Honey’s financial goals for 2013
Published on - January 2nd, 2013 (Modified on - January 8th, 2013) (by Honey Smith) This post is by staff writer Honey Smith.
Now that I’ve taken stock of where I’ve been in 2012, I’m ready to set goals for 2013. I want my goals to be ambitious enough that meeting them is a true accomplishment requiring me to stretch my growing money-management skills. However, I also want them to be realistic and personal (revolving around my priorities).
Goal 1: Pay off $5,000 in student loan principal
Since I’ve paid off almost $5,000 worth of debt just in the last six months, I think this is a reasonable goal. However, it will also be challenging because the majority of my debt-payoff so far was due to two windfalls that won’t repeat themselves going forward.
First, I will concentrate on paying off the remaining $3,249.73 remaining in my small balance. Paying that off will increase my monthly cash flow by $47.56 and reduce the number of bills I pay. Once I’ve put that balance to bed, I can start concentrating on my mega-loan.
Like my small loan, my mega-loan is actually considered two accounts: $59,160.77 in subsidized borrowing and $35,422.08 in unsubsidized borrowing. I’ll target the unsubsidized balance first.
By the end of 2013 my goal is to have a zero balance on the small student loan and a $33,000 or so balance on the large unsubsidized balance.
Goal 2: Buy a house
Currently, we rent a two-bedroom condo about 10 minutes from my job; it costs $976 per month. While our current place has served its purpose (especially since we’ve been there almost four years), the size and layout aren’t conducive to the fact that Jake now keeps a home office. There are banker’s boxes stacked in every room, and he’s only going to accumulate more business paperwork. The home no longer works for us.
With interest rates so low, as well as the fact that we aren’t going to be relocating to another area of the country within the next ten years, it makes sense for us to buy instead of rent. We’ve actually already met with a mortgage broker who is an old friend of Jake’s. Credit-wise we are in good shape (my credit score is over 790 and Jake’s is about 750). We will be eligible to apply for an FHA loan after we do our 2012 taxes, since that will be Jake’s second year of self-employment income.
We’d like to stay in our current area (i.e., within five miles of my work, since Jake works from home and his “commute” will be the same no matter what). Our target price is about $150,000. In addition to the costs associated with buying the home, there will be moving costs and also new furniture. Our bookshelves, couch, and dining set won’t survive another move; we do plan to use the Redesign by Goodwill store as our first-stop furniture store.
Regardless of whether we buy or rent, our goal is to be living in a home that meets our current needs by the end of 2013.
Goal 3: Saving for travel
Neither of my bridesmaids live in my state or the state where the wedding was held. As such, they traveled quite a bit for wedding-related events. While they were happy to do it, they’ve stated that the next round of travel is on me. Currently, they live in Philadelphia and Boston. The plan at this point is for me to take at least two weeks in Summer 2013 and visit them.
If possible, I’d also like to swing through Vermont to visit my best friend from grad school and her growing family. While the trip shouldn’t be ridiculously expensive (since I’ll have a place to stay in every city and can take the train between Boston and Philadelphia), I’ll have to bulk up my online savings account and save in order to travel.
Also in 2013, Jake’s cousin is having her first baby in April. Not only is she the relative he’s closest to, she lives two hours outside of Chicago, close to his grandparents. The last time we saw his grandparents was in September 2011, and they are in their nineties and can’t travel. It would be nice if we could make it out for the baby shower.
Looking ahead to 2014, the bridesmaid who came on our honeymoon met her now-fiance on the cruise. She has already asked me to be a bridesmaid and it is likely the bridal shower will be in her hometown, so there will be a trip to Boston in March 2014. The wedding will be in May, in the groom’s hometown of Atlanta.
Ideally, I’d like to pay for the Chicago and Northeast trips out of pocket and have $2,500 in my ING Savings subaccount earmarked for 2014 travel by the end of the year.
Goal 4: Expand my side gigs
My friend Shawn continues to give me SEO work with regularity; he’s also giving me bigger projects as he becomes more confident in my understanding of SEO principles. While the work isn’t especially interesting, I am learning a lot. I also find that being paid by the project is oddly satisfying. I’d like to be comfortable enough with the process to transition into seeking out my own clients by June. I also need to set up a Paypal account for the business so Shawn can stop sending me checks in the mail.
Checks are not terribly convenient for either of us, nor is it the safest way of sending money; one of the checks he sent me was stolen by a post office employee and the matter is under federal investigation (which I had never heard of!). Automating your finances removes some of the risk assumed by human interaction.
I’m also interested in expanding the blogging side of my business, whether through seeking out additional freelance opportunities, starting my own blog, or both. While starting my own blog arguably has the most potential long-term, it also has the lowest payoff in the short-term. I am also not sure what I’d like to write about the most (I have several things in mind). So I’ll have to give this more thought.
Regardless of the source(s), my goal is to bring in at least $5,000 in side income in 2013.
What are your goals for 2013?
Although paying off my student loan debt is important to me, it’s equally important to me that I live a full life in the process. That’s reflected in my goals. Other people (in debt or otherwise) may have different priorities. It’s all about doing what works for you.
Do you set financial goals each year? Is there another method of goal-setting that works better for you? What do you want to accomplish in 2013?
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Great article – I haven’t commented on any of Honey’s articles yet, but I have to say that I’ve enjoyed each and every one!
I particularly liked this one; it’s very straightforward and realistic, and it shows how the goals are attainable and why they are personally important (which probably helps a lot for motivation). It encourages me to sit down and figure out my own financial goals for the year (which I think will include saving for a new car – my current one is still in decent shape, but it’s getting older and I had to put more repair money into it last year than I wanted to).
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I tried to make goals more focused this year by outlining exactly what I will accomplish, not just financial hopes for the new year. I am not anywhere near as focused as you are.
I wonder what your blogging goal is? To increase readership? revenue? or the number of posts?
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I have a few goals for 2013. One is to declutter! Need to have a few garage sales and sell more on eBay to get rid of stuff I don’t really need. Plus, the extra moneey will come in handy. Extra money is always good when you are on a strict budget. Another goal is to do a list of all my passwords and recurring payments so hubby knows where I pay all bills. Check out my site for many money saving tips and my ways to make extra money.
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I love a good declutter. I think moving will be good impetus for that!
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We don’t typically treat the new year as any big goal setting opportunity – those are more likely to happen on a random Saturday than at the new year. But this year, I did crunch the numbers and realized that we’ve got an outside chance of knocking out the remaining debt that we took on for real estate investing this year – which would be well ahead of the schedule we had set out when we took it on. Now it’s nose to the grindstone to get it done! =)
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I like to set goals and I like to post them where I can see them. This has been very effective for me.
My financial goals this year are:
*Refinance the house (closing will be in about 2 weeks)and use the difference each month to pay off approximately $8000 in medical bills.
*Find/create additional opportunities to enhance my career and earning power. I would like to increase my yearly earnings by $6000-$10,000 over last year.
*Fortify our emergency fund.
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Good luck with all your goals Honey! Just wanted to give you a tip on cheap travel between Boston and Philadelphia (my hometown). Try the Megabus. You should be able to get a one way ticket for $20 or less – that’s much, much cheaper than the Amtrak. Only downside is that depending upon when you travel, the bus may be full of drunk, but generally friendly and harmless, college kids.
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you might also try coach usa — they have a boston hub, but i don’t know if it travels south from there. while more expensive than megabus, it’s less than amtrak and more pleasant than listening to drunk undergrads!
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Thanks, Mom of five and Tas! I will definitely keep that in mind.
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I always have some financial goals for the year (amount that I’d like to pay off of my student loans, savings goals and fun goals like vacations) though I don’t always associate them with the new year.
One thing I wonder with your goals is about your living situation. 150K for a house doesn’t seem like it’s going to buy you much in the way of additional space which seems to be what you’re looking for there (where I live that’s the going rate for a bachelor or one bedroom condo). Are you in a less urban area and have you researched starting prices there?
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We’re in the Phoenix metro area, one of the hardest hit in the recession. A standalone house is median $130K and a condo about $90K. It’s slightly more in the area we want to live. But $150K should get us a three bedroom standalone house, which is what we’re looking for.
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Wow! I was wondering where you lived that $150K could buy a decent home
In Boston Metro $150K might get you a parking spot… maybe. And, sadly, I am not joking :/
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I implicitly set up a bunch of goals by setting up pre-authorized contributions: keep the kids’ education savings account growing fast enough for the full grants, wipe out our remaining mortgage debt, give regularly to charities I believe in and which are working in areas governments are failing at, and keep plugging away at growing the house/emergency and retirement funds. I also hope to avoid paying line of credit, credit card or late-payment interest all year, and get the family taxes done within a week of getting all the slips and forms.
Also, like Joan, if we can reclaim some physical and mental space by decluttering, that would be great. Maybe one room or space at a time.
Good luck with your goals, Honey!
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Really? Buy a house? With 90k in Student loan Debt. Where is the down payment coming from? Isn’t that 15-30k you could put toward debt? Or are you planning on financing the whole thing? Of course that only puts you a cool quarter mil in debt by the end of it all.
We’ve been there – we bought a house because it would be “cheaper than renting”. It wasn’t. Things break – they need to be fixed. In the end it cost about the same as renting – AND – when we ended up needing to move 3 years earlier than we expected, we lost some more value. And you already mention the new furniture you would need to fill a bigger place….
I know you say you are not moving for 10 years – and interest rates feel like a deal. But isn’t that the same argument people make when they buy stuff they cant really afford because its on sale? And put it on their Credit Cards. What happens if you have to move unexpectedly. What does that do to your math?
I suppose I could agree to an argument that if you are there 10 years it might be an investment (I assume you’ve researched housing prices and are not worried that home prices will drop too much when interest rates rise) – but I go back to the question that at 90k in student loan money, do you really have money to invest right now? Is it worth the risk for a marginal cash flow bump.
Bigger place if you need it – sure I can see that. But I would rather suck it up and come up with a bit more rent money (storage unit for files maybe?) or move a bit further out and let the landlord fix the stuff that is broken.
And for me – in the end – with 90k in student loan debt I would probably throw an afghan over the bankers boxes and power into the debt.
Good luck Honey – whatever you decide – its a huge student loan load. I think in terms of living life in the process of paying it off as you mention supports a goal for saving for some travel along the way (the hard core gazelle intense debt killers might disagree) but I think small(er) tickets like that make it possible to keep pushing on the loan debt without getting too discouraged.
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I agree with Mike. Of course the decision is ultimately yours.
Whilst you have been doing brilliantly at paying down your debt, and it is a pain living somewhere with too little space, perhaps it is worth capitalising on living close to work (and Jake’s working at home) and blast that student loan even harder.
I know it seems like a waste of money to rent (I am currently renting too), but don’t forget that if you own a house it costs a lot in maintenance too over time.
Still, it sounds like you’ve run the numbers and aren’t buying a crazy-big house, so you will probably find it works out costing about the same.
My biggest goal this year is 200 days of no spend!
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And don’t forget to consider homeowner’s insurance and property taxes! Also try to avoid PMI if you can. Just be certain to crunch ALL the numbers!
And don’t believe the bank when they say you can afford $xxx amount of rent. They are usually using a straight up formula that doesn’t account for retirement saving, regular living, and your own comfort zone.
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In addition, don’t forget about the extra cost of utilities that are usually included in the price of rent. We had a starting mortgage of $137,000 for 30 years on a $145,000 house. In addition to the payments ($1035/mo for mortgage, interest, property insurance, and property taxes), it looks like we averaged $275 per month in 2012 for electricity, garbage/water/sewer and minimal maintenance. So, we are really at $1310 per month. This does not include all of the “extra” tools that you probably will either need to buy or rent – lawn mowers, hoses, rakes, painting supplies, etc. – that you probably do not already own.
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When something breaks or needs to be replaced, there is no landlord or management company to call….. Whether a $25 electrical switch or a $25000 roof, it is ALL on you. First time owners tend to be clueless about the costs of ownership. In addition, if you lack the hands-on skills to deal with problems, you are now hiring outside labor PLUS the parts. Honey, if you do this, you will mess up your financial recovery and hate yourself late. There are bigger houses to RENT, without the risk. You do not have the funds to buy a house, even if someone is happy to lend you the money. THIS—buying houses one cannot afford—was a large part of the 2008 crash.
DON’T DO IT!
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I don’t agree. Phoenix is a serious bargain right now and 150K for a house at these interest rates results in a low monthly payment. Retirees LOVE phoenix, so there’s no doubt that the market will come back.
Also, I think that some of Honey’s loans might qualify for forgiveness in 10 years, so why pay them down aggressively when you can buy an appreciating asset?
I’d do the same thing if I were you Honey. It’s Phoenix, not a dying mid western steel town. If that were the case, my answer would be different.
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“Also, I think that some of Honey’s loans might qualify for forgiveness in 10 years, so why pay them down aggressively when you can buy an appreciating asset?”
Two misconceptions here:
1. A home is not an asset. An asset produces income. Additionally, yes, it can lose value.
2. You do realize that “loan forgiveness” basically means the rest of us have to pay her loan back for her, right? Remember her post on whether she should really have to pay her loan back?
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+++ for Trina.
The loan forgiveness suggestion drives me crazy. It is simply not responsible to the rest of us who end up footing the bill. If Honey wants to go teach in public schools or some sort of program that forgives loans for service I’m ok with that.
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Yeah, but… the goal is a net societal benefit of a well-educated person taking a public service position that she otherwise may not have been able to afford to accept if she had to repay the loans. Furthermore, the employer may have a difficult time employing a qualified candidate.
In effect, many people (I don’t know about Honey specifically) agree to do public work for below-market wages for a decade in exchange for loan forgiveness.
She also has to pay 10 years of principal and interest, so it is hardly a total loss for the government (if a loss at all, I’d love to see what the total program costs taxpayers).
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Isn’t she paying a laughably low amount per month towards her loans? From what I recall, she is paying far less than I paid over 7 years ago, and I only had $12,000 in loans! I don’t care if it’s legal or not, it pisses me off. Essentially she and many others are paying the absolute minimum they can get away with, allowing their interest accrue to ridiculous levels. Then they complain that it is untenable. Of course it is, you are intentionally making no sacrifice/progress whatsoever and are just biding your time until they are forgiven.
Sorry, but I don’t consider that personal responsibility, regardless of what the government allows.
Cue Honey’s press secretary/online defender (a.k.a. Katie) and her inevitable critique of my views on this issue.
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@Jane: And it pisses me off that people like you are so unwilling to contribute anything towards improving our society. Why don’t *you* take a public service job with low pay and an unsustainably high loan balance? Someone’s got to, but according to you, we should just let them suffer in exchange for trying to do good work.
If you want a society that’s more just, safer, more equal, better educated, and happier, you’re going to have to either do something about it, or pay someone else to. It won’t happen magically.
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@Imelda….
Hmm…I am a nurse that graduated about $70,000.00 in student loan debt. Since graduating about 10 years ago, I have personally chosen to work in charity, inner city. underserved hospitals. I currently work in a military hospital making less money than I did my first year out of nursing school.
In several months, I will be debt free…without seeking ANY loan forgiveness…even though I qualified and was offered. I would NEVER in a million years ask other harding working people to subsidize my choices….that’s beyond morally revolting..especially when it’s taken from them without their consent via taxes. For those that do feel so moved to help pay for other’s college…either donate to a scholarship program or help a family member.
And please…when we talk about paying off the loans of those that are “useful” to society….those with PhDs in “Composition and Rhetoric” and government bureaucrats do NOT come to mind..how about electricians..plumbers…water sanitation experts….farmers…..construction workers…..heavy equipment operators……you know..people you would actually want during the zombie apocalypse:-D I just always sense such elitist snobbery when the topic of student loan repayment is discussed. Most college grads are not “needed” half as much as they would like to pretend.
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2013 will be an interesting year, full of change. For one thing, we expect our income to decrease for the first time in seven years. Still, it will be savings as usual around our house, among other things.
1. Start a new business by the end of the year.
2. Learn more about investing.
3. Continue paying down mortgage.
4. Continue adding to targeted savings accounts.
I know people have jumped on you in the past, Honey, for wanting to buy a house. I love our house, but we waayyyy underestimated how much it would cost us in repairs, updates, furnishings, utilities, etc.. Don’t make the same mistake
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I second the point about not underestimating housing costs. One of the reasons I put off buying was that even though I could comfortably afford the “monthly payment” (mortgage, condo fees, utilities, etc.), the total cost of ownership in terms of repairs, maintenance, renovations, furniture, etc. was another story… Not to mention needing a larger emergency fund to cover things (like an appliance dying) which my landlord currently covers.
A lot of people look at big purchases from a monthly payment point of view, but IMHO I think it’s important to look at TOC. (And ROI, if applicable)
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Yes, we will definitely have to keep repairs and maintenance in mind, especially since the area we are wanting to live in mostly consists of mature neighborhoods (homes 30+ years old).
One of the things that frustrates us about renting is that our landlord doesn’t do ANY of that. The place was cute when we moved in, but now the roof leaks, the kitchen sink leaks, the a/c unit needs replacing, the carpet needs replacing, the front door doesn’t work right, and on and on. If we owned a place we’d definitely budget to take care of it properly.
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I hear you there! My apartment was okay… five years ago. One of the reasons I wanted to buy was so I could have some control over what maintenance and decor gets done. I think it would be hard to have a home office under conditions you couldn’t control.
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When we first bought our home, mowing the lawn and raking the leaves were much despised chores for us – we both have terrible allergies. After a couple of years we began farming that work out. We now factor in that cost (about $100) as part of our monthly housepayment. Since we won’t ever want to do it even if we ever moved (highly unlikely) that is a cost we’d figure in as much as heat and electricity when scoping out a particular house.
Anyway, just thought I’d mention it as there may be some homeowner chores that you feel similarly about that you should factor in when calculating how much of a mortgage you can afford.
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In many places, you can make the repairs yourself(or pay someone) and deduct the expense from your rent. There is also a “warantee of habitibility” requirement, and yours is not meeting those standards. Call up your local government and find out what recourse you have.
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to me this sounds like a great pre-test for ownership. If you and Jake can negotiate a fair break in the rent, do your own maintenance here first. See how it feels and how much it really costs. When the place is back to looking like when you moved in, you may not feel you need to move at all!
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Don’t let problems with your rental place drive your house buying thought process.
You can always move to a different rental in better shape and more appropriate size.
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Then you RENT a better house from a better landlord! You are saying that your feet are too cold to walk in the snow in sneakers, and instead of buying boots you want to move to
Fiji!
For a bit you seemed to be learning, but again you are using your gut and heart to make choices, instead of your brain. But I wwaaannnntttttttt it!
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It probably does make more sense to buy instead of rent. I wouldn’t buy with the amount of student loans you have, but setting that aside – I wouldn’t buy a house with a person that I didn’t have some sort of merged finances with. If you can’t have a conversation with him about cutting cable and just pay half the bill, how are you going to divide up maintainence? You think the carpet needs replacing, he doesn’t. Or he wants to put in new windows and just expects you to pay your half when that doesn’t fit in your budget. This would be a MUCH BIGGER issue to me.
And – if he can’t save aside enough for taxes, how is he going to save enough for maintanence?
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One suggestion I would make is don’t rush out and buy new furniture when you get your place. It’s ok to have a few empty rooms while you save up. Also, as you live in your new home your thinking may change on what furniture would work where.
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I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions, but for 2012/13, the change in years happened to coincide with an international move that has a zillion lifestyle and financial implications.
So my goals are to stop acquiring stuff, especially clothing, mostly be becoming more mindful of what we truly need and want, and to find every penny we can for travel, even if it means slowing our retirement investing a bit. The time living in Europe is limited for us and we want to eek every bit of travel and adventure we can out of it. We have no debt, other than a home mortgage and investment property mortgage, so we feel fairly comfortable making a conscious decision to spend more in 2013. We have cuts in mind (the aforementioned Stuff Spending tightening) to offset some of the travel, but it won’t make up for all of it.
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Our biggest financial goal this year is to turn into investers. We have a fully funded e-fund and retirement and no debt besides our relatively small mortgage, so what I’d really like to do is set aside a minimum of $500 each month for investing. I’ve recently become paranoid that the government is going to lay claim to some of our retirement investments on the basis that those accounts are tax advantaged so I really want to beef up our currently small non-retirement portfolio.
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Do you have a specific investment plan? If so, I’d be curious to hear about it and how you arrived at it. I find the logistics of that stuff fascinating.
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I’m following Peter Lynch’s philosophy of buying what we know. We don’t have much invested, but so far,after about 3 years, we’re beating the market and our money has earned a lot more in dividends than it would’ve earned in a bank. (Our e-fund is still safely in FDIC insured accounts). Right now, I’ve got my eye on three different stocks in which I’d like to invest at least $1500 each this year. I have been looking at the historical quotes over 5 and 10 years. I try to read up on what was going on to cause their highs and lows and now I’m waiting until they hit my predetermined low number before I pull the trigger.
So far, I’ve been doing well with this strategy. That doesn’t mean that I’ve bought at the absolute lowest points, but I have bought at times where the stocks have been pretty low compared to where they go in their normal cycles.
I have found it pays to be patient.
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Cool. Thanks for sharing.
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Mom of 5,
I’m curious what “fully funded retirement” means to you. That’s my biggest concern right now and I have really no idea what a “fully funded retirement” means. I’ve read the “have 10 times your highest salary” etc – but so much depends on your particular life circumstances. Would you (or anyone else here) mind sharing how much your retirement fund is, age, and retirement dreams? Thanks.
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Jim — I highly recommend the website of Mr Money Mustache. He’s dedicated to financial independence, has already done it, and has lots of helpful, sensible formuals for figuring out how much you actually need for retirement. He bases it on what you need to live on, not on what you make. In my mind basing it on a salary assumes that you spend 100% of your salary (which, if you’re a “Honey,” makes sense), but doesn’t make any sense for those of us who are fiscally responsible.
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It’s funny I was trying to think of the best way to express a thought and almost didn’t use the words “fully funded retirement.” What I meant by fully funded was we don’t *have* to save anymore and could get by in retirement on what we’ve saved so far. I don’t mind sharing the amount we’ve got so far – 1.46 million. Our retirement is not really fully funded because we’d like to have more saved, but if we don’t save another penny, we could make that amount work for us. We’re 18 years away from when we visualize our retirement to be.
About 10 years ago, we had figured we could retire comfortably on 2 million. We obviously hope to exceed that and seem to be on track to do so.
As I said, I’m really nervous that the government will start taking 401k’s and IRA’s and so we may actually stop saving in the tax advantaged accounts and put all that money into post tax investments.
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1. The government can increase taxes on retirement accounts and non-retirement accounts alike. Who knows what the tax code will look like the particular year that anyone retires?
2. When one of my close family friends got sick, they incurred medical bills exceeding 1M and lost everything. It didn’t even take very long. A couple surgeries and long stays in the hospital. They were not eligible for Medicare/Medicaid.
3. The 1.46M of retirement savings is impressive. For me, the ideal number is somewhere between 1M and 10M, but beyond maxing my annual contributions and optimizing my investments, there’s only so much I can do. Whether I hit my low number or high number will largely depend on my average compounding rate and the order in which the rates happen. I like tracking everything in Excel and doing various modeling to see what will happen in best and worst case scenarios. It’s a real eye-opener to try annual returns of 2% with average inflation rates of 3%. It’s like trying to walk in quicksand.
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Mom of 5,
Thanks for the input. I share your concerns re: the potential change in the tax code which could adversely affect savers/investors.
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My biggest financial goal is to really prioritize the trips we’ve been hoping to take “someday, before kids” until September(mainly just to visit friends and family in different states, and maybe the bigger vacation we’ve been saving for since our wedding, but maybe not). From September on, it’s going to be job-searching and family-discussing time, we have a good emergency fund and decent savings to help us transition, and our incomes are too low to max out our IRAs or save for a house…so we want to take the opportunity to travel in these months while our situation is still stable and predictable.
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In 2012 we increased our networth by over $212,000 but we’re not likely to be able to repeat that again. Instead of focusing on the amount we’re saving in 2013 we’re focusing on the amount we spend.
Last year we spent a little over $42,000 and this year I’d like to bring that to under $40,000. We’re going to do that by cutting some costs out (like our YMCA membership), cutting back on our food costs, and being very careful not to purchase anything we don’t need.
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My goal for 2013 is to buy my first rental property.I really just want to get it overwith lol, because I figure the first one is always the scariest.
I was planning to buy in 2014, but I set some money aside for an expensive overseas trip to visit with family, which is not happening now, so I can put that towards the purchase. Other than the typical resolutions, like to become healthier, this is my main goal. I’m the type where I do best to focus on one large goal.
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I wish I lived somewhere where $150k would buy a 3 bedroom house! Alas, we are tied to metro Boston area where we have a 3 year house savings plan. In 2012, we set up a “SmartyPig” account to save for a house downpayment fund. We saved $20k in it! I am trying to up that by saving $25k in 2013. The goal is to have $75k for the 20% down on a 3 bed/2 bath single family home in 2015. They go for about $450k+ in the 3 town radius I am looking at.
It is harder to budget when small kids are involved in my experience but we try! My other financial goals are the following:
Save money for travel:
- one trip to visit ailing in-laws who live in Vegas in April (airfare for family of 4 = $1600, rental car – $500, stay with uncle/aunt)
- One summer beach type trip – rent a condo to save money on food and drive there.
We already max out the 401k so try to set up a Roth for me and my husband.
Pay off $4k outstanding credit card debt.
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>Our bookshelves, couch, and dining set won’t survive another move
Unless they are all going to literally collapse if you pick them up and set them down on a truck, this quote sounds like a euphemism for “I want to buy new furnishings but for some reason can’t quite come out and say so”
It’s ok! There is no shame in getting new things before you absolutely, 100% have to do so.
And — apologies if I have misinterpreted your statement. Congrats on setting goals and working to follow through with them.
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Heh, I do actually have a couple of IKEA bookshelves that I’m pretty sure will physically collapse if I ever try to move them! The only thing that’s keeping them from collapsing in on themselves now is that they’re bolted to the wall; otherwise, they have an extremely pronounced slant.
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We had to screw the bookshelves to one another to get them to stand up this last time, so they will definitely fall apart if we try to move them again! I think they were the $30 KMart ones, so not a big loss there.
The couch is faux leather which is all peeling off, which is both uncomfortable (scratchy) and unsightly. We tried a couch cover but that didn’t really work the way we wanted it to. We can make due until we move, but it’s definitely not worth the space on a moving truck. We probably can make due with the dining set, though, at least for a little while and upgrade later.
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Is “make due” an American idiom that means the same thing as “make do”?
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Jacq! Are you feelin’ scrappy today? You canucks and that hockey mindset. Hey, I’m awaiting your year end summary on GTFO. Noise horns, blow curls, glitter, and party hats?
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Although I think that buying a house is probably a good idea for you guys, just curious where the downpayment is coming from?
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Given that Honey usually comments pretty regularly, I think the fact that she hasn’t answered your question speaks volumes. She very likely doesn’t have a down payment of any significance.
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I note that Honey says she and Jake are planning to “apply for an FHA loan.” I believe only a 3.5% down payment is required under that circumstance. According to this site — http://www.zillow.com/fha-loan/ — FHA loans were designed to assist potential homebuyers who otherwise may have trouble qualifying for a conventional mortgage.
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I’m not really familiar with FHA – but with 3.5% down they’d still need $5250. Are there closing costs? Tack on another couple thousand.
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Sara – I don’t know that much about FHA loans either, but I think most people without a down payment just wrap their closing costs up in the main loan. Banks let you do that all the time.
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I love how specific your goals are. I think that’s key in actually accomplishing them. My husband and I set some goals for 2013 on our blog, and a few commenters recommended mini goals! So in addition to our 2013 goals, we are setting mini goals at the start of each month, which I think will help with our success in accomplishing the big goals!
Good luck!
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Long story, but we added a sun room to the house for $ 33,000+ this year, paying half in cash and refinancing the house for the rest. We are currently about $ 7,000 more in debt than at this point last year, but really enjoying the new space.
Goals for this year: (1) pay off the rest of the addition and get back on track with mortgage reduction (2) pay for daughter’s wedding (suprise!) (3) every 6 weeks, start a new project on our list of defered maintenance.
This should all keep us frugal and happy.
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That looks like a short, quality list of goals for the new year… well chosen!
My goals relate to my blog: 500 subscribers, 50 unique visitors per post day, and payout from AdSense. I’ve already mentioned these in a comment on a previous post, but you asked.
Speaking of my blog, today I’ve published a new post I’ve been thinking over for a few weeks now. So if you have some time please come read, discuss, and perhaps subscribe. I’d greatly appreciate it.
Happy New Year with peace and prosperity to all!
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As usual, the fellow bloggers think your goals are great and the people with any kind of financial sense have given up on commenting. $90k in debt, adding a mortgage (where is the down payment coming from? and where is your fund for all of the repairs you will have to do?), and you’re planning to travel. Wow. Just keep digging. Maybe you should have a baby, too. I hear there’s a great ROI in that.
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I have to agree with Trina on this one. Paying down massive debt while contemplating buying a house, getting some new (used) furniture, and not “denying” yourself travel is what we used to call “blowing in the ocean.”
I don’t mean to repeat myself on one of your previous posts, but paying down your $3k debt does **NOT** “increase monthly cash flow by $47.56″ That money goes directly into the next debt pile ASAP.
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Obviously, I can’t say for certain what’s best for another couple, but I can speak from the point of view of someone who was pretty much in Honey’s shoes seventeen years ago when we bought our home. Without a doubt, it was the single best financial decision we’ve ever made. Our monthly payment was less than rent, we had more space, and we began to build equity immediately – we got rid of PMI in a year which enabled us to pay down our horrific debtload even faster.
The market where we are was at a low, just like Phoenix is now. Buying sooner rather than later saved us many thousands of dollars not only because our payment was less than rent, but also because we were getting a chunk of our money back from the tax breaks of homeownership (interest and property tax deductions). I don’t have a crystal ball, I don’t know if it’s going to work out similarly well for Honey, but we’re living proof that it very well could.
Oh, and I almost forgot – we did have that baby Trina is warning about – Surprise! I’m in the throes of planning a reasonable sweet 16 party for her – our life is good, our finances are good and it all worked out.
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So your advice to a person in her 20s with an outrageous amount of debt is to buy a house and have a baby. Sounds like you’re qualified to be a staff writer here!
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I agree, throwing caution to the wind and guessing it will all work out is how people get into debt, not out of it. With that mindset, why bother with an emergency fund either?
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What I don’t understand is what bank would loan to someone with 100K in debt and most likely little downpayment. Also, w/out a significant downpayment, you will pay PMI. Is that really cheaper than renting? I bought a condo this year and I have: no debt, an 800 or so credit score, signficiant assets and put down 25% and the banks still scrutinized my application.
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I love seeing everyone’s goals — so inspirational
My financial goals for 2013 are to make my next career move — new job? new business? both? — and to learn more about investing. Since some key parts of my life are up in the air right now, I think this is a good year to learn to be more flexible too.
Good luck, everyone!
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2013 Financial Goals:
1. Pay off all student loans: $8,000
2. Pay off car 1: $6,000
3. Pay off car 2: $11,000
4. Celebrate being debt free on family road trip
5. Begin saving for house down payment: target purchase date summer 2014
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I second the comments made about considering the true cost of owning a home before taking the plunge. My main financial goal for 2013 is to replenish the battered savings accounts – the irregular expenses fund, the house repair fund, and the emergency fund – which were emptied this past fall to do a necessary porch repair that cost nearly double the original estimate (I’m told that kind of thing happens frequently with home-ownership). I am also continuing to pay back my brother for an emergency loan to cover the cost of an unexpected roof replacement that exceeded the savings that went towards the porch (these two projects were done in tandem thanks to a leaky roof).
A third financial goal is to – again – pay down my credit card; because I had to hold on tightly to our savings in case the porch cost the full amount we had (it did), irregular expenses such as car repairs went on plastic and drove the balance back up. Essentially, thanks to $12,500 for the house and car, we’re starting over with Ramsey Baby Step 1.
Anecdotally, my friends and I have found that house maintenance and repair costs run approximately $5000/year. Some years you’ll be lucky and need little to none, and other years will make up for the cheap ones.
Honey, I wouldn’t say, “Don’t buy a house,” (after all, we did), but do be realistic about what it will cost for PITI plus maintenance. If you’re able to put money aside now that covers these expenses, then you can probably afford it; if it’s a struggle to do so now, it will be then.
And let me know when you come to Boston if you have a spare afternoon; I’d love to meet you!
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My comment was marked as SPAM! For EDITING!!
TECHNICAL ELVES, KINDLY FIX THIS. At least move it to moderation, no??
K. GTG.
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I’m in a similar place as you financially (with more student loan debt, though). My plan is to apply for public service loan forgiveness after 10 years of income-based repayment (2 years down, 8 to go). It doesn’t make sense for me to throw all my money at a debt that will be forgiven and, even if I went at it full-force, it would take me more than 8 years to pay off. So, I’m just treating it like a monthly expense and not as a debt to pay completely off. My biggest financial goal right now is to buy a house. Everyone says to be debt-free before purchasing a house, but that doesn’t really fit my situation. So, here are my financial goals for 2013 (income= 68K):
1. maintain fully funded emergency fund
2. pay cash for a family vacation
3. save $20,000 towards house downpayment
4. put $100/month into son’s college fund
5. save $4,000 in retirement account
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Good luck with all your goals. I find just stating them to the world helps me feel accountable for them and therefore I attempt to stay on track. I don’t always succeed but I am trying.
My goal for 2013 is to live off of one salary. We come pretty close but we made a pact to try and live off of my husband’s salary for the month of January and use my salary for principal payments to the mortgage. If we can do it for this long, dreary month then February will seem easy!
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EMH,
Please do let me know how that works out for you. We’ve got the same goal – live off our smallest salary and throw all of the larger salary at the mortgage in an attempt to have the house paid for in 3 years. So far, we’re running into problems. Son’s car just died (for the last time) so we’re going to have to spend some of the $ we were hoping to throw at the mortgage getting him a replacement beater. Not off to a good start yet.
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We run into setbacks as well and I don’t see this experiment always being feasible. Luckily, by trying to live off of one salary, we will have my salary to pay for the unexpected and not have to tap into the emergency or travel fund.
Good luck with your goals, Jim! I am really impressed if you are able to live off of one salary with teenage kids. They are lovely but teenagers aren’t cheap
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EMH,
Your comment made me laugh out loud. Teens are lovely, but not cheap – ha! Our son is a recent college grad – headed for law school. Trust me, teens are cheap in comparison. Oh well – the journey continues. Best of luck with your goals. Hope you guys make it even sooner than you think.
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No major financial goals for 2013 – this year is just saving more and spending less than year’s past. We started building our emergency fund around March 2012 and it’s 33% funded at this point. Slowly, but to be fair, I keep upping the final amount.
We talked about living off of my income this year and saving his which would require a complete lifestyle change, but it’s likely not to happen. Maybe when we get married.
No solid goals this year other than setting ourselves up nicely for 2014-2015.
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Until you are married, DO NOT mingle your finances. What if you live off his salary, he saves all of his and then finds someone else? You have no claim on his savings.
Also, DO NOT BUY A HOUSE unless you are married. I’m sure you are sure that your guy wouldn’t do that, but I guarantee that none of the other women who ended up in this situation thought that their guy would, either.
Gentlemen, substitute “gal” for “guy.”
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They are married. Remember that their wedding was partially financed on credit card?
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I am trying not to be a “debbie downer” here, but I have to question some of your travel plans. That’s a lot of travel in a year you want to buy a house and will effectively be doubling your already large student debt.
Maybe look into creative ways to combine trips – spend more time in Chicago in 2013, then make a huge mega trip in 2014 to the East Coast, combining your two trips there that you planned for both ’13 and ’14. In the meantime, Google Hangouts are a great way to stay in touch, via video chat, with friends far away! Some of the best times I’ve had are having some drinks and video chatting virtually… and so much cheaper too
If you’re really itching for more space and you can no longer deal with your landlord, it might be possible to find a rental for cheaper than what you’re currently paying but with better property owners. I understand home ownership is a good dream, and not necessarily out of your reach… but if you’re going to stay there for 10 years, you’ll probably end up staying for 15, and there may be other rentals out there that meet your needs without the big outlay of cash and ongoing maintenance, meaning you can continue to pay down both your husband and your own debts.
I also think buying a house is going to necessitate you merge your finances at some level – so be prepared for that. I know you haven’t touched on that recently in your posts, but it’s an ongoing issue you’ll have to wrangle with. It’s easier when it’s just rent, but when you’re talking ongoing maintenance, and other expenses relative to a home… it’s not so straightforward.
Good luck!
Keep up the good work – you are doing so well since you started blogging at GRS
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Honey, I think your goals are great. On the house – are you planning to have children in the next years? We have three children in a three-bedroom home, but there is no room for a dedicated office space – I have mine in a weird multipurpose room.
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Because the housing market in Arizona has been so bad, I imagine there are tons of houses for rent that people are waiting to sell when the market improves. In fact, I know several couples who are doing just that in the Phoenix area.
I understand wanting three bedrooms, but have you looked into renting a house? That way you could get some of the perks of a home without the responsibility and added debt. While interest rates are low now, there’s no guarantee that the market will actually rebound enough before you want to move. It may never rebound the way it did. You also have to factor in the costs of selling in ten years. You will easily “lose” any equity you built up in realtor fees and a sundry expenses.
We bought with only 10% down on a $160,000 house. In hindsight, we had no business buying then and should have waited until we had 20%. And that’s coming from a couple who had no debt at all. We had just paid off our student loan debt. Do you have 20% in cash? If not, I think it’s a bad idea.
I don’t know, Honey. Obviously you are much more comfortable with carrying debt than we are. I know people and their circumstances are different, but I can’t bring myself to say here, “Different strokes for different folks.” You have considerable debt, and I just think a house is too much, if only for the stress it will add. Wait until you know where you want to live long term and until you know how much money your husband’s firm is ultimately going to bring in.
But despite any strangers’ protestations, I know you are going to buy a house anyway. In that case, I would urge you to be ruthless with your $150,000 cut off. Do not even look at houses that cost more. It’s too much of a temptation to bump that number up when you see something you like. You’ll look at the monthly payment and amortize it over 30 years and buy more.
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Sadly, I can EASILY see Honey doing the “…but the granite countertops and hardwood floors are “ONLY” an extra $67.23 a month……” song and dance!
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Exactly, Pattie. Even the most frugal of buyers can get caught up in the bells and whistles. Honey has already demonstrated a problem with budgeting, which means that she has to be even more cognizant of and stringent with their $150,000 limit. My prediction? They go tens of thousands over this supposed ceiling. Should we make bets how much?
She should remind herself continually – “Just because a bank will give it to me, doesn’t mean I can afford it.”
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Maybe I will also sound like Debbie Downer but that seems like a lot of travel for acquaintances’ life events when you have a lot of serious debt. See the elderly family members by all means, but friends’ wedding travels are not that necessary IMHO. Buying a home is also not 100% necessary in this instance, IMHO.
In 2013 my goal is to continue with the principal on my mortgage. I just refi-ed so this should be slightly easier than it has been previously.
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Honestly, having followed Honey’s story since she was auditioning for a staff writer position with GRS, I’m a little surprised to hear that she and Jake are moving forward with buying a house now. Not only do I think it is unwise from a pure debt-to-income ratio perspective, but I’m not sure it’s consistent with her wants. Or maybe with the passage of the last half year her mind has been changed. See the section titled, “An Example,” from one of her early posts last year: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2012/06/26/the-reckoning-or-what-mint-revealed/
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Question: Do U.S. lenders not look at debt-to-income ratio? When I was looking into mortgages, it was something that was always discussed.
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Yes, absolutely they do. It seems that Honey’s mortgage broker believes she and Jake would qualify under the FHA guidelines, which isn’t totally surprising since I think Jake’s income is still pretty high. But just because a potential homebuyer meets the minimum requirement doesn’t necessarily mean it would be wise to take on that debt. See this site with regard to FHA loans, which is what Honey says she and Jake plan to apply for: http://www.zillow.com/fha-loan/
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I’m really no longer interested from hearing from Holly. I don’t think her finances stand a chance in hell, given her hedonistic attitude.
I would, however, love to hear from her SO and how he’s handling over $100,000 in student loans for law school.
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I’m not sure if you really want to hear from Jake as a counterpoint to Honey. Here’s what we know about his legal training and career from Honey’s earlier posts:
- “He had just quit his extremely lucrative job at a mid-size law firm where he was well on his way to partner for a far more uncertain future starting his own firm with a friend who isn’t exactly renowned for his work ethic.” (6/15/12 main post)
- “Student Loans, Various, $102,204.28. None of this is from his BA, either; it is all from law school. Law students have to pay graduate tuition and law school tuition, and they’re not allowed to have jobs except during the summers. He went to a public, in-state, Tier 1 school and was on Law Review, aka, this is as good as it gets.” (6/26/12 main post)
- “However, Hubby graduated a year before me and at that time was making $92K/year and was traumatized by the bar.” (6/26/12 comment)
I would take from the first point that he is at least five years out of law school (correction, Honey graduated in 2009, so he’s 4.5 years out of law school), but it is puzzling that he still has the incredible amount of debt in point two. He should have been able to pay down substantially more in that amount of time, especially given his income cited in point three. I am honestly wondering how, given his trajectory, he still HAS that much debt! As someone who graduated a T10 law school 5.5 years ago with over $100k in student loans (also only from law school), and knowing what progress I’ve made financially in that time, Jake and I are night and day. His financial position is very atypical from what I gather from my peers at my firm, who have been much more responsible with tackling debt since graduation than Jake.
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LeRainDrop,
Thx for the info. I had no idea. Given his financial position and hers (along with what must be both of their attitudes – can you hear entitlement, but I’ll put on airs that make you think I’m busting my bu##)I don’t give either one of them a chance in hell of succeeding with their $.
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Yep — pretty much hopeless.
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It also irks me that she is a staff writer. Why can’t we have another writer of Kristin Wong’s caliber? Her financial journey is much more compelling. Her articles remind me of J.D.’s – down to earth and just genuinely a pleasure to read.
Perhaps an online petition requesting a new writer? I’m half joking, but why shouldn’t the loyal readers have more of a say in what they like or don’t like? Or is generating comments the end all be all of a blog, which means that our contrary comments are just helping Honey keep her job?
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My personal conspiracy theory is that she is a plant to generate comments.
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HEY, WHAT DID I DO?????
=) I assume you didn’t mean Holly!
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Haha, no! Holly, YOU are FANTASTIC!
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Holly,
Sooooooooooo sorry – didn’t mean you at all!!!! Meant Honey – oops. Sorry!
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So done with this blog. :/
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Great goals! I’m sure you can accomplish them all, especially if you tackle them in the order they appear here.
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Hello, the link that was posted earlier today is taking our discussion in a very different direction. For this reason, the link and comments regarding this link will be removed. We apologize for any inconvenience.
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I don’t think this was an appropriate action. I think linking to that blog enlightens readers to the character and mindset of the author-shouldn’t we know that before reading the advice of the blogger? It certainly made me take her posts with more caution.
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It seems pretty silly to me. Now I really want to know what the link was….
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Ellen, you are crossing the line of “unfit”. Your deletion efforts mimic the efforts of the Gestapo.
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Hmm….yes how “inconvenient” that we now know one of your posters equates stay at home mothering with prostitution! Because on a financial blog having such a warped and misogynistic understanding of economic is “off the subject”
“Inconvenient” indeed!
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I agree. I don’t understand Ellen and GRS’s long term goal here. The link was clearly apropos. Yeah, it reflected poorly on the author, but it was written by said author.
I never had respect for the author beforehand, so my opinion on her remains the same. My opinion of this blog, however? That has definitely suffered from the deleting of comments in the past few days. It takes the blog in a direction it doesn’t want to go.
I think GRS knows what it should do to remain respectable, and it ain’t deleting comments of long-term readers who have proven to be insightful and on topic.
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GRS is supposed to be *helpful* financial information and generally inspirational, isn’t it? I pity any poor newbie to the site who reads Honey’s articles. Simply put: these articles are a depressing trainwreck that need to go. JD’s stuff was always motivational and thoughtful. Sadly, this author destroys both that ethos and angers much of the community built up around this web site. Are we supposed to be angry when we read it? I haven’t figured that out.
My advice is that when Honey’s articles show up, everyone should run away like their hair’s on fire.
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EARTH TO HONEY! EARTH TO HONEY!
You CANNOT afford to travel. You CANNOT afford to buy a house. You cannot afford any luxurious “wants” like cross-country trips and 1500+ square feet of living space until you pay off your debt.
You are one emergency away from undoing all the progress you made in 2012. What will it be: A tax error? Unemployment? Car breakdown? Medical issues? (Home ownership opens you up to even more possible disasters.)
Increasing your side-income is a great plan, but not if you continue to spend, spend, spend. You’re on a treadmill, going nowhere.
I’m sorry, but you have to make some sacrifices. You’ve been having your cake and eating it too for far too long.
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If I could like this comment a million times I would.
It’s dissapointing to come to, what used to be, an amazing blog and have to read the writings of, what sounds so spoiled and entitled.
I am STILL gobsmacked by someone who is in such massive debt writing an article about the best way to handle her bagel options:-O
Honey….you need to learn that life is hard…it’s not fair…and you are entitled to NOTHING. I was about $70,000.00 in debt when I graduated nursing school 10 years ago. In about 4 months I will be 100% debt free and have a fully funded emergency fund and be okay (not great) with my retirement fund. Do you know how I did it?
*No new car…EVER…no car with less than 75,000 miles on it actually
* Worked OT…LOTS of it..worked all holidays…signed weekend contracts to make more money. It was nothing for me to seven 12 hour shifts in a row.
*No new furniture….I still at 41 years old have a free couch from the garbage dump.
*A long distance marriage….my husband and I are coming up on 2 years of a long distance marriage (2 different countries) and have one more to go. He is active duty AF and is stationed where there are no nursing jobs. I spend one 3 day weekend with him a month. I just had Christmas and New Years without him…I have miscarried without him..I had surgery without him. We have probably lost our window to have children. I think I remember you whining about how you moved somewhere more expensive or left a good job due to being 200 miles apart from your boyfriend (now husband) at the time. I laughed until I cried at that:-)
*At 41, I have never owned a house..and probably won’t for quite some time…maybe never.
*Currently living in Europe x 3 years and taking 2 trips.
*Bottome line…I regard being able to obtain the American Dream…to having children..owning a home…obtaining a higher education as being an amazing blessing and privledge…NEVER EVER a right..and certainly NOT a right to be obtained on the backs of others (ie your attitude towards paying back your student loans). How dare you regard it as a moral choice to take money from those willing to make sacrifices that you have no concept of or intention of making to fund your bad decisions!
UGH….this writer needs to go!
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This is a year of financial goals for me, too. Some of them are similar to yours, such as buying a house and getting more side gigs. I am also looking to establish insurances, retirement accounts and college funds for my kids.
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Hi Honey,
I am just wondering if Jake has ever thought about scanning all the papers in the bank boxes. He would need to have an excellent back-up system, but this would be a good way to de-clutter and make the 2-bedroom apartment more liveable. As an added bonus, you’d have less to move if and when you decide to buy a house.
I had binders and binders full of papers, and when I made the decision to scan them all, it cleared up so much space in my apartment! It will take some time, but it’s worth it!
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I just blasted through over $30,000 in debt on a modest income by selling my car and hoarding about 60% of my net income. This was done in the last 4 months of 2012. Now that I’ve built up such momentum, my main goal for 2013 is to build an emergency fund of $15,000.
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I love our house and all, but it was one of our biggest financial blunders. We did an FHA loan with 3.5% down. Now we are paying 200 a month in PMI for five years at a minimum (even if we acquire 20% equity before the ten years it would take if the house doesn’t appreciate and/or we don’t make additional principal payments). You think renting is throwing money away? PMI is truly throwing money away. And we did not have mega debt like Honey does. We are now furiously saving up to refinance into a normal loan like we should have done in the first place.
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Honey, those are some great goals, what about personal ones too? For example, three of my five are about money but the other two are to quit smoking and stop biting my nails. Financial security is not enough, I want to become a better overall person as well. Do you have any non financial goals?
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Setting personal financial goals is an important step in gaining financial independence. For 2013 I have three debts I am targeting, I won’t go into detail but one is fairly large and the other two are manageable. Two key goals for me in 2013 are to retire $15,000 in debt and grow my net worth by at least 15%.
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Hi
Goals work brilliantly if you know what you want. I’ve noticed some clients struggle with goals because they cannot sort out what they truly want.
Here’s a great book that’s a real help if you struggle to know what you really want:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1907498559
Andrew
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You should check out http://dwolla.com instead of Paypal. Transfers under $10 are free. Anything $10+ is only a quarter. Hardest part will probably be to get your referring/payor adopt Dwolla, too.
It won’t pay your loans anytime soon, but it’ll help and help with saving up some spending cash.
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Actually, I leave it neat out of self preservation. Leaving a mess is a sure fire way to forget something. I straighten the bed (not making it, but getting more than halfway there), and leave the towels in a somewhat neat pile. I don’t believe making a mess just because I can. I agree with Crystal be compassionate for the workers who have to clean up after you.
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Hey jim, I saw your question up top in re: “fully funded”—a lot of people use Bogle’s 12 times your final salary as their goal. As a yardstick, under that system, you can guide your progress with benchmarks. 1 times your salary by age 30, 1.4 by 40, 3.7 by 45, 7.1 by 55, 12 by 65. Since no one knows their final salary, this is the easiest way.
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Well, that’s fascinating.
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Though looking at it more, I’m wondering if the date on that post is wrong (though what a weird blog error if so). All her other posts are much, much earlier, and the posts before that detail plans for the cruise ship wedding she’s talked about here and are otherwise consistent with what she’s presented. Why lie about your wedding date while keeping all the other details the same? Seems odd.
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KSR, I think it’s like Katie said and that’s a re-dated / non-current post.
Here and now she’s sort of trying to get out of debt and maybe provides a mirror for other people in the same boat and with a similar mindset to see some not very constructive thinking in themselves. That might be a good thing?
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And also–according to that post, she and Jake aren’t even married yet.
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Why do people keep saying that Honey is not married?!!! She is already married and if you actually read the post she discusses that one of the bridesmaids from her wedding is about to marry a guy she met at Honey’s wedding.
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Because on her actual personal blog, she says she’s not married.
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