Although it may seem crazy to be thinking about 2009, these last months preceding the beginning of the new year are the perfect time to start setting your goals for 2009. As the curtain closes on 2008, you are ready to assess the past events of the year and start dreaming about the next year. Did you achieve your 2008 goals? If you didn’t, do you need to adjust those goals?
Beginning your goal setting for 2009 early allows you plenty of time to decide what goals you really want this year. Hold a family meeting and talk about the things your family wants or needs. Look over your finances and decide what is actually possible. Then, you can put your new goals down on paper and start your progress towards them. Common goals you might consider are…
Getting out of debt – Almost every household has some debt they’d like to vanquish from their lives. Why not make 2009 the year that you defeat yours? Take some time to chart out a course for your path out of debt. How much money will you devote to your debtors each month? How will you avoid accumulating any additional debt? With a clear plan, you can be certain to take a bite out of the debt that is strangling so many families.
Set up an emergency fund – To avoid having to go into debt whenever you’re faced with one of life’s unexpected curveballs, you need to have an emergency fund set up. For a barebones emergency fund, you should work towards saving $1,000. That’s enough money to provide you a little cushion in the face of an emergency. However, a healthier emergency fund would include enough to pay your household expenses for at least three months.
Buy a new home – Although there is a lot of talk about people being unable to buy a house right now, people who have the ability to qualify for a mortgage in the traditional manner may be able to find quite a steal in the home market right now. First, though, you have to be financially prepared for homeownership. You will need to save enough money to make a down payment on your new house. You will also want to have enough money to pay for the mortgage costs and to cover any unforeseen move-in costs like paint or carpet cleanings.
Upcoming major purchases – As you make your plans for 2009, be sure to take stock of any major purchases you may need to make. Has your refrigerator been making odd noises? You may need to include purchasing a new one in your plans. Is your family planning to take a vacation in 2009? Determine how much you’ll need to save to cover those expenses.
Related Posts Related Websites
- How to Start an Emergency Fund It's not surprising that many people don't have an emergency...
- How to Go Into Debt to Get Out of Debt This really sounds like the ultimate oxymoron, but one of...
3 responses so far ↓
1 Frugal Babe » Archive » Frugal Blog Network Round Up // Nov 17, 2008 at 2:06 pm
[...] Made Of Money writes about setting goals for 2009. We set goals for 2008 last December, and they were very helpful in guiding our spending and [...]
2 Dan // Nov 19, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Great article.
If you’d like a tool for setting your goals, you can use this web application:
http://www.Gtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, schedules and a calendar.
3 SMART Financial Goals | How to Set Goals That Actually Work // Dec 11, 2008 at 7:57 am
[...] Financial Goal Setting for 2009 [...]
Leave a Comment