Goal #5: Save for a Car

So far, I have written about a short-term goal to get me immediate success, a mid-term goal to increase my annual income, and a long-term goal discussing my retirement goals. My last post about goals (goal post?!?!), I wrote about my want to become debt-free. In this post, I will set a goal to save for a car.

Step 1. Set goals that motivate you.

My wife and I are currently planning on our second child. Since we have two smaller cars, an upgrade to something bigger is almost a necessity.

Step 2. Be SMART about your goals.

This goal is SMART because it is:

• Specific: It clearly defines what I want to achieve.
• Measurable: Although a bigger vehicle is the end goal, I have given a dollar figure for what I want.
• Attainable: The goal is very attainable.
• Relevant: As I mentioned in Step 1, this goal is almost a necessity as my family grows.
• Time Bound: I want to save enough money for a bigger vehicle by September 26, 2013, a short 3 years from now.

What Have I Been Doing?

If you’ve been following along with my blog, you know that I have been setting goals for myself. I’m kicking myself now because I’m missing the target on two goals.

My First Downfall.

One of my goals is to increase my annual income, and one of my sub-goals for this main goal was to start a part-time job. Which I did. I can honestly say that I like(d) my part-time job as a night-time instructor. It kept me on my feet as an engineer and gave me a satisfied feeling, knowing that I am teaching young minds.

Goal #4: Become Debt-Free in 11 Years, 4 Months

Goal #4 is to become debt-free.

Step 1. Set goals that motivate you.

Debt freedom is a huge motivation for me. I am only 25, but I have well-experienced the heartaches and misery that come with debt. I vow to never go into debt again.

Step 2. Be SMART about your goals.

This goal is SMART because it is:

• Specific: It clearly defines what I want to achieve: Debt Freedom!
• Measurable: Yep, it’s measureable. My goal is to get to $0 in debt.
• Attainable: It seems like such a long way away, but this is definitely an attainable goal.
• Relevant: Debt freedom is always relevant!
• Time Bound: I want to be debt-free in 11 years and 4 months on December 31, 2021.

Diversify Your Life: Save for Now and Save for Later

My “Diversify Your Life” topics discuss, as you can guess, diversification in your financial life, in places other than your investment portfolio.

Today, I discuss saving. While I believe retirement savings is critically important for everyone to have, I also believe that people should enjoy the lives they have now!

Let’s explore two extremes.

Extreme #1: Saving for later, but not for now.

Joe is saving for his retirement. He is single and makes $30,000 a year. He lives extremely frugally, keeping his expenses low, and manages to save $15,000 a year, even with his income. Joe wants to have millions in his retirement savings. When he does retire, he has plans to travel the world.

Joe continues to live minimally and manages to save $2 million for his retirement. He’s now 54, has $2 million, and is set to retire early. He even planned his first-ever international trip to Paris, France.

Suddenly, however, Joe is involved in a car accident and dies.

Goal #3: Retire at Age 57 with $3.3 Million

If you’re interested in watching me set my goals, go back and read these articles:

• Setting Goals
• Goal #1: Write 15 Blog Posts
• Goal #2: Increase My Annual Income by 20%

Okay, so if Goal #1 is a short-term goal and Goal #2 is a mid-term goal, then Goal #3 will naturally be my long-term goal. Loosely defined, my long-term goals are my goals stretching past 10 years from now.

This week, I will discuss my retirement goal.

Step 1. Set goals that motivate you.

Retirement is pie-in-the-sky for me. My parents are still to young to retire, but I expect that they never will. Sadly, they will work for the rest of their lives. I am motivated to not be in their shoes. Although I am only 20-something, I look forward to retirement one day. This goal will help me get there.

What to Do When You Have a Medical Emergency

Last Saturday, I was lounging around, watching Week 1 of college football (I love college football!!!). Suddenly, I began to get some tightness in my chest, and I had a really hard time breathing. So, my sister drove me to hospital.

I was admitted to the emergency room and later stayed for about a day at the hospital for blood work and testing. Eventually, I was told that I had pericarditis, most likely from a virus I had during the previous week.

A few prescriptions and a week later, I am doing perfectly fine. I am well enough to continue to blog!

What this blog post will not discuss.

You may read the subject and think I will discuss medical advice. Or that I might give you options for what doctors to see and when. But this is not the case. I will not (and legally cannot) advise you when to see a doctor and for what reasons. What I will discuss if how to deal with the bills when you are doing okay.

Goal #2: Increase My Annual Income by 20%

If you’re interested in watching me set my goals, go back and read these two articles:

• Setting Goals
• Goal #1: Write 15 Blog Posts

Goal #1 was a short-term goal for some immediate success. This week’s goal is a mid-term goal. There’s not a finite deadline that describes “mid-term.” If anything, mid-term will depend on your age and where you are in life. For me, as a 20-something, mid-term goals are goals that you want to accomplish in, say, 2 to 10 years. Obviously then, “short-term” would mean anything less than 2 years, and “long-term” anything past 10 years.

Onto this week’s goal, again following the steps in my “Setting Goals” post.

Step 1. Set goals that motivate you.

This goal is all about increasing my annual income. Let’s face it, I would like to make more money. The motivation behind making more money is to increase my ability to give and to save. In order to achieve this goal, I will also have to work extra hard at my primary job, put in extra effort with this blog, and work a second job.

What is an Emergency Fund?

An emergency fund is the foundation of your financial house. You’ll often run into this analogy, where you first need to establish a good foundation before you can build your house. Building an emergency fund is the same idea. You need a solid emergency fund in place before you can reduce your debt or save for retirement.

But what exactly is an emergency fund?

Don’t let the term scare you. An emergency fund is just a bunch of money that you keep somewhere safe.

Why even build one?

Emergency’s happen. And they happen more often when you aren’t expecting them. Say your car breaks down and you need $3,000 to repair it. Where is this money going to come from? If you don’t have it already saved up somewhere (like an emergency fund!), then you’ll have to borrow it, take out a loan, or put it on your credit card.

What Would I Do If I Won the Lottery?

Recently, a local family won a HUGE multi-state lottery. There was an agreement set among the members of the family: If they win, they would split the pot, regardless of who purchased the ticket. They took the lump-sum, and after paying taxes and splitting the winnings, each family member went home with a cool $2 million.

The weird thing is… Two of the family members have my and my wife’s names (first and last). So, all week, people have been congratulating me on my win. As if! If I won the lottery, I would not be dressed in a thrift-store polo and khakis.

But then I thought to myself, would I really be that snobby?

Goal #1: Write 15 Blog Posts

In my last post, I discussed setting goals. And I also mentioned that I would post my own goals on this blog, so I would be accountable for achieving them. Following along with the steps in my previous post, I will set my first goal.

Step 1. Set goals that motivate you.

This first goal is designed to help me out with this blog and help to motivate me to work regularly with DYL. I’m unsure how many posts other bloggers write every month or week, but this goal will establish my own rhythm for posting frequency.

Step 2. Be SMART about your goals.

Recall that SMART goals are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time Bound