2008 Goals/Checkpoint

I just realized I haven't taken a look at the big picture in a while.

Here is what I am doing lately with regard to finances:

Loans - about $750 a pay toward these
ING EF - about $100 a pay toward these
IRA - about $350 a pay toward these (includes company match)

Loans: Stretch goal is to pay down to $9000 by the end of 08, then $1500 a month for the first 6 months of 09. This would leave me debt free by 30, though it would feel more exciting to be debt free by 29 (March 09). Just think, the sooner I can pay off my loans, the sooner I will free up $1500 a month to put into savings!

ING: I hope to have about $4500 in ING by the end of Feb and $5000 by the end of March since I have gotten a little addicted to seeing that balance rise and putting some extra in there! But after that I will feed it at that $100 per pay rate. This would leave me with about $7000 at the end of the year, however, I am fully prepared to use $3000-4000 of that on a 1-2 week trip to Europe this summer, so it will be less. My ultra bare-bones monthly budget is about $1000, so it would still leave me a bunch of time should anything happen with my job.

IRA: These contributions added to my existing balance would put me at about $14000 at the end of the year, though who can really say how things will go with the behavior of the market lately?!

So this is how I hope things will look at the end of the year:

0 - Credit cards
0 - Car
9000 - Student loans

9000 - Total Debt

4000 - Emergency Fund
14000 - 401K

18000 - Total Savings

Which also means that I will achieve a positive net worth sometime in 2008 also! Exciting stuff!