Sunday 3 January 2010

2010 Goals

Free banking! I want to build up and maintain the minimum balance in my chequing account ($1000) so that I’m not paying bank fees every month. Al though the bank fees are only $10, I’d rather keep it. This means increasing the balance in my account by $40 per month.

RRSP 2010
Goal: $5000
Bonus! Maximum allowable (update in April, after taxes, but approx $7000)

Pay off existing debt. I want to be debt free by the end of June. I will pay off the computer by the end of January; pay off my Visa by the end of March; and pay off my LOC by the end of June. Total debt: $6604.36.

EFund. I’m aiming for $3000 by end December 2010. Bonus! $3500.

US account. I would like $500 US in here by end December 2010. I currently have $308. It’s just for fun and day trips to Skagway, so it doesn’t need serious attention.

Track spending. I still find money running through my fingers far more than it should. So I’m going to continue with this. Write it down, meal plan, make shopping lists, etc. Find an extra $50 a month to put toward debt until it’s paid off.

Credit card spending. None, unless I can pay it off in full when due.

Cash only. January. And I’ll take it month to month from there depending on how I do. This means leaving my debit & credit card at home, so the temptation isn’t there to use them. This should curb my spending, generally and otherwise.

Make a will. This could also fall under ‘financial,’ as it costs money to do this, but I’ll aim to have this done by my birthday this year.

Photography. I have an awesome camera that I’m not using. I will use it.

School. I’m looking into several online options for this. The college here is great, but the classes I need either aren’t being offered this semester or the times conflict with my work schedule, so I think online is the way for me to go. I’m aiming for a minimum of three classes this year.

Read. My goal is 100 books this year.

These are the focus this year, along with smaller goals that I've got. I had an epic fail on last year's goals, but they were pretty ambitious and I'm pretty lazy...I'm not surprised, as I do this every year, but I think this time my goals are a little more focused, and I that most are also achieveable. I have no particular order for these, apart from perhaps my will, so that helps too.

5 comments:

The Asian Pear said...

good luck with your goals.

my bank's minimum is $1500 and I keep it above that level too. actually, I keep it at $1600. I treat the $1500 as part of my Emergency Fund. And the $100 as my "overdraft" just in case. you might want to make it a little higher than $1000 too. that way if you go under the limit, you aren't dinged the $10.

Northern Living Allowance said...

That's a good point! Thanks for the reminder, Pear. :)

Anonymous said...

Good luck!! I'm rootin' for you!

I would love to see more of your pictures!! :)

dinah34 said...

those are a lot of goals! i wish you well on your journey.

is pcfinancial an option for you? they always have free banking!

athabasca university is a good option for distance learning. practically everything they offer is online distance learning.

like Frugal Dreamer, i can't wait to see your photographs!

good luck in 2010!

Mary said...

Good luck with your goals in the upcoming year.

I've really let the "track spending" one slide and must get going again. Thanks for the reminder!