Last year wasn’t a great year for us financially due to a lot of factors, but I’m harnessing the hope of a fresh start and counting on 2023 being better. I ended up just throwing out my 2022 financial goals halfway through the year when I could see that very few were going to even be possibilities, so I tried to really sit back and make sure my goals this year were a little more realistic. Granted, it will still be a MAJOR stretch to see all of these come to pass, but at least the challenge is in the realm of possibility (I think).
Here’s what our plans are for 2023:
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2023 Financial Goals
Pay Off Credit Card Debt
The absolute #1 priority for 2023 is to get back out of debt. We’ve been debt-free other than our mortgage for the majority of our marriage, but last year we ended up biting off more than we could chew with getting some new windows installed, only to be hit with a lot of unexpected big expenses soon after like two surgeries and some car issues. Luckily, we’re still not paying any interest on the debt since we put it on a new cash back credit card (this one, in case you’re interested), but that 0% introductory rate will end in August. Therefore, our goal is to have the entire amount paid off by then.
The only way I see that being possible is if our tax return is pretty sizable, as it’s been the past couple of years. The return should take it down to at least a more manageable level, and then we’ll just have to chip away at it the best we can.
Starting Amount of Debt: $8,692
Build Emergency Fund Back to $5,000
We currently have a baby emergency fund, but the past several months have taught me that building this back up again will be the key to not repeating this situation of an expected debt snowballing into a much bigger, unexpected debt. Our final goal amount will need to be much more than just $5,000 so that we can have the recommended 3-6 months’ worth of expenses, but for now, building it up to this amount should provide the buffer we need for the majority of emergencies that come up.
Current Amount Saved: $2,175
Pay off Hospital Bills after Baby’s Birth
I’m currently about 18 weeks pregnant, and we expect our baby to be born sometime in mid to late May (since my babies tend to come early). That means that we’ll need to have the cash saved up for these hospital bills by the middle of the year when the bill comes due.
I’m not totally sure how much this will cost, but I’m planning to try and set aside around $2,200 for it.
Buy a Quarter Cow in Cash
Before when we were debt free other than the mortgage, I took it for granted that having no debt meant we were more able to take advantage of certain opportunities that came up, mostly just because we had extra money in the bank and weren’t shoveling every spare penny toward paying off loans.
I’ve long wanted to make a bulk meat purchase of a quarter cow both to save money and to put up more towards our food storage and emergency preparedness. Last year, we had an excellent opportunity to get in on a local cow being processed (and for a great price, too!), but we just couldn’t do it because of our tight financial situation.
I really don’t want a repeat of that, so I plan to set aside around $400-500 so that we can take advantage of future opportunities like that that may come along in 2023.
Have at Least $300 in Each Sinking Fund
Matt and I have a million different savings accounts because we decided to use them as sinking fund accounts. For some people, they like to just put all of their savings into one general pot (like our emergency fund above), but I like knowing that certain dollars are earmarked for certain categories. We haven’t always been great at actually contributing regularly to all the categories, but it is something I’m going to work on this year.
Our sinking fund categories that I want to build up are: Car, House Maintenance/Projects, Travel, and Medical.
Contribute Any Amount to My Roth
We are fully maxing out my husband’s Roth every year (which was a major financial win for us), and now the next goal is to start adding to mine again. The likelihood of this happening will depend entirely on if my husband gets a decent raise at work this year and whether or not our flower farm makes a decent profit. Since we have so many huge expenses to pay off this year, starting these retirement contributions is unfortunately at the bottom of the priority list.
However, if we’re actually able to pay off all our debts and the big expenses coming up this year, we’ll be in a GREAT position next year in 2024 to really hit this retirement goal hard. In the past, I’ve usually done a mortgage payoff goal every year as well, but we’re currently putting an extra $60 or so per month towards the mortgage, and I think that’s all we’ll plan on for this year since any other extra money really needs to be funneled elsewhere.
And there you are! Our challenging (but hopefully still doable) financial goals for 2023. What are some goals you’re working on right now?