As the year winds down, a lot of people are turning their thoughts to New Years Resolutions for 2008.  I’ve never been one to make resolutions, and most people that do don’t keep them.  However, goals are a different story - I’m down with keeping goals.  I’m going to hold myself accountable, or at least, my readers are going to hold me accountable.  Here are my goals for the great year of 2008.  Since I’m a far-reaching kind of guy, I’ll include regular goal and stretch goals for fun.

  1. Pay off all my credit cards before the end of 2008.  Even though all of my credit card debt stands at 0%, I still hate it.  I know that I make money on the interest sitting in my savings account, versus paying off the cards.  It’s just that I’m tired of making the payments every month and seeing debt sit there.  Before 2008 is over, I want to have 0 credit card debt besides my monthly card that is paid in full each month.
  2. Stick to my budget religiously - That means each and every month, in every category.  Clothes, food, and the miscellaneous fund are the big culprits here. 
  3. Earn $25,000 outside my day job.  Stretch goal - $30,000.  There are a hundred different ways to tally up how how you make in a side business - it’s an art rather than a science.  But I’m looking for $25k net profit - after advertising / hosting / other expenses, but before tax deductions for equipment, cell phone bills, etc.  This year I’ll come in just under $15,000 using that methodology, and I know there’s huge room for improvement.  I may even be setting the bar too low here.
  4. Open a Zecco account and invest $2,500.  Stretch goal - $5,000. Twenty five hundred dollars is the magic number to get free trades, in case you were wondering.  I’ve been toying with investing in individual stocks for a long time now, and 2008 is the year that I want to do it. 
  5. Max out at least one Roth IRA.  Stretch goal - max out both.  Both my wife and I have a Roth IRA, and we didn’t come close to maxing either one of them out this year.  I would like to make out at least one, or contribute a total of $5,000 between the two. 
  6. Consolidate my credit cards.  I have way, way too many.  Like 40 too many.  10-15 is more than enough, and will be far easier to keep track of.
  7. Increase my savings account to $10,000.  Stretch goal - $15,000.  Right now my savings account is just a hair under $5,000.  It’s going to be tough to build it up to 5 figures while paying down debt, but I simply need a safety cushion.  Emergencies don’t care if you’re busy paying off debt or investing - they just happen.
  8. Don’t buy any new cars.  This probably sounds like a ridiculous goal, but my wife and I are absolutely car-buying addicts.  At this point, I’m done with buying cars for awhile - I want to keep both of our vehicles long enough to pay off the loans.  That’s something I ( sadly ) haven’t yet been able to do.
  9. Increase my Net Worth to $45,000.  Stretch goal - $60,000.  My end of year net worth isn’t finalized yet, but it should be somewhere in the neighborhood of $16,000.  I’m expecting a huge uptick in this year due to my focus on increasing earnings and reducing spending.  I’d really like to see $50,000 because it’s a nice, round number.

That’s it, my goals for 2008.  I know 10 is the usual number for such lists, but I have 9, and that’s that.  No sense making up a goal that doesn’t mean anything to me, just so my list is a round number.  Some of my goals are set in stone, and I either hit them or don’t.  Others are subjective, but no less important.

I think that 2008 will be a huge year for me financially, and will really set me back on the right path to financial freedom.

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