We are less than a month away to a brand new year. Around this time last year, there were several financial goals I wanted to accomplish in 2008. This weekend, I had a chance to sit down and review how well I completed my financial "to do" list.
My 2008 goals were to:
Increase My Networth to $75,000. Like alot of other financial bloggers out there, I don't think I am going to hit this goal. I used to post monthly networth updates but I've decided to focus more on increasing my savings.
Increase Freedom Savings Account to $5000. This is the account I use to pay for those infrequent bills such as automobile insurance premiums, Umbrella policy premium, automobile maintenance, small emergencies and any other expenses that I had not accounted for in my regular monthly budget. I've hit and actually exceeded this goal. The account currently stands at $5404.00.
Increase Rental Property Savings to $1500. I use this account to pay for small repairs to my rental property. I met this goal also.
Decrease Non-Mortgage Debt to $40,000. I'm happy to say that I completed this goal and then some. I paid off my car loan in full which pushed my total non-mortgage debt to around $23,000 which is the current balance of my student loan. By the way, I love having $556 to distribute to my savings account instead of having to send it to the auto finance company. I never want to have another car loan again!!!!
Increase My Credit Scores. My goal was to have at least a 720 credit score with all 3 bureaus. I met this goal earlier this month when my Experian credit score finally jumped above 720. I guess 4 out of 5 ain't too bad. I probably would have met all 5 goals had I not lost over 45% of my 401k and over 40% of my brokerage account balance. I've determined my goals for 2009 and I'll have those posted in a few days.
Related Posts:
Paid Off A Past Financial Mistake - The Car Loan
Credit Score Checkup
Another Reason For An Emergency Fund
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Congratulations! This is a very uplifting post. I had the same experience with my car loan years ago. I never took out another car loan after I had paid off the first one.
I'd say that's a 100% sucess rate as the financial crisis was beyond your control!
I only hit 70% of my 2008 goals, you nailed yours!
Sadly, I did not quite meet my financial goals this year. I got close, but I had a pretty rough start that required me to take out payday loans. I paid them all back on time though, and I didn't think the fee was outrageous.
Good going with your goals.
by the way, your credit score is not affected by your income, savings or investments.
the credit bureaus base your credit score on your bill-paying history, mix if installment vs. revolving debt and the ratio of debt to available credit.
I love I love it! Great stuff and and motivating information!
Taripre$
Just curious, why is your credit score so low? I'm surprised you could get multiple mortgages.
Congrats! You cannot be blamed for not hitting the net worth goal. Think of it this way: it took a global financial crisis for you not to hit that goal. Actually that's my excuse for a lot of things these days.
@villkri: No car payments rock!!
@dogatemyfinances: Luckily we were still in the period of easy money. Since I had assets to back up my credit score, I was able to get the loans. My credit scores now are as high as they've ever been.
You're doing very well!
I still have a line of credit that I have to pay off from two years of travelling. Oops!
Good post!
I think everyone lost their ass in the 401k department this year. 4 outta 5 ain't bad my man keep up the good work.
Congratulations! That's amazing, and inspiring. I hope everyone who reads this and isn't doing well financially takes notice.
wow! that is an amazing feat! Congratulations! Inspired me to make my own goal list for 2009 now!
Mike, I love your blog! I love seeing your goals and how you are doing on them. Have you ever visited the Moolonomy blog? He has some similar goals, and he also posts his goals. I have found it very intriguing and inspiring. Go out there and go get 'em!
Do you have a good freebie recommendation for finding out your credit score??