As we kick off 2023, I put together a few of my personal financial goals and priorities for the new year. These are not new year’s resolution-type goals (none of the “no fried foods in the new year”) but rather practical goals that focus on personal finance and investments.
I kept this list short so that it’s manageable, listed the tasks/goals so they could be measurable, and tried to focus on tasks that wouldn’t be painful to tackle.
I have also included links to a few relevant articles that I’ve read over the past week on related subjects. These articles follow the same theme of financial tips, organization, and ideas.
My goals as we head into 2023:
- Monitor and Cut Expenses – I will be doing a more consistent job of reviewing, monitoring, and adjusting my family’s expenses on a monthly basis. My goal is to cut expenses where I can and use the savings to increase our emergency fund and pay down debt. I also plan to get a Costco membership so we can buy more household and other items. The ultimate goal for this year is to buy more of what we need and less of what we don’t need. I will set a dollar amount of my targeted savings each month – for example, I will see if we can save $200 per month.
- Saving for Retirement – This month and then later in the year, I will review my retirement accounts and determine how much I can fund this year based on our cash flow. If you don’t already know, the contribution limits increased this year. I have included a summary document at the bottom for reference.
- Education Savings – We recently welcomed our second child, Lawton, in late November, I will set up a 529 plan for Lawton and fund monthly.
- Business Planning – This is not really a personal goal but I will put together short-term and long-term goals for my business that will ultimately impact me personally. I will spend two hours a week on this and have already added it to my calendar for the entire year.
- New Car Purchase – Since our family expanded last year, we will likely need a bigger car this year. Our current cars are both over 10 years old so it is about time regardless. In the event that we do purchase a new car, I will do plenty of research before making a purchase.
- Financial Goals – Similar to the business goals, I will create medium and long-term goals and develop an implementation plan this year. As an example, determine what home improvement projects we need over the next 3 years.
- Master Directory – I will create a Master Directory document for our family. This document will list out where our accounts are held, contact information for people such as our accountant and estate attorney, and other relevant information like insurance. In our office, we refer to this as a Peace of Mind checklist.
Articles
- 6 Financial Planning Tips for New Parents (Schwab)
- Conversations About Money (Morningstar)
- 2023 Financial To-Do List (Morningstar)
- Manage your Finances as a Millennial (Thomas Koppelman)
Do any of you have any personal financial goals for the new year? If so, I would love to hear about them.
Happy New Year to each of you!
Tom
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