Financial goals for 2010!

My financial goals for 2010 are pretty simple.

Spend less.

Since my stockpiles of pharmacy goods like toiletries are pretty full I am going to try to only buy stuff at Walgreens, RiteAid and CVS if it will be free after rebates and/or coupons. I think this is a good way to cut back on spending and have already implemented this strategy.

I am going to try to only shop once a week. I am already trying to go out and shop at as many stores in one trip as possible. Not only does this save money and time but it also saves on gas.

Only spending on what is needed. This can be hard for anyone. But really, a need is something that you have to have to function and live. Heat, running water, electricity, food, clothing (not a new wardrobe everytime fashions change, lol!), a car, a place to live and phone service are all things you need to live. I think some wants are ok, if they help maintain your mental health or save you more money than if you didn't buy it. Is on demand cable really a need? No. But it saves us money because we don't leave our house for entertainment that often and it facilitates us spending more time at home as a family. Is our internet service a need? No. But it saves us money because I can follow money saving blogs and research prices and products, find deals and play free games on facebook, etc. Plus, I would have no social life if it weren't for all my internet friends! Are all my cleanig wipes and products a need? No. But I do need to have a sanitary and clean house and I am not superwoman and it is conveniant. Using these products saves time that allows me to have a clean and sanitary home AND have more free time for myself and my family. Ok, I probably could use rags more and less paper towels....I'll try : )

No surfing online stores unless we NEED something or are shopping for presents for birthdays, Christmas, etc and it is going to save us money by getting it online.

If we have a want, we have to really think about how spending money on it is going to take away from us paying down the debt we have and how much our debt is stressing us out. That usually makes the want go away pretty quick.

NO CREDIT CARD SPENDING.

This is the first year since we have both had credit cards that we are going to make it through an entire year without using them. If we budget our money properly and keep our savings at a reasonable amount we shouldn't need to use them at all.

More saving.

My hubby got a very nice Christmas bonus that allowed him to get some things he wanted and still leave us with some money in the bank. We have never had an emergency fund. Ever. My goal is to keep at least $1,500 in the bank for the entire year. Of course, it is there for a reason and if we have to spend any of it, I want to replace the money we spent as quickly as possible. I know this amount is nothing close to what you're supposed to have but for us and our limited financial resources it's a good place to start.

I'm also trying to really wait for things to be on sale and have coupons for them before I buy it. This is where it really helps to separate wants from needs. Most things don't have to be purchased right now and you can wait on until a deal comes along. Some things you have to buy full retail because you run out like milk or it just never goes on sale. Luckily, there are only a few things for us that we have to consistently pay full retail like our Welch's fruit snacks or my son's Welch's grape jam because that is what we like and we just have to have it.

Pay down credit cards.

This is just as important as saving money in the bank. Because we have so much debt to pay down our savings goal for the year is pretty small. But, as the gap between our credit limit and our card balance increases we will be saving money from the finance charges getting smaller. We are going to pay more on the cards with the bigger balances and pay at least five dollars over the minimum on the cards with the smaller balances. Our goal is to get all of our credit cards paid down to 50% of the limit.

Waste less.

This is probably the area where I need to make the most improvement when it comes to buying food. We have had periods in our life together where we were very strapped for cash and didn't always have a lot of food. We were never starving but we both feel better when there is an abundance of food in the house. I'm going to try to be more realistic about how much food we are going to be able to consume before it expires. I also want to try to freeze more leftovers if they will not be eaten before they go bad.

I am very concerned with food safety. I have probably thrown away perfectly good food. One thing I have done to help me throw away less food is writing the date on dairy and meat with a Sharpie when I open it. That way I know I am not throwing away perfectly good food and because I know when I will have to throw it away I can keep an eye on my calender and try to use it all before it goes in the trash.


Notice that I say I am going to TRY to do all these things. I think it's important to have goals and do your best to reach them but we all know that mistakes are made or unexpected things come up to throw us off the path towards our goals. Tomorrow is only a day away and it's never too late to make a change. Sometimes making mistakes or taking a detour from our goals is part of the path we are supposed to be on and are there to teach us a lesson we need to learn.

I hope you are all looking forward to the new year and saving more and spending less!

Happy New Year!