I’ve given a few of my goals/resolutions for the new year already, but I saw some bloggers listing 12 goals for 2012, which I thought was cute. Plus, although I’ve been basically obsessing over my financial goals in particular, I should have other resolutions as well. Gotta be well-rounded ;)
Financial
1. Pay off my credit card. The why: Pretty obvious. It’s bad debt & it’s actually bothering me so much. I’m making it my personal mission to eliminate this debt by the end of this month (an entire month before schedule).
2. Open a Roth IRA. The why: Two words: compounding interest. There’s no reason not to. I’m not going to contribute a ton (only $100/month to start), but starting small now is much better than starting large later. It will pay off. Plus, I want to start investing.
3. Contribute $1,000 towards my Emergency Fund. The why: Just in case. Right now I am at $1,000. This is only a start & it’s good for now, but I definitely want to add to it in the future once I pay off my credit card & a significant chunk of my student loans. I’d like to double it by the end of the year (moderately doable).
4. Pay off my ACS student loan. The why: Basically because I want to tackle my student loan debt & this is the best way to go about doing it. I have student loans from 2 lenders: ACS & Nelnet. Most of my debt is with Nelnet (about $20,000…crazy right?! I can’t believe I borrowed that much) & I have a little over $5,000 with ACS. If I knock ACS in the face, it will feel like I am actually accomplishing something. It’s psychological, really. Plus, their customer service sucks, whereas Nelnet is awesome. Anyway, this will be tough, but I’m set on making it work.
5. Contribute to my other savings goals: travel & car. The why: It’s the smart thing to do. The crew is planning a NOLA trip in July & I want at least $500 for that. And the car fund will be small, but will be for future maintenance & repairs.
Health
6. Get health insurance. The why: Because it would be a good decision. I haven’t been to the dentist in a really long time, or the gyno (or the doctor, but meh). I really need to do these things. It’s such a bummer & I don’t want to do it, but it’s a necessary evil. Not to mention, think of the debt I would take on if I got in a car accident or something. That’s such bad news. To make this work in conjunction with my financial goals, I would need to increase my income substantially.
7. Get my pre-holidays flat tummy back. The why: because it makes me happy & more confident. This may be difficult because the only reason I had the flat tummy in the first place was from doing Insanity everyday with Rafael in addition to going to the gym 1-2 times a week for a body tone class. I’ll have to think out the details a bit on this one…
Professional Growth
8. Increase my income. The why: For all the reasons I described above. I want to save more, I want to increase my net worth, and eliminate my debt. I have two broad options: focus on expanding my freelancing or focus on finding a well-paying job with benefits & ideally a 401(k) with a match (this seems very far-fetched right now). Both options would take a lot of time. Option 1 would pay of sooner & option 2 would be better in the long-run. Either way, by 2013 I want to make at the very least $2,500/month.
9. Never lose sight of my long-term career goals. The why: Better chances of actually attaining them if I make life choices (and everyday choices) with these goals in mind. I am still seriously considering Peace Corps & graduate school. My career goals are integral to making these decisions. More about this later.
Personal Growth
10. Pick up another continuous volunteer project. The why: I sincerely believe in volunteer work and giving back to the community. I am currently an ESOL tutor at DePorres Place, an adult literacy center & I find it highly rewarding. I want this new project to be something that would add to my professional experience & skill-set. One option is to teach myself the basics of grant writing & then to talk to the grant-writer at DePorres Place discuss the possibility of assisting her with her projects. Who knows? Maybe something along those lines.
11. Stay in touch with long-distance friends. The why: because I love & value my friends, even if they are far away.
12. Attend the Orlando Salsa Congress. The why: To have an amazing, transcending salsa experience & to improve my dancing overall. It’s supposedly much better than the Miami Salsa Congress (which was amazing). I JUST came up with this resolution & now I need to budget for it! *Praying it’s not on the same weekend as our trip to NOLA*
….Oh, and I also want to get a smart phone this year. :P Hopefully next month, it’s really about time.
