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Home > 2013 eek. Simplifying in 2014

2013 eek. Simplifying in 2014

December 17th, 2013 at 10:29 pm

I'm already looking ahead even though Christmas isn't yet here. With 2013 winding down, it's become clear to me that we did a lot of things right and screwed up a lot of others, so for 2014 my resolve is to make things simpler and more focused.

In 2013,
-we didn't meet our college savings goals of 3k a year/kid. We saved 2400 for each kid. Still respectable I guess.
-We didn't manage to put much of anything in DH's Roth
-We still have no will, and no life insurance. Ugh.

It's just reality. We used to be able to tackle a million goals all at once and go big. We could sock away money and pay off debt. But life is very different now.

For one, we now have a mortgage, whereas our last house was paid off. That's a huge chunk of money we don't have every month.

We also now have two kids. When they were babies, they were pretty cheap. breast-feeding, no daycare. Now, we have one preschool bill, and two activities a week (swim and gymnastics) plus, allowances, clothes, and other activities. And feeding them. They eat constantly!

I also had to give up a bunch of paying but not super profitable work this year due to time crunch and sanity. I don't regret it, but I miss the checks!

Yes, life is more expensive.

We did do one thing right: We knocked money off the mortgage. Last Jan. 1, our balance was about $72,500. This Jan. 1 it will be about $56,500. $16,000 off the balance. Hazzah! Now that, I am proud of.

I want that mortgage gone so I can rest easy, so the goal is to pay it down to $41,500 by next Jan. 1.

So, looking back, I wasn't very realistic about how much money we had coming in and out when I set the goals. This year, I have fewer and more focused goals. We're strapped for time, money, and energy, and having fewer goals I think will let us focus on what is most important in the coming year: saving a base amount each payday, for college, and for retirement, while also putting a sledgehammer to the mortgage, by far our largest monthly expense.

3 Responses to “2013 eek. Simplifying in 2014”

  1. SicilyYoder Says:
    1387322556

    I didn't meat all my goals either, although I tried. I had several emergencies. You're doing good on knocking that mortgage down.

  2. Rachael777 Says:
    1387327558

    keep going. keeping track of your goals is more than most people do and that college savings?! Great job. Keep it up and MORE in 2014

  3. creditcardfree Says:
    1387335617

    I think focused goals are easier than having goals all over the place. Great job on the mortgage paydown AND the college savings!!

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