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I figured this would be a good thread to start. Plus you can always learn from others...
My goals-Pay off my small amount of cc's totaling $5000 +/- before June.
Plus put money aside to finishing furnishing the house, get fence and a new grill in Spring-cost $5K +/- before March.
How I plan to achieve these goals-get a second daytime job to help out, cut eating out so much (I just spent $30 at Dennys last night for app and two sandwiches!!) and start putting the money in envelopes labeled for each project.
Credit cards - Paid off this year. Car and truck - paid off this year. This next year -Sell albatross of the house back east (in a rapidly growing area) and stop renting it. Invest in chicken coop, chickens, two milk cows, and stock up on more wood for the woodburning stove. Plant a garden and can my own. Get a year-round hunting license. Stock up on whole wheat and buy a grinder.
We're "regressing" into a debt-free, semi-self-sufficient lifestyle. We already bake our own bread and only eat out once a month; the rest of what we eat is either home-canned or fresh from the field. Very little shopping - every two weeks for feed and minimal groceries like honey, cooking oil, and sugar that we do not raise/manufacture ourselves. Start seeds into plants and sell what we do not need.
No, it's not out of fear of depression or Conspiracy Theories - this is what we've always dreamed of doing, have worked towards, and are now finally going to do it.
#1 goal: KEEP MY JOB!! ---> work extra hours, dig into new projects, get my hands into as many projects as possible, work harder
If above, then: Continue putting 20% of income (27% with match, 37% with profit sharing) into 401K pre-tax and $1000/month into non-retirement savings + fund the IRA.
Continue spending virtually no money on anything ever. Don't use the car except for work and once/month grocery trips.
Keep a close eye on the market, my budget, my accounts, the economy and indicators, my job situation, and the political climate.
Pay off the car loan (it was a 1-year old used car), build our 8-month EF (almost there!) and open a second savings account to start saving for a downpayment on a home.
Hopefully, the medical bills won't be too high this year!
LOL - himain - that's why we moved - we were living in an area where they were 'progressive' and 'zoned out' my fruit trees, greenhouse, and vegie gardens, as well as my chickens. We sold and cashed in everything (except the house back there) to buy 60 acres and a 100 year old farmhouse in a place with no ordinances, no potential growth, and nothing but the basic amenities. I don't reccommend it for those addicted to Starbucks or Wal-Mart (not one within 150 miles) but for those who want a truly simpler -and cheaper - lifestyle, there's never been a better time. But I have ta tell ya it is a lot harder than it sounds!
Pay off car loan within 5 months. Keep adding to EF until it's complete. Live as simple as possible. Donate to animal welfare rescues. Continue 401k, roth and 10% savings.
Our plan is to just live below our means and save as much as possible. I also have quite a few things to be done around the house that I plan on doing myself to save there also. I just put money into a CD instead of my Roth IRA.
Edit: I am also going to try to spend less of my free time online and do more constructive things. I'm sure I'll get a lot more done.
Continue to pay off debt. We are down to almost nothing on credit cards now so finish paying that off and then work on the one car loan we have left and small second mortgage and parent loan for our kids' college educations.
I sat down and figured out how much I want to make in 2009 and figured out how much work I would need to do to accomplish that. And then I thought if I expand my business and we do X amount of business per day, then I will in effect be making the amount of money I want to make WITHOUT having to work more hours. So my plan is to work on expanding the business instead of working more myself - working smarter, not harder.
At the same time, I plan to cut back on spending. We tend to eat out a LOT and I don't have the guts to look at what we have spent on eating out but I'm sure it's a fortune. Will cut way back on eating out and I used to save 40-50% on a regular basis at the grocery store using coupons but have gotten away from doing that. I'm going to start again because it's just stupid not to.
Plan to put the max into retirement funds so it's sheltered before the government can get their hands on it.
We're "regressing" into a debt-free, semi-self-sufficient lifestyle. We already bake our own bread and only eat out once a month; the rest of what we eat is either home-canned or fresh from the field. Very little shopping - every two weeks for feed and minimal groceries like honey, cooking oil, and sugar that we do not raise/manufacture ourselves. Start seeds into plants and sell what we do not need.
No, it's not out of fear of depression or Conspiracy Theories - this is what we've always dreamed of doing, have worked towards, and are now finally going to do it.
That's pretty much what my parents did. Retired at about 52 and bought a farm house with a dairy barn on 80 acres, raised cows for meat and also had dairy cows. When the taxes were due they'd sell a calf and pay the taxes. They always had a huge garden and canned everything. Shared with neighbors and neighbors shared with them. It was the way both of them grew up and their dream was to return to living off the land when they retired, and they did.
I know their hearts are still there on the 80 acres but they were no longer able to take care of it and reluctantly sold it and moved to town (but on a large lot). I feel bad for them that they can't live the life they want to live anymore because they are old.
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