So here we are, 21 days into the New Year and I’m finally getting around to putting my 2020 “money goals” on paper; better late than never right lol! It took me some time to wrap my mind around it’s finally a New Year and I wanted to really think about how I would manage my money in 2020. To be honest, I really don’t have any super lofty money goals this year. I want to pay off some things, save for a rainy day and invest, super simple.
I knew if I wanted to be successful this year with my money, I would have to take an honest look back at the past year and make some changes. When looking back, I found I had a habit of mentally budgeting out my monthly expenses BUT would find myself sometimes spending beyond that causing me to dip into my savings to cover shortfalls. I also didn’t save near as much as I wanted and didn’t hit my goal of paying off two of my student loans; it became this massive, overwhelming task and I just gave up.
Right before the year ended, I mapped out my budget for 2020 and opened a new checking account to have that amount automatically transferred to that account and I will pay all of my monthly expenses from that account only. I am using an account called Simple and I’ll do a review in a few months on my thoughts, just need more time to test the waters. I had a few hiccups, but things are going a bit smoother now. I also have my savings set on auto pilot, coming out of my primary account as soon as my check hits.
| Rent | 1 | $925 | |
| Utility Bill | 15 | $101 | |
| Student Loans | 15 | $540 | |
| Cell Phone | 15 | $195 | |
| WiFi | 15 | $60 | |
| Netflix | 15 | $10 | |
| CVS | 15 | $5 | |
| Savings | 1/15 | $200 | |
| Groceries | 1/15 | $160 | |
| Car Expences | 1/15 | $180 | |
| Cat Expences | 1/15 | $10 | |
| Toiletries | 1/15 | $10 | |
| Laptop Payment | 1/15 | $60 | |
| any future expences | 0 | $0 | |
| Total Expenses | $2,456 | ||
| Paycycle #1 | 1 | $1,263 | |
| Paycycle #2 | 15 | $1,236 | |
| Total Payroll | $2,499 |
I then looked at my savings accounts; I have three, an emergency fund, short term and long term savings and set year end goal amount. My plan is to open three additional ones; car repairs, vacation and gifts in the next few months.
Current Balances (end year goal amount)
Emergency Fund: $301.28 ($3000)
Short Term Savings: $200.59 ($2000)
Long Term Savings: $1,910.47 ($7,000)
Car Repairs: $0 ($1000)
Vacation: $0 ($500)
Gifts: $0 ($500)
Next was taking a look at my debt…..SCARY STUFF! The goal is to get my next smallest loan paid off by the end of the year; paid the smallest one in early 2019! I’ll be honest, I just make loan payments and never really look at what is owed as a whole, just what I have to pay monthly BUT I know to get a handle on everything I needed to look everything over, come to terms with the amount and set a plan of action on how to pay it off.
Current Balance (end year goal amount)
Balance: $6,153.00 ($0)
Last but not least was wrapping my head around investing as I have no clue where to start. I’ll be doing some research on different stocks, bonds and CD’s and keep you all updated as time goes on.
Toward the end of the year, I said I wanted to change the format of my “money diaries” series and after playing around with a few options, I found one that works. Each month I’ll share an update of balances; savings and loans and any major changes to my budget since it mostly stays the same. I’m also going share a money high and low for the month along with any major spending that may happen.
And that’s it.
I’m excited to get started on my money goals and see if I can hit them all before the year ends!
What are your money goals for 2020?
XOXO,
Shanna