Make A Financial Goal Today. (Plus An Experiment)
So here I am, 4am in the morning, and trying to think of something interesting/inspiring/useful to say about money. So here it is. If you haven’t already, you should set yourself a 6-month financial goal. Maybe it’s “I will pay off my credit card with the biggest balance.” Or “I will put $1,000 into an emergency fund.” It should be something challenging yet attainable. Making a goal increases the probability of it happening increase 15.8 times at least.
List your 6-month goal in the comments below. Leave a contact e-mail (will not be shared), make the name anonymous. If you check in with the same e-mail at the 3-month mark (February 16th, 2006) with a status update and also at the end of 6 months (May 16th, 2006) you will get some sort of prize, no matter if you reach it or not. Everyone! (Prize value will be non-zero, but don’t expect an iPod or anything.) I want to see what percentage of people actually reach their goals.
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Make your goal now!
November 16th, 2006 at 4:12 am
Okay, I will start it off.
My 6-month goal is to have $50,000 in 100% cash for a house down payment.
I’ll stop accepting comments after 1 week (Thankgiving Day).
November 16th, 2006 at 4:59 am
Nice post. My six month goal: to be making a comfortable living from my websites.
November 16th, 2006 at 5:00 am
My 6 mo. goal is to payoff the LAST of my $1500 credit card debt.
November 16th, 2006 at 5:03 am
I want to have a bank balance of Rs 2,00,000. I have to pay off 1,00,000 by December End. After that I want to have a bank balance of 1,00,00. So in the sense I want to have Rs 2,00,00 with me.
November 16th, 2006 at 5:42 am
I will finish saving the $6,500 I’m putting towards my Freedom Account, and will pay off about $5,000 towards one of my student loans.
November 16th, 2006 at 5:47 am
I’ll go next…
My 6-month goal is to have paid off $30,000 (slightly more than half) of our credit card and HELOC debt.
This might be easy or it might be hard, depending on whether our house sells by then.
November 16th, 2006 at 5:49 am
My financial goal is to get my last student loan paid off ($2,000) and to quit my part time job which I had been using to pay off debt and handle some expenses.
November 16th, 2006 at 5:54 am
Interesting….my husband and I determined earlier this week that we want to get all of our credit card debt (approximately $25,000!!) paid off in the next three years. Then all we’ll have is a mortgage payment. We’re going to sit down this week-end and see exactly where we are. We’ve set the long term goal…now it will be interesting to set a short term goal. I’ll be back after the week-end with the 6 month goal. Also, good idea, this…I’m interested to see what other peeps goals are.
November 16th, 2006 at 6:02 am
OK. A goal challenge…..
My 6-month goals is to have enough $$ to cover the family trip to Disney while getting my acquisitive daughter to save for college. (If she’s as smart by then as she is now, it’ll become her “beer and pretzel” money).
I realize I have no actual dollar amounts in these goals at this time, but having been to Disney once before, I know it’s like hooking up a shop vac to your wallet. More is better and any excess (yeah right) will be routed back to high rate savings accounts.
November 16th, 2006 at 6:05 am
It’s funny that you should write this today. Yesterday I was looking at my budget which tracks my savings and projected savings after reading your site and I set a 12 month goal for myself in 2007 to save another 10K to reach an amount that I have never been close to. I will use this magic number to negotiate for a raise, since I am in a unique position to ask for more money.
Thanks Ben! Love the site!
November 16th, 2006 at 6:07 am
My goal is to max out my 2006 Roth IRA contributions (so really a 5 month goal for that) and to have put $1,000 towards my 2007 contributions. Since I haven’t contibuted anything for 2006, I have a bit of a climb.
November 16th, 2006 at 6:14 am
My 6-month goal is to pay off $10k worth of debt. My spouse and I will be living off of his paycheck while putting 100% of mine towards the goal.
November 16th, 2006 at 6:16 am
Sorry not Ben….. Jonathan.
November 16th, 2006 at 6:38 am
6 Month goal is to save up $2500 in an emergency savings account. This may not seem like much, but we’re taking on a new mortgage December 1, so it will be challenging for us to take this on while still saving each month.
November 16th, 2006 at 6:47 am
My 6 month goal is to land a job making 80% or better of what I left at (I’m unemployed).
This after working for the same co. for 14 years! I’m sitting on a year’s worth of emergency $$, but for all those wondering.. even that can’t prepare you for the emotional impact of not working
November 16th, 2006 at 6:49 am
My 6-month goal is to pay down $10,000 in credit card debt.
November 16th, 2006 at 7:01 am
My 6-month goal is to open an IRA and fund to the $5000 max for 2005 by April 15, 2006. (I guess that’s more of a five-month goal…)
My goal after that would be to fund the $5000 for 2006 before calendar end of 2006
November 16th, 2006 at 7:15 am
Pay off my wife’s new (used) car loan balance ($4700) in six months.
November 16th, 2006 at 7:23 am
My 6 month goal is to have $4000 cash saved for next year’s trip to Europe. At the same time, my goal is to contribute savings monthly so that by the end of the 6 month, aside from the $4000, I’d have $15,000 in my high yield savings account.
November 16th, 2006 at 7:26 am
My 6-month goal is to have $1500 in Emergency Fund
November 16th, 2006 at 7:56 am
My six month goal is to pay off my unsubsidized student loan (approx. $7000) while continuing to save 15% of my take home pay.
November 16th, 2006 at 8:17 am
My current status is $15,000 in cash for a house down payment and $11,000 in my emergency fund.
My 6-month goal is to have $30,000 in 100% cash for a house down payment and $15,000 in my emergency fund.
My plan to get there is to save money from my pay checks and to transition my stocks into cash.
November 16th, 2006 at 8:22 am
My 6-month goal is to set up a 529 account for my daughter and start contributing $666.67/month to it. This will give her $8,000 at the end of each year. Not enough for Ivy League, but definitely enough for a good in-state, public school.
November 16th, 2006 at 8:38 am
I also want money for a down payment. I’m shooting for $25000 to start with and see how it goes from there. Great idea!
November 16th, 2006 at 8:49 am
I am a Senior in college, so here are my goals: By May 16th, I want to have my 2 credit cards paid off (balances currently at $1400), start a ROTH IRA and increase my cash savings account by 20%. So technically, it is 3 goals, but I feel that they are all attainable and will keep me on point to finish my college career on a strong note!
November 16th, 2006 at 9:03 am
This is a good idea Jonathan to encourage others to set achievable goals.
I’m trying to save $12,000 for my upcoming wedding in May.
November 2006 = $5,700
May 2007 = $12,000 (So $6,300 more to go in six months.)
November 16th, 2006 at 9:05 am
[…] Over at MyMoneyBlog, Jonathan encourages his readers to setup a 6-month financial goal to strive for from now up until May. Leave a comment at this post and you will recieve some sort of prize at the end of the six months. […]
November 16th, 2006 at 9:23 am
My goal is to have $5,500 cash in savings (currrently ~ $1,100) and have paid off $3,600 in credit card debt (out of $15,000 total).
November 16th, 2006 at 9:53 am
Not exactly on a 6 month frame currently, but…
Current goal is to make sure I actually max out my IRA contribution this year (not entirely trivial on a grad student stipend).
I suppose although the real cutoff date for this is April 15, it can also be thought of as “did I make my montly contribution?” once a month for 6 months….
November 16th, 2006 at 9:53 am
Have 100k in retierment savings, 401k and Roth IRA. Currently 83643.
November 16th, 2006 at 10:31 am
My goal is to be debt free (except for the mortgage) in six months. Right now I have only a small amount of credit card debt (~2500) and a car loan that I married into (~11,000) along with a personal loan my wife’s parents made to her to have some dental surgery done (~1500). If I manage to do that my next goal would be to build up some savings… I think I’d probably do a T-Bill ladder at this point to avoid creating taxable interest.
November 16th, 2006 at 10:31 am
Oh.. I like one of yours.. I will have my highest balance credit card paid to zero in 6 months.
November 16th, 2006 at 10:56 am
My 6th month goal is pay off my car, which is the last bill I have, without dipping into my investments. My house is paid for, my wife’s car is paid for, and some land we purchased last year is paid off.
17k @ 2% is what I owe
Mutual funds with broker = 53K (seems to be doing okay with ING)
Cash in Money Market = 35K w/ ingdirect @ 4.40
1k w/ HSBC (to try) @ 5.05
Family money coming into around 300K (dont have this yet)
November 16th, 2006 at 11:20 am
My 6-month financial goal is to have at least $7,321 in my home buying fund.
This is a great idea–I find that I always exceed the financial goals I set for myself because the goal helps me focus on what I want to achieve.
November 16th, 2006 at 11:29 am
My 6-month goal(s) are:
1. to save an additional $8,000 cash (in my Emigrant Direct account) for our wedding next year.
2. to finally open a Roth IRA (Vanguard Target Retirement 2045) and fully fund it for the 2006 tax year by April, 2007.
November 16th, 2006 at 11:41 am
My car fund will be at $1,500.
November 16th, 2006 at 12:01 pm
It’s funny but just like you my goal in 2006 was to save $50,000 for a downpayment on a house.I have managed to do that and more but for $250,000 you don’t even get a decent house in New Jersey anymore.So my 6month goal would be to increase that amount to $65,000 so that I can look for $300,000 instead.
November 16th, 2006 at 12:21 pm
My emergency fund will be at $3000 and everything will be paid off but the mortgage.
November 16th, 2006 at 12:32 pm
My 6 month goal is to increase my monthly student loan payment by $100/month and increase the payment on my car loan by $50/month. Since I dont expect a raise until next June, I will have to accomplish this through reduced spending in other areas.
November 16th, 2006 at 12:54 pm
I think your 6 month goal is to sleep on a regular hour. What are you doing at 4AM?
November 16th, 2006 at 12:58 pm
I am 24 and my goal is as follows (I am getting married in July):
Have a total of 25K saved between my future wife and I (we currently have 18K) in our “House Down Payment account”. This goal will be extended to 45K at the end of the year, which will be after money from the wedding and the cost of the honeymoon. Our long term goal is to save 65K by the end of 2008 for our first home (we live in Westchster County NY).
I would also like to increase our emergency account from the 9K it has in it currently to 12K.
November 16th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
I like this idea a lot! My goal is to add another $1200 to my unexpected expenses/emergency fund.
November 16th, 2006 at 1:12 pm
6-month goal: Save money to max out 2007 ROTH IRA: $9K altogether.
Not easy considering all other expenses but manageable.
November 16th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
Max out 2006 roth ira (4000$).
Add 2500$ towards my emergency fund.
Add 10k to my HSBC Savings account.
Increase 401k contribution from 15% to 20%.
I have already enrolled 15% of my salary to ESPP, it going to be a challange. I have to stay on tight budget to accomplish all my goals. Lets see…
November 16th, 2006 at 1:36 pm
How perfect! My wife and I want to start trying to get pregnant in about six months. Our goal is to have (savings + investments - 0% credit card debt >= $10000) before then and $15000 before we actually have a baby.
November 16th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
My goal is to ensure that my husband saves $10,000 in the next 6 months. only he works in my family..
November 16th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
My 6-month goal is to pay off the rest of my $7200 car loan.
November 16th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
My six month goal will be:
1. to look into and start a long term savings plan - and also to keep up with each monthly contribution (not sure how much yet);
2. also to have save enough cash ($ 5,000 -8,000) to fund the production of a demo / development shoot of my next film.
November 16th, 2006 at 3:34 pm
My 6 month goal is to open a joint Roth IRA account with my wife and try to contribute max for year 2005, and 2006.
November 16th, 2006 at 3:44 pm
My 6 month goal is to save another $1000 (college student.)
November 16th, 2006 at 3:44 pm
My 6 month goal is to increase my networth by $10,000. My 1 year goal is to increase it by $20,000.
November 16th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
Interesting, if not six months…1 year. Pay off my 2006 bmw(yes, I got your car Jonathan) car loan, successfully create decent income 1K+ a month from my website, start an LLC with three houses for rent, and find a rich girl to marry..haha..jk with the last one.
Anthony
November 16th, 2006 at 4:23 pm
My 6-month goal is to have our credit card debt paid down from $8200 to $2200.
This is very timely as I just finished coming up a full year plan to finish paying off that credit card debt by the end of 2007, so that will be my 12 month goal.
November 16th, 2006 at 4:28 pm
My goals are to have $55K in my retirement accounts and to get a Job that pays at least $62K/year+Bonus. My current pays $55.5K+Bonus
November 16th, 2006 at 4:28 pm
My 6-month goal (coincidentally when my contract is up) is to have $6000 in an emergency fund.
November 16th, 2006 at 4:47 pm
My 6 mo. goal is to have the combined value of my 401(k), Roth IRA, Taxable investing accounts, and Savings account to equal $11,500. The total is now at $3,200.
November 16th, 2006 at 4:57 pm
My 6-month goal with be to increase my net worth by $15k. Best of luck everyone!
November 16th, 2006 at 5:20 pm
Save $10,000 for wedding
November 16th, 2006 at 5:26 pm
My 12 month goal is to earn my keep. I’m living in my GFs home and I’m not helping pay mortgage. Not quite sure that earning my keep means yet. Maybe paying half?
November 16th, 2006 at 5:31 pm
My financial goal is to actually purchase one foreclosed property and sale it making a profit in the next 6 months.
November 16th, 2006 at 6:50 pm
6 month goal -> Save $7500.
November 16th, 2006 at 7:34 pm
My 6 mo goal will be to fund my RothIRA by another $1000 before tax day, and another $1000 after that. I’m a college senior, so it will be a bit challenging to save that much, but we’ll see!
November 16th, 2006 at 7:41 pm
Have $4800 in an emergency fund. (2 months worth of mortgage payments).
November 16th, 2006 at 7:42 pm
My goal is to save $10K for emergency funds. Max Roth IRA contributions and invest $5k in mutual funds.
And pay off a motorcycle purchase. I paid off all my existing credit card debt! Yay!
November 16th, 2006 at 10:53 pm
My goal is to accumulate 25K cash for down payment towards my house.
November 16th, 2006 at 10:58 pm
Whoah! This is one cool and motivating post.
I’m just about to complete $2K for my emergency fund savings on the first half of December.
Now for the next 6 months I’m planning to raise $6k either as an investment fund or a house downpayment.
November 16th, 2006 at 11:10 pm
My six-moth goal is to save an additional $6000 in my online savings account.
November 17th, 2006 at 12:39 am
I want to avg 5 dollars a day from my website
November 17th, 2006 at 4:12 am
6 month goal: pay of the last of my student loans! current balance: $3200
November 17th, 2006 at 7:01 am
My six months goals are to reach A$1m net worth, and to get my weight down to my ideal (
November 17th, 2006 at 7:37 am
My 6-month goal is to complete the payments of a couple of properties I plan to buy: $24000 more to go towards those.
November 17th, 2006 at 8:07 am
As part of a longer-term plan to pay off debt, in the next 6 months my goal is to pay $500 a month on a loan from my mother (low interest, high guilt) totalling $4000, and to pay $400 a month for credit card debt (which would include paying one completely off) totalling $2400.
As for savings–I hope to put away $300 a month into my online savings account, totalling $1800.
As for career–I hope to bring in $300 extra a month by playing music and raising $200 a month extra through cd sales and pre-sales (yes, the financial mishandling of my music career has a lot to do with my butloads of debt!).
November 17th, 2006 at 8:57 am
As a college student, who just came into some cash. I’d like to make 50% of the money on hand again in 6 months. Shoot for a little under $10,000 and pay off my credit cards! Current balance of $750 on a card. Let’s look forward to the future!
November 17th, 2006 at 9:00 am
As a college student, who just came into some cash. I?d like to make 50% of the money on hand again in 6 months. Shoot for a little under $10,000 and pay off my credit cards! Current balance of $750 on a card. Let?s look forward to the future!
November 17th, 2006 at 10:25 am
I’d like to start/buy my own company. I don’t know if I can do it within 6 months but I hope within the year. Additionally, I’ll continue to work full time and max out my 401K
November 17th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
6 month goal is to have 2000$ credit debt paid off and be debt free.!!
November 17th, 2006 at 6:13 pm
1) Increase net worth by 10%….approx 15k
2) For 2007 set up auto equal monthly contributions to max out my ROTH IRA
November 17th, 2006 at 7:32 pm
In six months, I would like to have at least $2000 in my Roth IRA (currently at $1200) and another $600 in my savings account. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but it’s over 15% of my grad student’s stipend.
November 17th, 2006 at 11:29 pm
I really love this idea, maybe if I write it down, I’ll do it… I am 28 years old, single and live in LA. I make $100k a year, but hate my job. No credit card debt but I likely can’t do a ROTH in 2007 due to my salary. I contribute the $15k max into my 401(k).
So, my 6 month goals are to
1) up my emergency savings fund to $10k (currently $4k)
2) find a job that feeds my intellectual and emotional needs as well as my wallet… it’s time a for a new job…
3) pay for the $6k in dental work I need from cash and not have to dip into my savings.
We’ll see how it goes…
–Liberty–
November 18th, 2006 at 8:39 am
Great idea! Okay, I would like to have $6ooo in emergency fund (currently have $4000) and save $4000 for my roof replacement. Total to save $6000.
This will be a bit steep, but if I could reduce what I spend on food, I would be thinner and richer!
November 18th, 2006 at 2:20 pm
My 6 month plan (I’m about to graduate college) is to start a Roth IRA and fund it $4000 for this year and start towards an additional $2000 for next year.
November 19th, 2006 at 5:24 am
I have two goals:
1. Form an LLC to buy, renovate and sell real estate
2. Form a plan for funding my childs college education.
November 19th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
6 month plan:
1. Finish my grad program.
2. Complete funding 06 Roth.
3. Fund the Freedom acct to 5k.
November 19th, 2006 at 7:34 pm
6 month goal:
Either 1) to have saved $6000 cash rainy day fund (using an ING Direct savings account for this purpose) or,
2) to have successfully moved to the midwest and found a new job without incurring debt
Depending upon whether the employedness survives the next six months.
November 20th, 2006 at 12:34 am
Save at least 15% income for retirement, get a pre-approved mortgage so as to start apt hunting.
November 20th, 2006 at 4:47 am
6 month goal:
1. to have found a new job either doubling my salary or being in a great position for advancement
but more importantly. . .
2. to have bought a 4 unit apartment building.
i will be 26.
November 20th, 2006 at 5:56 am
My 6 month goal is to:
1. Have saved up $5k in emergency savings
2. Start up an investment account seperate from my 401k and put in at least $2k
November 20th, 2006 at 11:40 am
My 6 month goal is to:
Reach more than $5000 in my online savings account.
November 20th, 2006 at 12:17 pm
6 Month Goal is to generate 5% of my salary from passive sources.
November 21st, 2006 at 6:19 am
My goals are to pay off $4000 of credit card debt, add $1000 to my “rainy day fund” and find a new job making 20% more than I do now.
November 21st, 2006 at 12:20 pm
I’ve got several six month goals including:
- go back to school next semester for language courses and build-up job skills
-fund $2,000 into my ROTH IRA
November 21st, 2006 at 10:37 pm
Wow — great response!
My 6-month goal is to gross an extra $1,000 per month in side income.
November 22nd, 2006 at 6:32 am
Mine is a lot in the short period of time, but I think I can do it.
1. Have 60,000 in 401k (currently @ 52,000)
2. Pay off two CCs. ~$4,500
3. Max out ‘06 Roth IRA contributions ($8,000)
4. $2,000 in cash savings
November 22nd, 2006 at 7:53 am
Well, since my one year goal is to have all of our debt paid off, then my six-month goal will be to have the student loan balance below $10,000. And since that seems too easy, my other goal will be to not use the credit cards at all except for the two things that are charged automatically to them (car insurance and mail-order prescriptions).
November 22nd, 2006 at 8:27 am
My six month goal is to net $12,000 during that time period from my main business.
November 22nd, 2006 at 10:22 am
(sorry if this posts twice)
My 6 month goals-
1) Have $30,000 in online savings (currently at $20,000)
2) Read extensively on mortgages and real estate, so I can plan on buying a new house August 2007
November 23rd, 2006 at 12:54 pm
I’m currently ?4500 in debt. My 6 month goal is to not go any further into debt while saving a one month emergency fund. My one year goal is to get a better paying job so I can get out of debt and start saving!
November 24th, 2006 at 7:23 am
[…] There’s still a little time — only a little, though! — to head over to MyMoneyBlog to weigh in and commit yourself to a 6-month financial goal. Jonathan is rewarding those who follow up with their progress with a prize that is “greater than zero, less than iPod.” […]
November 24th, 2006 at 10:04 am
In six months my goal will be to pay off my Visa with a $1250 balance
November 24th, 2006 at 10:44 am
I’d like to get my financial assets over the $500,000 level.
November 24th, 2006 at 8:04 pm
My 6 month goal is to be completely debt free (other than our mortgage). This is a huge goal, but I think it is a worthy one!
November 26th, 2006 at 9:13 pm
I know I may be a little late but, today is my 28th birthday. I figured there is no day like the day of your birth to take stock in yourself. So, with that said, in 6 months I would like to have at least half of my $17,000 credit card debt paid off. It may be difficult for me but I am going to do everything in my power to achieve it.
November 26th, 2006 at 10:06 pm
My six-month goal is to have my honeymoon 75% funded in six months. Also, my goal is to have one of my credit cards completely paid off.
November 26th, 2006 at 10:53 pm
Here’s a bookmark as to the end of the tracking contest. But people are still very welcome and encouraged to share their goals and send them off as part of history.
November 30th, 2006 at 4:21 pm
my 6 month goal is to have $3000 in credit card debt paid off.
December 2nd, 2006 at 9:52 am
I hope to add $20,000 to my mutual fund accounts.
December 3rd, 2006 at 6:41 am
In this order
1. Pay off private student loan. Just sent them a 10K check, have $7700 left.
2. Fund 2006 Roth IRAs for my wife and I
3. Fund 2007 Roth IRAs for my wife and I
4. Pay down debt on house, $6400
This adds up to $22100. Seems agressive, but I am in sales and am expecting (hoping for) commission checks at EoY. I have to rank cash spending because in my line of work, compensation is variable.
December 3rd, 2006 at 12:14 pm
1. To contribute 250 dollars to my Roth IRA by the end of the year.
2. To eliminate the last bit of credit card debt. (About 150 dollars).
3. Research Passive Income
December 6th, 2006 at 12:18 pm
Gee, I love this site…
Recently I have been very interested in personal finance and been doing alot of reading but still feel like I learned nothing. I think i may be reading too many books or websites. BUT I LOVE THIS SITE.
Anyway, my 6 month goal
1. get a better paying job
2. save atleast 3,000
3. Open another saving acct. besides ING.
December 21st, 2006 at 11:51 am
My 6 month goal is to have constant 25% 401k contribution for myself.
Pay more on principal of my 30 year Mortgage.
Fully fund Roth IRAs for myself and my wife.
January 13th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
my 6 month goal is to pay off my $950 debt
January 21st, 2007 at 9:56 pm
Goals achieved!
January 25th, 2007 at 6:18 am
My goal is to have saved enough money in cash to go on a family vacation without using credit cards or money in our regular savings account. We need $1000 since we’re keeping it local and affordable this year (we have twin infants).
January 25th, 2007 at 10:42 am
Goals changed. Flights to Disney are too expensive and my wife’s working on her Masters. So my realigned goals are:
-continue to pay off Master’s without taking a loan at higher interest than we can make in savings.
-pay more principal on mortgage
-prepare for possiblity of increasing family size
-start DW’s Roth fund and contribute for 2006/07 and add my 2007 contribution
January 25th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
My 6 month goal is to save 10,000 and to earn the most money with what I have saved already. I’ve been keeping it in a Money Market account at my bank that barely earns any interest.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
I am starting late but I think the goals I have are acheivable.
1.) Pay off $3000 in high interest credit card debt.
2.) Pay for major part of my own wedding $20K out of which I need to get more $9K…(I know a lot will say dont do it.. but then family emotions ha ha… other $11K is coming out of my 401K as a loan.
3.) Save additional $2000 in ING savings acct.
4.) Lend atleast $500 in micro loans at Prosper.com @10%+ interest.
I think I can get there. best of luck people.. see you around feb 16th.
January 25th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
Great challenge, Jonathan. As I’ve heard too many times, if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.
My 6 month goal is to pay off the second mortgages on the only two rental properties that have these. It’s a stretch goal but achievable.
January 26th, 2007 at 8:51 am
My financial and personal life goal is to get a new job. I have been “underemployed” for too long and I need to muster up the confidence to get out there and change my life! Great site Jon.
January 28th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
[…] 2nd Quarter - Reach $50,000 in cash for a house down payment (my 6-month goal) - Sell most of our nonessential property, aka “crap” […]
January 30th, 2007 at 7:08 am
I currently own four credit cards with a combined CC debt of around $9,000. My six month goal is to try and pay off at least the two with the lowest balances so I can focus on the card with the highest balance of $5,000.
February 13th, 2007 at 7:15 am
Update:
I was actually able to meet my 6-month goal of getting my financial assets over the $500,000 level a little early.
February 15th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
January was actually pretty close to $1000, but this included ads that were for more than one month, so I probably only netted an extra $400 during that month.
Getting a business set up to keep things clean helped to get me on track with tracking the income of the business to see if I can make the extra $1000/month that I want to.
February 16th, 2007 at 9:12 am
Update: My six month goal was to deposit $1200 into my savings, I’ve actually exceeded that, but then I took some out to pay off my car, but I will reach my goal by May 16th.
February 16th, 2007 at 10:07 am
It is Feb 16th, so I will start with the updates.
1. Have 60,000 in 401k (currently @ 52,000)
—Currently @ $58000, so I am on track provide the market holds!
2. Pay off two CCs. ~$4,500
—Paid off the first one and have a the funds to pay of the second ready!!
3. Max out ?06 Roth IRA contributions ($8,000)
–Not done yet
4. $2,000 in cash savings
–Currently exceeded this with almost $8000 in cash savings.
While it would be easy to move the cash savings into the Roths, we decided a few weeks after this post to buy a new house. We should close on the 1st of March, so I am holding on funding the Roth’s until after that is complete.
February 16th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Sadly, I haven’t done anything with that money. It still sits exactly where it has for- wow- 3 months. Now, as a college student, I feel scared of putting my money anywhere without knowing what I’m getting into. I look forward to working in the finance industry, and so hope that my self, albeit, slow investment studying will help both my small pile of cash and my future. May 16th here we come!!
February 17th, 2007 at 11:08 am
My goal was to have 100k in retirement accounts, I passed 100k on Feb 15th with my monthly 401k contribution.
February 17th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Great job everyone! Thanks for the updates so far.
February 17th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
[…] months ago on November 16th, I started a Make-A-Goal Experiment. I wanted to encourage people to set a six-month goal for themselves, and follow through with […]
February 17th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
For my first goal of saving 15% of income for retirement, that is coming along swell with my new 401k. As for the second goal of getting pre-approval for a mortgage, I’m re-thinking buying a house. I’m not sure if I am ready for the hassle of home-ownership. Or maybe I’m just lazy right now because I’d rather get a start on my freelance side business…
February 18th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
I just discovered this site today! Love all the info and have set a goal for myself…that within the next six months I will pay down a carrying balance on a credit card of $7000 to ZERO. My first step towards this goal, was to apply for a Zero% interest and Zero fee for a balance transfer to my new Discover card and ripping up this current 14% credit card, which on the average is costing me $70/month; while trying to pay it off! Once I attain this goal, I look forward to being debt free and can better invest more towards my savings and retirement…
February 18th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
I want to have maxed out my Roth for 2007 by June.
February 19th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
Continuing on my goal setting….
-Looks pretty obvious that family will increase in size.
-Start college funds.
-Make necessary improvements for addition(s)
-Keep up REGULAR vehicle maintenance (rear calipers “blew clean off” my car…it needed brakes as it was)
-Reduce personal effects clutter to what I can enjoy.
-start tithing right
February 20th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
My stated goal is to pay down $10K in debt. At three months in, I’m only down $3K.
I’m still chugging away and despite moving 1400 miles away next month and still no job lined up, I’m going to try and make it!
March 2nd, 2007 at 9:52 am
A year ago, I have achieved my goals - at least where I want
my finances to be. But it went down the drain when I started
helping my kids with their student loans and credit cards.
April 7th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
My goal is to have enough savings to cover 6 months living expense with 10k in savings.
April 12th, 2007 at 9:28 am
I made it!
Paid off $30K in debt in six months without reducing our liquid assets or investments. link
April 22nd, 2007 at 3:56 pm
I’m currently 23 years old:
My 6 month goal is as follows:
- reach $30,000 in savings - currently at $24,500
- reach $7,500 in my 401k - currently at $6,700 (depending on the market)
- renew for another year my leasing contract with my current tenant - knock on wood she has been excellent, never a complaint from her, rent checks always on time, never had to visit the condo EVER!!!
These are my goals, not too hard yet still challenging to attain…..
We’ll see…..
May 15th, 2007 at 1:39 am
Retirement accounts dropped with the dip in the market at the end of February, but have recovered nicely since then. Accounts are over 106k now.
May 15th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
Hmm..well, I didn’t take any steps in moving my chunk o’ cash to a high-yield savings account, yet it’s definitely increased in value. I’m glad college makes it possible for me to dump any money I earn right into savings! Whoohoo! Don’t think I reached increasing the original amount by 50%, but at least with my summer internship, will be much more able to add $5,000 to make it a grand total of close to $40,000.
May 16th, 2007 at 3:05 am
My wife and I made the goal about 5 months ago to buy a house.
Well, last Thursday we went to closing and are now proud OWNERS of our residence. NO MORE RENTING! We are also contributing regularly to a money market account, and beefing up our savings.
We also set up a goal of traveling “somewhere cool.” Not sure if it counts, but we are going to Oregon to see some family near the end of this month. Does that count?
May 16th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
My initial goal was to pay off $10000 in debt.
At six months I’ve now paid off $16K, so I beat my goal by quite a bit. Yay!
May 19th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
Well, I’m over the deadline but I figured I’d check in anyway.
I have almost $3000 in Roth IRA contributions (goal was $2000) and exactly another $600 in savings, so all in all not too shabby. Woot!
May 21st, 2007 at 11:04 pm
I haven’t made my second ROTH contribution or even the $2,000. But I accomplished my career-related goals by going back to school to sharpen my language skills. I entered a speech contest through school and won third prize. And I’ve been freelance writing more which leads directly to finding a job somewhat or completely related to journalism.
I put away $200 for my travel funds this month and hopefully I can survive the rest of the month without eating out. And I finally moved my low-yield WAMU savings into the 5% high-yield savings account!
May 27th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
My goal is to maintain a savings rate of 30% of our income.
June 4th, 2007 at 8:05 am
My 6 month goal, by the end of this year is to have
My Roth IRA to grow at 75K, right now it is 63K.
Have 50k for downpayment for house. right now i have 15.5k.
Turn my websites into profitable condition.
Have 5k in emergency fund account.
June 15th, 2007 at 7:54 am
My goal is to be debt free by paying off my student loans and credit cards ($1500 total) and to have $500 in savings in six months.
June 15th, 2007 at 10:37 am
My 6 month goal is to save $2,000 for downpayment in some real estate outside the country.
July 1st, 2007 at 9:49 pm
So glad this post is still open! Do I still get a prize? Maybe I’ll make that one of my goals
6-M Goals:
* Save Emergency Fund for 8-months ($3500 p/m): Currently at $6400
So tricky while on unemployment, but possible
* Pay off $30,000 of $50,000 HELOC
* Continue down-sizing & Save, Save, Save
* Enter and succeed in Real Estate Game
* Get a Prize for doing this?
July 31st, 2007 at 9:05 pm
6 month goals:
*Continue paying down my $15,000 in cc debt.
*Continue adding money to my ING account. Plan on looking into an account w/ 5+% as opossed to the 4.5% at ING.
*Continue learning about fianance & NOT over-spending!
August 1st, 2007 at 8:04 am
hey cici-
fnbodirect.com has 6% / bankdeals.blogspot.com
September 14th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Hey, 3 month goal is to
- max out my Roth IRA to $4000
- save $1600 for my certification exams
- stop using my credit card
My 6 month goal is to
save $10,000 in my emergency fund. wish me luck.
October 10th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Great blog! Really enjoy reading it.
My goal will be to fund my prosper.com account to roughly $4,000, then re-invest the principal back to increase the cashflow. I have done a quick calculation and every month, I would be able to utilize 4% of the principal (~$160) to futher funding the prosper account. This way I will be able to accumulate more money in a shorter amount of time. Once the $4,000 mark is reach, Afterwards, I’ll prepare to fund my ROTH-IRA account. Prosper.com is of higher priority because it would generate the immediate cashflow with a small enough amount of money, plus I can recycle the principal.
Cheers!
Alex
October 12th, 2007 at 11:02 am
My goal is to earn $10,000 from my own niche market web business by 04/12/08.
I will set up the eCommerce website and produce the eBook product in first 3 months and then earn $10,000 in the next 3 months.
October 19th, 2007 at 9:27 am
My six months goal is to build a giant webside that can make me money.
October 30th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
My 6 month goal will be to pay off my 2007 Toyota Yaris. I also would like to pay off my $7500 in credit card debt.
October 31st, 2007 at 4:25 pm
My six-month goal is (in several parts) to:
-pay what I owe to collection (~$2500)
-save at least $3,000, ideally $5,000 in a high-yielding online savings fund
-to have my online business live and profitable
-begin using credit cards to MAKE MONEY ONLY for the first time in seven years
November 27th, 2007 at 9:37 am
My 6 month goal is to have a great job and/or to be supporting myself with my new business.
December 6th, 2007 at 3:34 am
6 month goals:
-Convert my various ~$13K credit card debt all at 4.99% through my BofA card.
-Get my real estate agent license
-Get my credit fico score to 750 from 690 (as of 12/06)
12 month goal:
get a second rental property (a 4-plex) with at least a $1K positive cashflow
____________
Things I’ve accomplished recently:
-finally closed my BofA checking and savings which charged me $6/mo for the past 10 years (ouch)
-opened a Wamu 5% savings and free checking (no fees)
-converted 10K debt at 30% (at that rate for a year - yeah, it was a messy year) down 3.99%, but I got a few late payments and lost that rate. Hence goal #1 above.
-put all my bills paying through wamu bill pay with a 3-day email notification so I’m not surprised. When I had it set from all the institutions auto-payment, I lost track and had major overdraft fees.
-last year, I finally got my first passive income of about $1200/mo from renting out my condo and living in a tiny studio that costs me $450.
Yeah, I’m a hodge-podge of amazing passive income and horrible credit card debt. But most of it is not at all from consumer spending. It’s from not having health insurance and having to pay for emergency room bills. My monthly expenses are about $1200 with just the basics. I only eat out about $100/mo worth. No cable (tv, only internet). No furniture. I read “Clutter’s Last Stand” and ended up selling about 80% of everything I own. It was life transforming. Highly recommend it.
Well, I’ll stop here, otherwise, I should start my own money blog (and get paid).
I’ll be back.
April 16th, 2008 at 6:14 am
My 6 month goal is to pay off $10,000 in debt.
My long term goal is to pay off another 10,000 in car debt and then save for a house downpayment.
April 21st, 2008 at 4:10 pm
My 5 month goal is to find a job with my terrible work history and save up enough money to buy a car in the $1000-$2000 price range. My main goal is the car, whether I find a job or not.
Im only 22….
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:12 am
Woohoo!
I just got a house for 30% off including the down payment. This gives me enough equity to roll my other debts into my house payment. Both goals completed in one fell swoop!
Still some work to do, but it will come together fairly quickly.
Thanks for the inspiration.