My 2009 Financial, Blogging, and Personal Goals

by PT | Print Print |

It’s the beginning of a new year: a great time to set some goals for yourself. I took some time today to think about the year ahead and what all I would like to accomplish. To help keep me accountable I’ve laid out my financial, blogging, and personal goals for the year.

Savings and Retirement Goals

  • Reach our savings goal in the FNBO Direct Pay Yourself First Challenge by March 1, 2009 – only $1,000 remaining to get to our goal of $7,500 DONE
  • Max out 2008 Roth IRA contributions for Mrs. PT and I by April 15th, 2009 – $10,000 DONE
  • Max out 2009 401k contributions & get the full company match by December 31, 2009 – $16,500 + match
  • Max out my company’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan twice (May DONE and November 2009) – 10% of paycheck (These shares are sold as soon as purchased. See ESPP flipping. Funds are used to pay property taxes)
  • Maintain our emergency fund at the current level
  • Stretch Goal: Begin saving for a down payment on our next home or real estate investment

This may look daunting, but most of it is done by automation and separation: two keys to increased savings. I’ll share more about my methods for saving in the coming year.

Debt Reduction Goals

  • Payoff the auto loan or get a newer vehicle and loan with a more reasonable interest rate DONE
  • Stretch Goal: Begin making double payments on our student loans DONE

This could be the first year that I don’t have a debt with and interest rate above 4%, excluding the mortgage. Would be nice.

Blogging Goals

  • Write at least 3 valuable posts a week
  • Continue providing deals and money-saving ideas here and via Twitter.
  • Continue growing traffic by 15-20% per month
  • Grow subscribers to 2,500 by December 31, 2009 – Subscribe
  • Double the monthly blog income by December 31, 2009 through diverse sources

Personal Goals

  • Sleep more (odd thing to say for a guy who’s about to become a Dad)
  • Spend more time with family and friends
  • Develop better time management skills (write faster)
  • Learn to converse in Spanish
  • Run another half marathon

The personal goals are a bit generic, but they’ll have to do. Also, could someone please loan me a couple of extra hours each day? That would really help. :)

What are your goals for 2009? Share them in the comments below…

Related posts:

  1. Our Financial Goals: Savings and Debt Reduction
  2. A Look Back at Our Debt Reduction Goals
  3. A Look Back at Our Savings Goals – Part 2
  4. Max Out Your 2009 Retirement Contributions
  5. Our Current Debt Reduction Goals

  1. 8 Responses to “My 2009 Financial, Blogging, and Personal Goals”

  2. By Jfunk on Jan 2, 2009 | Reply

    Nice list PT. I’m with you on the sleep and Spanish. Maybe if I multi-task with osmosis, I can kill 2 birds w/1 stone!


  3. By J on Jan 3, 2009 | Reply

    Gotta buy a house so I can stop living at work, literally. Specifically a 2-family; when the other half is rented, it will just about take care of the mortgage payment.
    Stretch goal: get certified in financial management…something I already do for work, but get grossly underpaid for.

    Happy New Year!


  4. By Studenomics on Jan 4, 2009 | Reply

    Some ambitious goals you have set for yourself. The learning to converse in Spanish is something that I have been thinking about for many years. I have learned a little bit but not enough to have a full out conversation.


  5. By PT on Jan 4, 2009 | Reply

    @JFunk – yeah, I don’t think the wife would like me blaring Spanish lesson during the night. Guess I could wear earphones.

    @J – Looking forward to hearing about your home purchase. Sounds like a neat investment too.

    @Studenomics – Yeah, gotta set the bar high. We’ll see where I land when it’s all said and done. I’m sure life will throw some kinks in the plan, but it might also throw us a bone.


  6. By Millionaire Acts on Jan 8, 2009 | Reply

    I also had blogged about my personal financial goals and wish list for this year 2009. I hope that we could all achieve our own goals and really hoping for the better this year 2009.


  7. By Dividend Tree on Jan 11, 2009 | Reply

    PTM: it was good read. Good luck for 2009.

    Best Regards,
    DT


  8. By PT on Jan 12, 2009 | Reply

    @Millionaire Acts – Thanks for stopping by and for the comments.

    @Dividend Tree – Thanks! Right back at ya!


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