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Well, the year is off to a good start so far. There is one goal that I’m having a quite a bit of trouble with (increasing savings) but that’s pretty much because I’m focused on the other goals. I haven’t forgotten it entirely though. Here is my update for now (things that are completely done are also crossed off):

• Open a new IRA for 2008 (probably a Roth). – DONE
• Fully fund the new IRA. – 70% done
• Increase savings by $4000 in 2008. – I’ve kind of gone in reverse here so far.
• Purchase 1-4 tax liens. – DONE
• Purchase at least one share of stock. – DONE
• Purchase at least $8000 worth of treasury bonds. – I’m waiting for the next auction (which looks like it will be in May) to buy some bonds.
• Continue paying at least $800 extra (combined) toward our mortgage/mortgage fund each month. – Ongoing, although we be cutting back here because my husband wants to focus on building savings first
• Continue tracking & evaluating expenditures each month. – Ongoing
• Continue saving each month for vacations & irregular expenses. – Ongoing
• Continue paying for all bills and expenses in full and on time. – Ongoing
• Reduce expenses to $1500 per month or less (excluding vacations). – Not doing too well here.
• Increase income significantly. – Only a tiny bit of progress here, but that’s better than nothing.
• Continue matching contributions to my son’s college & car funds. – Ongoing
• Increase my 401(k) contribution amount. – DONE

I usually go through my list of goals regularly — at least once or twice a month — because doing so actually helps me accomplish them. They stay fresh in my mind and I can see my progress, along with areas that I still need to work on. I thought I’d experiment with updating them here occasionally, although there may not be that much to report on since so many of them are ongoing goals. We’ll see.

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