Struggling to be debt free

  I love setting goals for myself. It helps keep me motivated and on track (kinda of). Here are my goals for 2026. Let's GOOOOO!!!  1. Roth IRA . I want to max out my contributions to my Roth IRA this year. The contribution limit was raised to $7,500 for 2026 and I want to make sure I hit that limit. Future me will thank me later.  2. 401k. I want to increase my contribution to my 401k. I am currently contributing 10% of my $175k salary. I plan to increase that amount to 11% or 12% this year depending on the amount of my raise.  3. Income . I want to increase my salary to $200k this year. However, I would be satisfied with a raise to $187,500. Performance reviews are in April and I have been compiling my list of achievements. I plan to include reference to motions won, case closure rate, settlements for less than X number of dollars, new business brought in, etc. I have a feeling this will be a tough ask, not because I am underperforming but more because my boss is c...

  1. Pay mortgage down to under $120k. I currently owe just over $135k I am paying an extra $500 a month on my mortgage. I also hope to get a bigger year end bonus and apply a portion of that to the mortgage this year.  I am now down to $124,000 and something (need to find the exact number) on my mortgage. 2. Increase contribution to 401k to 10% from 8% I currently am contributing 8% of my $168k salary. I expect a 5% raise to $176k. I will increase my 401k contribution to 10% of my new salary.  My raise was to $175K. I increased my 401k contributions to 10%. 3. Increase savings account (Marcus) to $50k, currently at approximately $40k  I've always had anxiety over job loss. I hope to keep a $50k savings account for my emergency fund and household expenses.  My savings account is over $50k now. 4. Max out Back door Roth Contributions Complete! 5. Lose 30lbs Ugh! 6. Read 12 books I need to get a count on books read. 7. Take one trip Done! My friend paid for everyt...

Look at me! Two posts in one month!!!  Here are my goals for 2025. 1. Pay mortgage down to under $120k. I currently owe just over $135k I am paying an extra $500 a month on my mortgage. I also hope to getter a bigger year end bonus and apply a portion of that to the mortgage this year.  2. Increase contribution to 401k to 10% from 8% I currently am contributing 8% of my $168k salary. I expect a 5% raise to $176k. I will increase my 401k contribution to 10% of my new salary.  3. Increase savings account (Marcus) to $50k, currently at approximately $40k  I've always had anxiety over job loss. I hope to keep a $50k savings account for my emergency fund and household expenses.  4. Max out Back door Roth Contributions 5. Lose 30lbs 6. Read 12 books 7. Take one trip 8. Exercise and move more. What are your goals for 2025?

  I haven't really sat down to make any goals for 2023.  I know it's August, but I figure it's never too late.  1. Contribute $15,000 to retirement with the goal of having $145,000 by the end of the year.  As it stands today I have approximately $138,000.  I do no yet qualify for my firm's 401k plan.  2. Pay the mortgage down into the $140,000s.  3. Donate $1500 to charity.    4. Increase savings to $57,500.  Do you have any goals for 2023?  Please share in the comments. 

Just a quick post, I just wanted to document that I reached my 2020 goal to donate $500 to charity.  A few years ago, I realized that I was severely lacking in the area of charitable giving. So I decided to start tracking and documenting the amounts that I was donating each year.  Thereafter, I decided to increase my charitable giving by $100 a year.  This year my goal was to give $500.  It's not much, but  over time it will really add up.  Anyways, after all that rambling, the point of this post is that I have donated $500 to charity this year.  Due to the pandemic, it was pretty easy.  I donated $200 to the local food bank, $100 to St. Jude, $100 to my law school and $100 to my local legal aid clinic. As long as I am employed, I plan to keep donating throughout the year.  I hope to donate more to St. Jude and find a reputable BLM organization. This is an awful time to live through and I hope my donations will help just a little bit....

Here are my 2020 goals: 1. Blog more and more consistently. My goal is going to be 2 posts a month.  I'm not very interesting or exciting. I am also very cheap.  That means that I do not have a lot to write about for this mostly financial blog.  Unless you want to hear stories about my cats, sitting on the couch or long car rides. 2. Eat healthier.  I travel a good bit for work.  (I currently have $1,600 in outstanding travel reimbursements.) I tend to eat fast food on the road because it's fast.  I don't want to spend 40 minutes at a restaurant when I just want to get back home before 7:30p.m.  I tend to eat burgers and fries because I can't hold a fork and eat a salad when I drive. I need to spend more time taking care of myself.  Sometimes I will have to stop and eat a salad in a restaurant rather than race home. I hope this will lead to consistent weight loss. 3. Contribute a minimum of $11,000 to retirement with the goal of having $65...

1. Put a minimum of $11,000 to retirement.  ($6,000 to Roth and $5,000 to taxable). I am loving the increase in contributions to the Roth.  It's $6,000 this year, in case you have not heard!  The $11,000 goal is an increase of $500 from last year. ON TRACK!!! I have contributed $5,193 to retirement this year. Only $5,807 left to go.  While I am a little further behind than I would like I am happy to have contributed as much as I have.  This has been an expensive year!! I plan to max out my Roth next month.   2. Increase replacement car fund to $12,000. This is at $11,549!! I am almost at my goal.  I may scale  the amount I contribute after I reach $12,000, but I will keep contributing.   3. Give a minimum of $400 to charity. This is an increase of $100 from last year. I have donated $278 so far this year!! Over half way done.    4. Increase Emergency Fund to $20,000. I have not contributed anything to my EF fu...

Here's where the numbers stand. Savings- $12,916 Emergency Fund  $12,552 Online Savings Account/$7,552 of that amount is for my Car Replacement Fund/$5k is for my EF $3,160 Online Savings Account #2- all car replacement  $29,255 Retirement- Roth IRA  $7,617Taxable Brokerage (Retirement) $803 Travel Fund (Work) $850 pet fund  $5 medical fund $1,274 furniture fund $0 Slush fund Home- $304,669-per zillow               Total (not including home): $68,432               Total (including home): $373,101 Liabilities- Mortgage $195,623 Furniture (0% financing) $850                                  Total (not including mortgage): -$850                     Total (including mortgage): -$196,473    ...

It's March, which means that it is almost Spring!! I cannot wait for longer days and more sunshine.  I hope to get back to more (and longer) walks after work. I have a few goals for March 1. Fertilize the lawn 2. Put at least $750 towards retirement 3. Get passport paperwork completed 4. Put $1,000 towards furniture bill. 5. Treat the lawn for ants/insects 6. Get some filing done in the office 7. Go on a trip to a city I have never been to before. 8 Book a cruise. 9. Donate money to charity. I am going to count #9 as completed as I donated $50 to the local legal aide organization on Thursday, but it did not process until Friday (March 1st). Happy Monday, Everyone!

It's January 18, we are half way through the month!! I figured I would do a mid- month check in on some of my goals.  I am plugging away at the retirement funds, I added $1,000 to retirement from my 1/15 paycheck and it felt good. Only, $10,000 more to go for the year.   I love putting money away for the future and I know that I am extremely fortunate to be able to do so.  I feel so much for the federal workers who are not getting paid right now, due to the government shutdown.  I have contributed $100 to charity this year.  I gave $50 to my law school and $50 to St. Jude's.  My goal is to give $400 this year, I am already a quarter of the way there!!  I hope to be able to make a charitable contribution every month. Even if it is only $1.  I should probably try to take some clothes to goodwill every month too.    My escrow review statement arrived via email this morning and, of course, there is a almost $200 shortage.  The p...

  At the beginning of 2018, I set some goals for myself.  Let's see how I did. 1. Add $10,500 to retirement savings with the goal of having $35,000 saved for retirement by the end of the year.  $5,500 will go into my roth ira and $5,000 will go into a taxable account. Come on stock market growth and no recession! Last year I contributed $9,500 so this will be an  increase of $1,000.  PASS.  I contributed $10,760 total.  My balance did not reach $35,000, due to the uncooperative stock market.  2.Increase EF to $18,500. PASSISH.  My E-Fund ended the year with a total of $17,916 3. Pay an extra $290/month toward principal on the mortgage.  My easily reachable goal is to have the mortgage paid down to $200,000 by the end of the year.  The ultimate goal is to have the balance paid down to $197,500 by the end of the year so that the PMI will drop off the mortgage. PASS!  I actually added about $400 extra to the mort...

Happy New Year Everyone!! I hope you all had a wonderful new year's day.  It's already the third day of the year and I am just getting around to posting my goals.  Here goes: 1. Put a minimum of $11,000 to retirement.  ($6,000 to Roth and $5,000 to taxable). I am loving the increase in contributions to the Roth.  It's $6,000 this year, in case you have not heard!  The $11,000 goal is an increase of $500 from last year. 2. Increase replacement car fund to $12,000. 3. Give a minimum of $400 to charity. This is an increase of $100 from last year. 4. Increase Emergency Fund to $20,000. 5. Pay down mortgage principal so that the PMI can be removed.  I'm so close, only 5 or 6 months to go! 6. Read 12 books 7. Lose 20lbs 8. Increase social activities. 9. Learn coding. 10. Learn more about my family history. 11. Meditate. 12. Be kinder and more patient. 13. Increase FI/FU fund to $1,200. 14. Figure out my purpose in life.  What are your goal...

It's December!! I'm feeling pretty excited as I only have 7 more days to work this year.I will have about 12 consecutive days off!! December is usually pretty stressful, but I think I am slightly ahead of where I normally am by this time.  I still have a good bit to do, but I don't feel overwhelmed.  Anyways, here are my goals for December 1. Finish Christmas Shopping 2. Wrap presents 3. Finish filing papers in the office 4. Put up Christmas Decorations 5. Clean out Office 6. Figure out 2019 Financial (and other goals). 7. Pull together a post on how I did on my 2018 goals. 8. Prepare a Net worth update.  9. Read 2 books.  How are you doing on your year end and/or Christmas preparations? Are you on target or falling behind? 

At the beginning of the year, I set some goals for myself.  Let's see how I am doing. 1. Add $10,500 to retirement savings with the goal of having $35,000 saved for retirement by the end of the year.  $5,500 will go into my roth ira and $5,000 will go into a taxable account. Come on stock market growth and no recession! Last year I contributed $9,500 so this will be an  increase of $1,000.  PASS.  I am done with this goal!  I have contributed $10,600 to retirement this year.  I plan to continue contributing throughout the year. 2.Increase EF to $18,500. I am slowly adding money to this goal.  My total emergency savings are about $16,800.  I hope to increase this over the next 3 months to meet this goal.  However, that might change based on what happens with hurricane Michael. 3. Pay an extra $290/month toward principal on the mortgage.  My easily reachable goal is to have the mortgage paid down to $200,000 by the end...

I have a few October goals, but first, let's see how I did on my September Goals.  My September goals were as follows: 1.  Finish out retirement contributions. Only $1,332 to go!--PASS.  I actually added an additional $100 to that amount. 2. Exercise 4 days a week, for at least 60 minutes. - DONE ISH.  I did this for about 2.5 weeks out of the month. 3. Get rid of 20 items. DONE- ISH.  I have a bag full of clothing items to donate.  They are sitting in my room and I need to take them to Goodwill. 4. Get the Fall Decorations down and put up around the house. FAIL- I did get the fall wreath out of the front closet.  The other decorations are still in the attic. 5. Finish 2 books. - FAIL. I did not finish any. 6. Donate money to charity. PASS- I did donate $25 to my law school. My October goals are as follows: 1. Contribute another $50 to retirement. This is just because I can and I need to pump as much money as possible into m...

It's almost Fall!! I am looking forward to the cooler temperatures, but not the shorter days that will be here soon. I need to take advantage of the longer days, while we have them, and walk after work. I hope everyone is taking some time to relax over this Labor Day weekend.  Saturday just flew by. I'm not sure when Sunday got here.  The positive it that, at least I don't have the Sunday scaries! And...next week will only have 4 work days!  I figured I should make some goals for September, so here they are: 1.  Finish out retirement contributions. Only $1,332 to go! 2. Exercise 4 days a week, for at least 60 minutes. 3. Get rid of 20 items. 4. Get the Fall Decorations down and put up around the house. 5. Finish 2 books.  6. Donate money to charity. I am so looking forward to finishing off my retirement contributions for the year.  Next I will work on adding more money to my E-fund.  I want to get the E-fund to $18,500 by the end of the...

At the beginning of the year, I set some goals for myself.  Let's see how I am doing. 1. Add $10,500 to retirement savings with the goal of having $35,000 saved for retirement by the end of the year.  $5,500 will go into my roth ira and $5,000 will go into a taxable account. Come on stock market growth and no recession! Last year I contributed $9,500 so this will be an  increase of $1,000.  So Far I have contributed $6,500 towards retirement this year.  $5,500 of that went into my Roth IRA.  $1,000 to my taxable account.  I still have $4,000 left to contribute towards retirement for the year.  2.Increase EF to $18,500. I added just a little to my EF, but then I had to spend $335 for the garage door repair.  I will focus on this after my retirement savings for the year are done.  3. Pay an extra $290/month toward principal on the mortgage.  My easily reachable goal is to have the mortgage paid down to $200,000 by ...

 At the beginning of the year, I set some goals for myself.  Let's see how I am doing. 1. Add $10,500 to retirement savings with the goal of having $35,000 saved for retirement by the end of the year.  $5,500 will go into my roth ira and $5,000 will go into a taxable account. Come on stock market growth and no recession! Last year I contributed $9,500 so this will be an  increase of $1,000.  So Far I have contributed $3,270 towards retirement this year.  All of that went into my Roth IRA.  I still have $7,230 left to contribute towards retirement.  2.Increase EF to $18,500. I have not added anything to my EF fund yet.  It is still sitting around $17,000.  3. Pay an extra $290/month toward principal on the mortgage.  My easily reachable goal is to have the mortgage paid down to $200,000 by the end of the year.  The ultimate goal is to have the balance paid down to $197,500 by the end of the year so that the PMI will...

 Let's see how I did on my 2017 goals.  (I know this is super late as it is almost the end of January.) 1. Increase emergency fund from $15,000 to $17,500.-FAIL I only got my EF to $16,845 by the end of the year.  Close, but no cigar.  I gotta do better with this for 2018.  2. Add $9,500 to my retirement with an overall goal of having $20,000 in retirement savings by the end of the year.--PASS! I contributed $9,500 to retirement for the year. I believe between my roth and taxable I ended the year with approximately $22,000 for retirement.   3. Pay an extra $100 a month on the mortgage, with an end goal of having the balance under $210,000 by the end of the year.- PASS I paid at least $100 extra on each mortgage payment for the year.  After my raise, later in the year, I  put $290 extra on my mortgage each month.  4. Save an additional $2,500 into car replacement fund with the end goal of having $5,000 in the car replacement fun...

Yesterday I made my first contribution to my Roth for 2018.  It always feels good to put money away for retirement.  This first contribution totaled $1,390, so only $4,110 to go to fully fund my Roth for the year.  I try to blog about each contribution because I like to track how much I contribute (And when).  Also, this is a watershed year because this is the first time I have not had to finish funding my Roth from the previous year prior to the April deadline.  After I fully fund my Roth I will add $5,000 into my taxable account for the year.  I am considering putting any tax return towards my Roth this year.  (Any tax return could go towards my Roth, car replacement fund or furniture fund.  I just can't decide whether to do all 3 or just 1.) Yesterday, I made a $50 contribution to St. Jude's Children's Hospital to jump start my charitable giving goal.  It really felt good to start working towards my yearly goals in January.  I love ...