Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Grownup Goals

On my last post I gave some tips on saving money.
I listed a couple of my monetary goals for the year, but I thought it would be fun to post some goals for adulthood, grownup goals, if you will.
Some are similar to my last post, some are a little different and fun.
So, here we go!

1. Meet with a financial advisor.
Sure, my dad can answer a lot of questions for me; however, I have always wanted to talk to a professional about the stocks I invest in and how much I should be putting away for retirement.
I'm not always the most savvy when it comes to stocks and trading them, so it would be awesome to have someone to break it down for me and give me unbiased advice.

2. Pay off my car and student loans.
A guy I work with recently equated being in debt to being a prisoner, but sometimes life requires debt.
I wouldn't have been able to go to college without taking out loans and I had to fill up my radiator in my old car with water every time I drove anywhere otherwise it would overheat. <--- there was a hole, so that was a temporary fix...I know it's not the best long term option.
I didn't have tens of thousands of dollars lying around to buy a new car.
What I did have was all my money in my savings account for a down payment and excellent credit for the lowest interest amount, making it much more doable.
Getting out of debt has been my biggest motivation for saving and making as large of a payment as possible each month.

3. Saving for a trip to Iceland...or Ireland...or Australia...or...
I love to travel!
A huge goal for me would be able to save up and travel without having to charge everything to a credit card that would take months to pay off.
Maybe I'll try to hold a bake sale to raise money for trips like I did in junior high.

4. Get my masters degree.
I've been talking about going back to school for years.
My constant struggle is deciding whether I want to go in debt from student loans...again.
It seems like a vicious cycle.
Go to college -- Be in debt -- Find a job to pay off debt -- 
Go back to college so I can get a job I really love -- Be in debt--
I am very lucky to have the job I do have and am hoping to someday go back for a Masters in Public Health: Nutrition.

5. Own a home.
This is a goal in the far off future.
My boyfriend bought a house about a year ago and I've assisted with renovations and decorating.
I've had so much fun helping, but not actually having to pay a mortgage...haha!
I definitely want my name on a house deed one day, but for now, I'm ok with saving money in my rent free childhood room.

I have been thinking about financials a lot lately.
I try to look at my retirement and stocks a few times a month to see where I'm at.
Recently, I download the Personal Capital app on my phone and you can also check out their website here.
I put in all my financials {stocks, retirement, savings, loans, credit cards, etc...} and the app generates my net worth.
This was all pretty recent, so I'm interested to look a little deeper and see what other information I can add and how I can create a tighter budget.
I had no idea what my net worth was before, let's just say my loans are putting me in the negatives...literally.
Every time I pay off a credit card or make a payment on a loan, I'll be excited to see my net worth go up!
It's all very fascinating to me and puts a lot of things into perspective.
Like, maybe I don't need to eat out 3 nights a week or buy these adorable Tory Burch sandals?
Most people in their 20's don't think about retirement, but life moves fast and I want to be able to enjoy my 60's, 70's, and hopefully 80's!
Whatever your financial goals are, I really challenge you to know where you stand.

xo Lindsey

This post is in partnership with Personal Capital. All opinions are my own.

No comments:

Post a Comment