How to End 2016 on a Good Note.

Summer 16

Can you believe half of 2016 has flown by? Well, I think this is the perfect time to revise our goals and see how much we have accomplished and how we can accomplish the rest. Personally, I’m going to be talking about my financial goals from this year.

 

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• So back in January I revised my financial goals and came up with this. I was pretty sure I could accomplish all my goals as long as I stayed dedicated and made timely decisions. Welp, things didn’t go exactly as planned and I took this time to make some revisions and get back to thinking about my goals. I’m going to highlight a few of mine and what I’m going to be doing for the next few months.  Do you have your own financial goals?

Pay my car off by October 2016

So far I have paid off $4,000 on my car! YAAY! Even though I made some good progress I had to switch things up because my boyfriend and I moved out and I wasn’t ready for the move. Prior to moving out I didn’t get a chance to really save for all the little expenses that comes with moving out. So to balance it out I had to start paying less to my car loan to help out with buying goodies for our new apartment. I still want to push myself to paying my car off by October, but if I’m unable to it will most likely be paid off by the end of November.

Give more to my family & friends

This year I started a gift fund!!! I never was very much of a gift giver because I was so focused on my personal finances and I was always paying stuff off or buying something for myself. But I’ve realized I have so many amazing people in my life who have always been selfless and gave to me so easily without hesitation. So this year I made it a point to save up for birthdays and special occasions, so I could give to the amazing people in my life.

Buy my own laptop

I haven’t had my own laptop for years after mine died dramatically. At first I was going to just buy a fairly cheap laptop and when I say cheap I mean cheeaaaaap like $300 to $400. But after doing some research, I realized I needed to get something that would last, holds a good amount of data, and that works well with a lot of programs. I’m hoping at around $600 that will give me some pretty nice features. Right now I have $513 saved for a laptop and with school right around the corner I’m trying to squeeze whatever I can out of my budget so I can get it before classes start.

Save up for New York Trip

I have been wanting to go to New York since I was in junior high school -obviously I wanted to go there to become a Top Model. And, since then, I have constantly told my mom that we should go to New York. How the stars aligned!!!! Because my mom was able to work her magic and find an amazing hotel in Manhattan with her points. She booked three nights at the Andaz on 5th Ave! I can’t explain to you how much fun we had! But I had to save up to pay for my ticket, food, clothing, and Broadway shows!!! I ended up spending about all of it for that weekend which is a pretty good deal especially considering the fact that hotels in Manhattan are crazy expensive! Thanks Mom and Starwood Points!

NEW*Save up for a down payment

I have been very reluctant to buy a house, talk about houses, look at house prices, even walk by houses …. because prices are ridiculously expensive. I live in Southern California, where house prices are around $550,000 and condos are about $350,000. So, I have been reluctant to say the least, but something just clicked and I have finally come to terms with it and I do want to buy a home. Buying a home isn’t easy…or cheap. So starting now will put us in a better position later on. We will never be in a perfect situation, but saving now will help us to make it work.

Goals

In the first half of 2016 I have got three goals done. To continue these goals I am going to make it a point to stick to my budget and increase my income by getting a raise at work, and gaining QB experience to get a second client. I think you should also make sure to stick to the budget to accomplish your financial goals. What goals have you accomplished so far in 2016? And what is the goal you are looking forward to the most?

 

XOXO J