of 16 read
Exercise 100 times 15 of 100. A week of having / recovering from strep throat put me a bit behind where I wanted to be.
Use all of my vacation 8 of 200 hours
Reduce unfinished game list by an amount that makes me feel happy. 6 more games removed from the list
Take the kids one place new every month We brought our kids to the ballet, which they both didn't care for.

Good-Natured Filth fucked around with this message at 20:59 on Mar 1, 2023

# ? Feb 28, 2023 21:49

YeahTubaMike: Mar 24, 2005; *hic* Gotta finish thish . . .; Doctor Rope

So, as I said earlier, I got laid off on February 2. The only decent chance I seem to have so far is for a part-time, 3-month contract position that I am grossly overqualified for & would be grossly underpaid for. At least it's something? At least I got severance.

Also, for the record, I'm leaving my completed goals up here just to remind myself of my successes. I'll remove them if they take up too much space. Anywaaaayyyy...

February Update

Alright, let's see how pretty & organized I can make this post look...

Financial

- $5,000 travel (keeping in mind that I have two trips coming up)
I'm still not really sure how to track this. Technically I have -$-1,455.65 to go; I dipped into it to pay my share of the family cruise money.

- $8,000 new apartment
Not sure how to track this either. I don't have an official "apartment fund", I've already moved into the new place, and I've been using my emergency fund to pay for rent & food. Should I just cross it out?

- $20,000 emergency $3,918.79 to go
- $5,000 bills $-2,148.32 to go :toot:

Personal (habits)

- get out of bed before 10am at least six days a week
Still going strong.

- walk at least one mile a day at least six days a week
I don't know if this counts as a win, since I've only been doing it because I've been moving my stuff -- little by little -- out of my old apartment that happens to be a mile away. I'm going to count it as a win anyway, just for this month, and I'll keep it in my to-do list just in case.

- limit five takeout/order-in meals a week
This has been a MASSIVE failure, and here's why -- my apartment's fridge was broken until literally yesterday. I'll get back to this though; I've missed milk & eggs so much

- listen to at least 3 hours of NRK Alltid Nyheter a day (jeg m� �ve! :norway:

)
Between moving and getting laid off, I'm a little too stressed & busy to focus on brushing up on my Norwegian skills.

Personal (one-timers)

- buy a new computer
DONE. A nice little Acer TravelMate.

- have my fibroids removed (or the whole uterus, whatever works)
- have my wisdom teeth removed
Let's get insurance first. :patriot:

- buy a drat vacuum
Let's get income first.

# ? Mar 1, 2023 17:23

Residency Evil: Jul 28, 2003; 4/5 godo... Schumi

March Update

Current State
- My student loans: 170k, currently 0% interest, no payments until Summer 2023
- Mortgage on 30 year fixed at 2.875%

Financial Goals for 2023
- Max out Backdoor Roth IRAs for me/wife Done
- Max both of our 401ks/Mega Backdoor Roths On track
- Put 10k/month in to taxable Still putting in 15k/month. Should be easier to keep it high later in the year.
- Put 3k/month in to savings On track
- Fund Baby Evil's 529 with an extra $20k Waiting for the tax refund
- Increase net worth to the next million Have been flirting with this over the past few weeks. We've been above/below.
- Figure out what to do with student loans this summer Angrily hoping I never have to pay these back.

# ? Mar 1, 2023 17:44

KYOON GRIFFEY JR: Apr 12, 2010; Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22

Financial
Max various retirement accounts incl 401(k), IRA, HSA - All on pace
Contribute $2K to 529 in order to maximize state income tax benefits. - Not done yet
Save at least $60K towards house down payment - $58K/$60K
Identify an accountant in case tax situation gets much more complex in 2023 - not done yet
Migrate our stupid low yield CD that's up in January in to a T-Bill ladder or something similar - not done yet, it's just sitting in HYSA for now
$10K I-Bond purchase not done yet

Nonfinancial
Go skiing 10 days in the year - 1/10 days, not on pace. Have 8 upcoming in the schedeule. lousy winter in New England; nothing
Use all my vacation time - 0 used, not on pace. 3/25 to be used in March
Read 25 books - 4/25, on pace
Exercise 150+ days - 21/25, not on pace

Need to buckle down and get some things done in March, particularly catch back up with exercise goal.

KYOON GRIFFEY JR fucked around with this message at 18:08 on Mar 1, 2023

# ? Mar 1, 2023 18:04

The SituAsian: Oct 29, 2006; I'm a mess in distress
But we're still the best dressed

Forgot about this guy. Time to a double update I guess

The SituAsian posted:

(I think) first time posting in one of these

Financial

-Stay employed at same position or at least maintain a comparable salary at another position so that I won't need to make any major lifestyle changes. - So far so good I suppose

-Pass the 4 CPA Exam sections by the end of the year - Starting on 4/29, behind on studying though unfortunately

-Move emergency savings from garbage rear end Chase to any HYSA. Also not necessarily a goal yet but probably change my bank Chase to somewhere (anywhere) else. - Moved 6 months of emergency fund to Amex so done there. Sticking with Chase for the rest out of inertia and lack of real alternatives I guess.

-Deposit at least $1,200 into HSA. Actually just passed this today. Between regular paycheck/employer contribution I'll probably end up hitting $2,000 total

-Continue to max out 401k contributions - So far so good

-Sell off stocks in brokerage account and establish a Roth IRA with the funds - Not sure if I want to do this anymore actually; re-evaluating

-Either get a killer offer to keep or cancel my Amex Platinum when it renews in August - I feel like the benefits have gotten even worse so there's probably nothing that can make me keep it now but I'll see as it gets closer

Personal

-Workout at least twice a week with weights Not even close. But at least I lifted twice this week

-(Weather permitting) do some form of walking at least 30 minutes once a week Weather is getting better around Chicago but so far no dice

-Visit goon friends in Portland sometime in the Spring Buddy of mine is getting married this summer down in South Padre so that might turn into this. Maybe I'll be able to do both though

-Go to Las Vegas with aforementioned goon friends in the fall for either a big fight event or F1 - Just kinda clicked that F1 will probably be incredibly expensive so maybe choose something else

-Continue daily fantasy sports and sports betting as a hobby but-barring special circumstance or promotion-not play more than $10 at a time - Have played a bit more than this a few times. Sometimes it works (Damian Lillard winning the 3 point contest), sometimes it doesn't (Eagles Super Bowl moneyline). Point is I'm still having fun with it and it's not causing any issues so so far so good.

-Declutter my lifestyle by selling off Magic: The Gathering collection, selling (or giving away) spare electronics/computer parts as well as giving away clothes I don't wear/no longer fit me anymore. - Did manage to catalogue most card with some value though I probably want to pull the trigger on this sooner rather than later as long as Wizards/Hasbro insists on killing the game. Also gave away an old laptop to my dad.

-Pursuant to the above set budgets for clothing and hobbies. I didn't this year and I just ended up wasting too much. Haven't really spent much honestly though I probably should give this more thought.

-Keep some sort of paper journal and try to update it at least twice weekly - Nothing yet but going to be ending therapy soon (mutual decision) so this will probably be needed soon

# ? Mar 2, 2023 00:43

Turbinosamente: May 29, 2013; Lights on, Lights off

The SituAsian posted:

-Declutter my lifestyle by selling off Magic: The Gathering collection, selling (or giving away) spare electronics/computer parts as well as giving away clothes I don't wear/no longer fit me anymore. - Did manage to catalogue most card with some value though I probably want to pull the trigger on this sooner rather than later as long as Wizards/Hasbro insists on killing the game. Also gave away an old laptop to my dad.

Slightly off topic but how exactly are they killing the game, is it the too many expansions complaint I've been hearing about recently? I was on the fence about playing MTG Arena instead of Pokemon Live as I recall MTG being more fun to play when I had the cardboard. To wrap it back to something closer to on topic (since we both have decluttering goals) I've got a spreadsheet open that I'm about to prioritize my video games with and both TCG clients are being counted as games on the sheet. Already doing such with my art and craft project ideas really helped me figure out what to do next, and more importantly which projects to drop as they weren't brilliant ideas at a second glance. I'm hoping the same will be true after I do the video games, especially with the dropping of games that didn't click with me. I don't have time to play all this poo poo anymore.

# ? Mar 2, 2023 01:52

Tibalt: May 14, 2017; What, drawn, and talk of peace! I hate the word, As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee

Financial Goals:
Continue to max out my 401k On Track
~~Support my spouse to max out her 401k~~ New goal below
Help my spouse set up a retirement solution Waiting on this
Pay off at least half of home renovation loans. Loan has increased, but still on track
~~Support my spouse to set up her private practice full time~~ Done
~~Cut our discretionary spending back by 5% ($150/month)~~ Done

Personal Goals:
Take better care of my physical and mental health ...We'll see
~~Upgrade my first job (job search, interview, etc.)~~ Done
Publish something On Track

Well, some things are going well - I negotiated a 35% raise for job 1 that'll be effective in April, so that's a big step taken care of. We also cut back on discretionary spending by quite a bit. The less good news is that my spouse was fired from her job before she had the private practice set up, so ready or not, I'm supporting her move to full-time private practice effectively immediately. The home renovation budget has also ballooned by 30% after we made decided to expand the scope of the renovation, which I don't regret but has put a lot of extra pressure on us.

But, I'm still on track to max out my 401k, and while I'll need to figure out a retirement solution for my wife, that can wait until she's settled in and the practice is up and running. We'll probably go with a traditional IRA and set up some automatic payments. And while I'm certainly feeling like money is tight at the moment, that's going to go away once I'm not trying to fill the hole in the renovation budget, my raise goes into effect, and I get my annual bonus. Lots of time between now and the end of the year, and all the goals are still easily achievable.

# ? Mar 2, 2023 02:04

spinst: Jul 14, 2012

February Update

1. Raise net worth by $304k to $340k. $315k

2. Increase emergency fund from $18k to $20k. $18.4k

3. Make one extra mortgage payment. 0.19 extra payments made.

4. Contribute a minimum of $4.4k to Roth IRA. $920

5. Stay at or under my Eating Out budget for 10 out of 12 months. 1/12. Phew.

6. Explore moving my Roth IRA from Betterment to a somewhere... better. No progress.

7. Make a celebratory "11 years of YNAB" post at end of September. Not time yet.

8. Lose 15 pounds. -3 pounds. No progress this month.

8. Read 12 books. 6/12. I read a lot in February! You should read Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.

# ? Mar 2, 2023 02:17

The SituAsian: Oct 29, 2006; I'm a mess in distress
But we're still the best dressed

Turbinosamente posted:

Slightly off topic but how exactly are they killing the game, is it the too many expansions complaint I've been hearing about recently? I was on the fence about playing MTG Arena instead of Pokemon Live as I recall MTG being more fun to play when I had the cardboard. To wrap it back to something closer to on topic (since we both have decluttering goals) I've got a spreadsheet open that I'm about to prioritize my video games with and both TCG clients are being counted as games on the sheet. Already doing such with my art and craft project ideas really helped me figure out what to do next, and more importantly which projects to drop as they weren't brilliant ideas at a second glance. I'm hoping the same will be true after I do the video games, especially with the dropping of games that didn't click with me. I don't have time to play all this poo poo anymore.

In hindsight that might not really be a fair statement because at this point I haven't played in years am only a peripheral observer to the goings on of the game-mainly due to how I worry it might affect my collection's value or if I'm bored on Twitch and pull up a livestream-but the biggest issues just seem to be creep in terms of product. Releasing too many sets too often like you mentioned but also just too much product and a lot of it geared towards big spenders than the average casual player. I know they've started to go outside of the established multiverse and begun adding products with different IP (e.g. Warhammer, D&D, the Tolkien-verse) as well.

# ? Mar 2, 2023 02:20

Turbinosamente: May 29, 2013; Lights on, Lights off

The SituAsian posted:

In hindsight that might not really be a fair statement because at this point I haven't played in years am only a peripheral observer to the goings on of the game-mainly due to how I worry it might affect my collection's value or if I'm bored on Twitch and pull up a livestream-but the biggest issues just seem to be creep in terms of product. Releasing too many sets too often like you mentioned but also just too much product and a lot of it geared towards big spenders than the average casual player. I know they've started to go outside of the established multiverse and begun adding products with different IP (e.g. Warhammer, D&D, the Tolkien-verse) as well.

Huh, a slightly different issue than Pokemon's in game power creep. At least Pokemon International are smart enough to have more common versions of cards that aren't as pricy as the big pretty shiny. Welp, MTG Arena is second to last on a list of four games I *might* want to buy, just above one that may never come out.

# ? Mar 2, 2023 02:58

moana: Jun 18, 2005; one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web

spinst posted:

8. Read 12 books. 6/12. I read a lot in February! You should read Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.

I just went and put it on hold and I am #177 in the queue! But with 40 copies, that should go fast. My favorite read in February was Embassytown by China Mieville. I loved his book The Scar, it was super steampunky.

edit: and if any of your moms need a book rec, Killers of a Certain Age was a super fun thriller about a retired women's assassin group.

# ? Mar 2, 2023 04:38

EricBauman: Nov 30, 2005; DOLF IS RECHTVAARDIG

February update

Financial:

Replace my side job income with a bonus I get from working in-office in my main job
In office bonus was less than in January, due to sick days. Income from the side job similar to January. Still not getting the big numbers that will add up to what I used to make from my side job, but I'll get there and cut some other costs.
Pay off my home renovation loan in full (around �18400 after this month's upcoming payment)
currently at 15048.34. This is on schedule, especially with my vacation allowance and tax return coming in the Spring
Contribute the maximum in my private tax-advantaged retirement account (Likely only about �2k. I'll only know the exact amount in April because employee retirement savings is so well organized in the Netherlands that self-employed retirement savings schemes have been allowed to devolve into a mess)
Received notice that I can save a total of EUR 1469 this year, and have set up 11 monthly auto deposits to hit this number. First one hit last week, so 133.54 saved already.
Keep my emergency fund at �10k (no effort, just avoid emergencies!)
Keep my apartment fund at �10k. It can go over, and currently is, awaiting renovation bills and furniture purchases
Made a change in how I'm doing this. I put my emergency fund and most of my apartment fund in a new high yield (2%) savings account. So that's a combined 24800 I've put there, with another 3k in my old apt account, so not much change there, all still above the limit.

Apartment:

Get all walls and floors done so I can move my bed into the bigger (now empty) bedroom
Get electricity for that bedroom and the balcony done so I'll later be able to get an induction range in the kitchen (long story, stupid setup)
There was a delay in getting carpenter, electrician and painter in. New appointment made for mid March
Get plumbing for my washer and dryer where I want it
no progress

Projects:

Finish and launch at least one software project, even if it's only for me to use myself
Making progress on my time tracking website that has two users (me and a friend). Made some great progress here, and am moving to more serious dev practices.
Help a friend finish and launch at least one project, probably a cookbook
Cookbook launched, in more of a magazine form. And we're getting ready for another launch in mid March.

Life/general:

Finish a book every month. I used to be a book a week guy, I need to get back on the horse
Finished Mastering the Market Cycle by Howard Marks. Picked it up from the communal building bookcase on a whim. Hated it. It's just 'be aggressive when others are fearful and fearful when others are aggressive' repeated at nauseam. You learn more about investing from an episode of Billions, however stupid that sounds.
Cook for other people at least once a month
Had to postpone yet again because of a lot of intestinal bleeding
Take two vacations
Flying to Spain on Monday, and I've arranged to work extra days later in Spring to get more time off later.
At least four hours of exercise every week, measured in fitbit move minutes.
Still medical reasons that kept me from doing this. Got surgery on a my bleeding intestines, so hopefully everything will be over soon.

# ? Mar 2, 2023 12:40

Good-Natured Filth: Jun 8, 2008; Do you think I've got the goods Bubblegum? Cuz I am INTO this stuff!

EricBauman posted:

Cook for other people at least once a month
Had to postpone yet again because of a lot of intestinal bleeding

At least four hours of exercise every week, measured in fitbit move minutes.
Still medical reasons that kept me from doing this. Got surgery on a my bleeding intestines, so hopefully everything will be over soon.

I hope your recovery goes swiftly and without complications!

# ? Mar 2, 2023 12:49

EricBauman: Nov 30, 2005; DOLF IS RECHTVAARDIG

Good-Natured Filth posted:

I hope your recovery goes swiftly and without complications!

Thanks!

Things are finally looking up after a very bad few weeks, now that I've had the surgery. Looks like I'm going to have to be careful with what I eat for the rest of my life, but that's a small price to pay

# ? Mar 2, 2023 13:17

KYOON GRIFFEY JR: Apr 12, 2010; Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22

If you want test users for your time tracking app I�d potentially be interested - presuming it�s oriented towards tracking project / billable time and not some kind of personal time tracking app.

# ? Mar 2, 2023 13:31

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# ? Apr 16, 2024 18:56

MEIN RAVEN: Oct 7, 2008; Gutentag Mein Raven

Tibalt posted:

Financial Goals:
Continue to max out my 401k On Track
~~Support my spouse to max out her 401k~~ New goal below
Help my spouse set up a retirement solution Waiting on this
Pay off at least half of home renovation loans. Loan has increased, but still on track
~~Support my spouse to set up her private practice full time~~ Done
~~Cut our discretionary spending back by 5% ($150/month)~~ Done

Personal Goals:
Take better care of my physical and mental health ...We'll see
~~Upgrade my first job (job search, interview, etc.)~~ Done
Publish something On Track

Well, some things are going well - I negotiated a 35% raise for job 1 that'll be effective in April, so that's a big step taken care of. We also cut back on discretionary spending by quite a bit. The less good news is that my spouse was fired from her job before she had the private practice set up, so ready or not, I'm supporting her move to full-time private practice effectively immediately. The home renovation budget has also ballooned by 30% after we made decided to expand the scope of the renovation, which I don't regret but has put a lot of extra pressure on us.

But, I'm still on track to max out my 401k, and while I'll need to figure out a retirement solution for my wife, that can wait until she's settled in and the practice is up and running. We'll probably go with a traditional IRA and set up some automatic payments. And while I'm certainly feeling like money is tight at the moment, that's going to go away once I'm not trying to fill the hole in the renovation budget, my raise goes into effect, and I get my annual bonus. Lots of time between now and the end of the year, and all the goals are still easily achievable.

Sticking my nose in here, but when I ran a practice I was lazy and did the trad IRA route and the tax benefits were garbage. In hindsight, a solo 401k is 1000% better and is available to her if she can prove she�s running her business. Just something to look in to!

# ? Mar 2, 2023 16:25

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Financial Goals 2023: Head Start to get Ahead

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