What’s Your Money Goal for 2018?
I don’t understand the New Year’s promises. I understand attraction – new year, new me – but I also tend to think long-term. Annual goals don’t always work for me. I would love to retire early to become an X subject, to be my own boss someday. I’m not going to cross them off my list this year, but that doesn’t mean I have failed. I work on them every day.
I also believe that January 1st is an arbitrary date that is meaningless as a catalyst for change. If you want to change something, then change it. Just get started.
It became something of a mantra for me in 2017: just get started. The last few months have been filled with changes for me and making specific decisions regarding my finances and other things. This is what I hope to continue in the new year, and hopefully soon thereafter.
But, of course, this is rather vague, and research shows that if you have goals and you know why they are important to you, you are more likely to achieve them. There are some things I could cross off my list. The first is to make a plan to * finally * bring my liquid savings up to the standard “emergency fund” – spending levels from 3 to 6 months. Another is to be more careful about your spending so that it is less wasteful (I currently use Digit to figure out where my money is going … if you have any other suggestions, let me know). And, inspired by Chuck Grassley , I’ll try to spend less on women and booze. I have other non-financial goals, like reading two non-work-related books a month, which I did this year that have enriched my life immeasurably. But this is what I would like to do after December 31, 2018.
And you? Are you making New Year’s promises? Are you sticking to your goals? What would you like to achieve in 2018 financially or otherwise? Let us know in the comments.