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| Tuesday, January 01, 2008 |
| Resolving 2008 |
It is time I stick my neck out and make some public promises to myself for the New Year. Here's the list:
1) Take a big and pricey step forward in my ongoing efforts to live greener by installing photovoltaic panels on my roof. Hopefully that big change will also be accompanied by smaller changes, like finally purchasing more energy efficient window treatments and coming up with a better system for greater participation in curbside recycling.
2) Start investing more money in my taxable brokerage account. I do well with saving money, just not so well with investing it. Now that I am used to contributing the maximum allowable in my 401(k) plan and in other available tax advantaged accounts (Roth IRA) I need to step up my taxable investing. My goal for 2008 is to contribute $10,000 to my brokerage account.
3) Keep doing what has been working for me so far. By that I mean contribute the maximum I can to my company 401(k) - $15,500 in 2008. If I can, contribute $4,000 in my Roth IRA for 2007 before the cut off on April 15th (need to do my 2007 taxes first to be sure I am still eligible for the Roth). Keep spending less than I earn and saving and investing the excess.
4) Tame the household clutter and sprawl. I purchased my home in mid-2004, so this year will mark the end of the 3rd and start of the 4th year living in this house. Funny thing seems to happen when you have lived in one space for a period of time - stuff starts to accumulate. This year I need to spend some money and effort on organizing and weeding out. One of the splurges I would like to treat myself to this year are some custom closet organization systems. If I can tame my home office closet (which is one of my worst dumping grounds) then I will treat myself to the bedroom closet organizer.
I did think about focusing on paying down my mortgage debt, as I mentioned in the post: Is it more important to create wealth or eliminate debt? I plan to do a lot of wealth creation (fingers crossed!) in 2008 with my retirement contributions and brokerage account investments. I have not ruled out throwing money at pre-paying the principal on my mortgage, but with planned spending in 2008 I am not willing to commit to it as a goal for this year. |
| posted by Boston Gal @ 11:25 PM *
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| 2 Comments: |
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Happy New Year Boston Gal!
I am a devoted follower of your blog. Number 4 on yr list hit me right on target. I have purchased my apartment in March 2004 and I am having the same exact clutter problem. I was planning to buy some decorations after the New Year taking advantage of the sales but, I just decided it would be foolish to accumulate more stuff before getting rid of some that are not used. Just yesterday, I decided to give up some of the books I do not want. I had replaced the regular bulbs with CFLs (thanks to you) but I was keeping the old ones for no good reason. They wer just taking up space so, I put them in a box marked "FREE" and put it by the recycle box in the building. I am going to look at my bags and donate some that I am no more using. Next attack area will be mismatched sheets and pillow covers and old towels. Finally, old receipts and bank statements will have to be scrutinized and thrown out.
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It is interesting to me that you choose not to invest in your Roth IRA throughout the year - cost averaging. If you do have to switch the funds to a Traditional IRA, they just move the funds, no reason to wait!
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Happy New Year Boston Gal!
I am a devoted follower of your blog. Number 4 on yr list hit me right on target. I have purchased my apartment in March 2004 and I am having the same exact clutter problem. I was planning to buy some decorations after the New Year taking advantage of the sales but, I just decided it would be foolish to accumulate more stuff before getting rid of some that are not used. Just yesterday, I decided to give up some of the books I do not want. I had replaced the regular bulbs with CFLs (thanks to you) but I was keeping the old ones for no good reason. They wer just taking up space so, I put them in a box marked "FREE" and put it by the recycle box in the building. I am going to look at my bags and donate some that I am no more using. Next attack area will be mismatched sheets and pillow covers and old towels. Finally, old receipts and bank statements will have to be scrutinized and thrown out.