Tuesday, April 01, 2008 9:00 AM
at the beginning of 2008, i provided a
list of goals i had for the year. here is the second update, for the end of february, that reports my progress so far.
- setup a 529 account for my daughter (complete!)
this goal is complete and currently on "auto-pilot". i have accumulated 1.71.5
- max out my roth ira contributions
i am actually going to the bank today to make my first contribution for 2008. a small $350, but any bit helps, right? after talking with my financial advisor today, i am changing my quarterly contributions into a bi-annual contribution. it makes sense, since the amount i'm dealing with right now is so low.
- maintain a $2000 emergency fund savings
i am still putting away $25/week into my emergency fund to rebuild it. it's going slow, and i may stop saving for my roth ira at the end of june to speed this up.
- increase my net worth by 50%
i managed a 1.63% increase in my net worth this month, even squeaking out a paltry 0.32% gain in my investments. hopefully with my roth ira contribution going in soon, it'll spark things a little bit. or, more than likely, i'll just lose that money to the market, where i should probably keep it in a guaranteed savings account. in the long run though, it'll be better served in the roth ira.
- cut my outstanding debt by 50%
a pretty decent cut in credit card debt this month, 5.61%. it's slow, but it's going.
- lose 35 pounds
i've really been slacking on concentrating on this. i'm hovering around 205 right now. i've been semi-ok with my eating habits, eating "junk" food only once a week, but i know there's a lot more i could be doing.
- exercise at least twice per week
i have barely exercised at all in march. sure, i've played soccer (and won two championships), but i still don't consider that much exercise. maybe now with the weather turning, i can get some more exercise. from golf!
- join a golf club
the check is in the mail this week. once the course opens, i'm taking a vacation day and heading up there.
- take golf lessons
nothing on this yet, and i don't expect any progress on it until i join the golf club and find out their options.
- create a book of erie photographs
i've begun the selection process and a coming up with a general idea for the book. i've acquired an editor to help me make sure i capitalize things when they need capitalized (i don't know where the shift key is).
- bring in at least $1000 in donations for parents of autistic children
the golf tournament is coming up and i've managed to get one team together (my own). that will account for $400, bringing my total to $450. i plan on getting one more team together and hopefully a couple sponsors for the tournament.
- enroll in the erie ambassador program
i've received the application for the fall program, and plan on filling it out shortly. i hoped to take care of this in their spring program, but classes currently conflict with my soccer schedule.
- remodel my basement into livable space
i've pretty much given up on this for now. there's just not enough money or time to work on this. i am going to try and clean it up a little bit and organize my woodworking tools, but that will be just about it.
- bring in $10k from freelance jobs and photography
when i first started this list, i thought this goal was completely unreachable. with my current run of good luck, it's looking like the most easily attainable (well, at least 50%). two weddings have been booked for 2008, i've got two freelance clients right now, with another possibility coming up. and one last surprise i will be blogging about shortly (some of you already know), that has me all giddy.
- become a microsoft certified developer
the only studying i've done is through my own real-world work experience. reading hasn't been very high on the priority list lately.
march has ended with quite a great run of good luck. i'm a little skeptical of it, but i hope it continues. i'll be posting this week about the PAC golf tournament, and my other terrific news.