Financial Goals for 2008

Net Worth: $105,000
We put a fair amount of thought into our net worth goal for 2008. $105,000 represents a significant challenge, but one we think we can reach. We will have to average a gain of about $600/month more than we did in 2007. There are a few reasons we think this will be possible: One, near the end of 2007 I got a new job which came with a healthy raise; Two, we don’t have any debt (other than the mortage). We started the 2007 still owing on my wife’s car. With that now out of the way, that extra money can be put to work for us; And Third, In 2007 we had some large expenses like landscaping that we should be able to avoid this year.
Of course, not all differences are for the better. Because of an increasingly demanding school schedule, my wife had to take a job that requires less hours, and pays less. Sort of a double whammy financially. Also, the economy for 2008 is at best questionable and at worst, we enter a recession. We wont be able to add the over $33,000 to our net worth without the help of investment gains.

Roth IRA’s: Max ’em
The new Roth IRA limits mean it will take $10,000 to max our Roth IRA’s for 2008. I actually want to add a new fund to my Roth IRA which requires a minimum investment of $3,000. I’ve lowered my automatic investments to dollar coast average in for a total of $2,000 for the year, so I’ll have to save up in the mean time for the lump sum $3,000 contribution, which will purchase the new fund and max my Roth for the year. My wife’s automatic investments will give her $3,000 for the year, so we’ll also have to come up with an additional $2,000 for her Roth.

Emergency Fund: $5,000
The emergency fund has always been a low priority for me. It’s currently at $1,000 which gives us a little bit of breathing room, but if there was a true emergency, it doesn’t even cover the mortgage for 1 month. Granted, there are other funds I could tap into before having to take on any debt, but I’m getting to the point that I would like to have a little extra security. It’s not the first goal we’ll tick off, but by the end of the year we’d like to have it up to $5,000.

Let’s get it on.