Goals

2019 Goals and Quarterly Updates

/ humblefi / Leave a comment

Last Updated on: 12/22/2019….2019 goals update

My FIRE journey started in 2014…07/21/2014 to be exact is when I write the About section of this blog. It has been almost (4) 5 years now on the FIRE journey and it definitely felt good to reach almost $1400 per month in passive income in 2018.

Here is my FI timeline…..I went from accidentally learning about FI to earning the following Passive Income per month from 2014 to 2018.

  • 2014:      $171.02
  • 2015:      $705.80 …..dumped most of my home down payment here 🙂
  • 2016:      $840.80
  • 2017:     $1040.13
  • 2018:     $1380.78
  • 2019:     $868.90

But, as with many things in life, change is the only thing that is constant. The search for a home for our family has got complicated. What we like we cannot afford and what we can afford we do not like. I cashed out some of the investments in the hope of putting a bigger down payment and creating a better offer to the sellers….a guaranteed 4.5% return on investments! But that did not work out…we failed on 6 offers already….but the good news was that I took much less of a loss in the latter part of 2018 since I cashed out the gains earlier 🙂

So, I am really not sure how to fashion my Passive Income goals for 2019. Will I reach 2018 levels? If we purchase the house, surely not. If we don’t, we *have* to exceed 2018 levels. For now, I will assume that we do buy a house and set a lower target of $500 pm and fight my way back up like a newbie!!

FIRE Target: The end-goal Financial Independence criterion for me are listed in the table below. From this, I will derive the 2019 financial goals listed below the table.

Financial Independence Criterion
Emergency Fund $60k Done
College Fund $80K $100K
Passive Income Streams $4000 per month
Retirement Fund $900k
Roof for our Family $750k…HCOL area
Medical Fund $100k….via HSA
Life Insurance To protect my earning years…..done

2019: For 2019, I have thought about the following goals to get me closer to the financial independence targets listed in the previous table.

Financial Goals for 2019

  1. Payoff car loan
    1. 03/31/2019       Done
    2. 06/30/2019      
    3. 09/30/2019      
    4. 12/31/2019      
  2. Keep scouting for our family home
    1. 03/31/2019       
    2. 06/30/2019      
    3. 09/30/2019      
    4. 12/31/2019      Bought a home finally!!
  3. Contribute $7000 to 529 College Fund 1
    1. 03/31/2019        
    2. 06/30/2019        
    3. 09/30/2019        
    4. 09/30/2019     $10,910.43
  4. Contribute $2000 to 529 College Fund 2
    1. 03/31/2019        
    2. 06/30/2019        
    3. 09/30/2019        
    4. 12/31/2019     $2001.00
  5. Contribute $12k to Passive Income Streams(stretch goal of $24k) 
    1. 03/31/2019        
    2. 06/30/2019        
    3. 09/30/2019 
    4. 12/31/2019      $4846.00
  6. Max out 401k contributions ($38K total for me and wife)
    1. 03/31/2019        
    2. 06/30/2019        
    3. 09/30/2019        
    4. 12/31/2019        Done
  7. Max out HSA contributions ($7000)
    1. 03/31/2019        
    2. 06/30/2019        
    3. 09/30/2019        
    4. 12/31/2019        Done
  8. Keep eating out expenses under $250 pm
    1. 03/31/2019        Failed
    2. 06/30/2019        Failed
    3. 09/30/2019        Done
    4. 12/22/2019        Failed
  9. Estate Planning (Will, POD beneficiaries, Caretaker for children)
    1. 03/31/2019        Not done
    2. 06/30/2019        Not done
    3. 09/30/2019        Not done
    4. 12/31/2019        We have a house now…so, 2020 seems like the right time!

 

2018 Goals and Quarterly Updates

/ humblefi / Leave a comment

Last Update on: 1/6/2019….2018 4th quarter update

My FIRE journey started in 2014…07/21/2014 to be exact is when I write the About section of this blog. It has been almost 4 years now on the FIRE journey and it does feel good to reach almost $1000 per month in passive income in 2017.

But, the bigger feeling is that FI is still a long way to go. The days of big capital infusions are over…there is only so many times I can steal from the home down payment fund 🙂 Waiting for the dividend snowball to get bigger is it for now. I read often Dividend Mantra’s snowball post because it motivates me to stay patient and wait for the snowball to build up. Hope it is useful for readers of this blog also.

For those readers who think that FI takes a long time, I do agree….but here is my timeline which should give some hope. I went from accidentally learning about FI to earning the following Passive Income per month from 2014 to 2011. So, FI is possible….keep plodding…I will be with ya!!

  • 2014:      $171.02
  • 2015:      $705.80 …..dumped most of my home down payment here 🙂
  • 2016:      $840.80
  • 2017:     $1040.13
  • 2018:     $1380.78

FIRE Target: The end-goal Financial Independence criterion for me are:

Financial Independence Criterion
Emergency Fund $60k
College Fund $80K $100K
Passive Income Streams $4000 per month
Retirement Fund $900k
Roof for our Family $750k…HCOL area
Medical Fund $100k….via HSA
Life Insurance To protect my earning years…..done

2018: For 2018, I have thought about the following goals to get me closer to the financial independence targets listed in the previous table.

Financial Goals for 2018

  1. Keep scouting for a possible home/multi-family residence/rental real estate
    1. 03/31/2018      Visited 7 open houses…not worth the years of slavery …
    2. 06/30/2018      Visited 3 open houses…how can people afford the money 😦
    3. 09/30/2018      Not looking…stole a chunk of down payment for investing
    4. 12/31/2018      Put offers on 6 homes…..got overbid on all big time!!  
  2. Contribute $30000 towards Home Down payment Fund
    1. 03/31/2018        -$1281….took some money out for investments 😉
    2. 06/30/2018        -$48K….disgusted with high prices and invested instead •`_´•
    3. 09/30/2018        -$19K….stole money and invested instead. 
    4. 12/31/2018        Cheated…stole money from investments…so does not count.
  3. Contribute $4800 to 529 College Fund 1
    1. 03/31/2018        $1,811.00……amount remaining is $2989
    2. 06/30/2018        $1000.00……amount remaining is $1989
    3. 09/30/2018        Done
    4. 09/30/2018 
  4. Contribute $2400 to 529 College Fund 2
    1. 03/31/2018        $850.00…….amount remaining is $1550
    2. 06/30/2018        $500.00…….amount remaining is $1050
    3. 09/30/2018        Done 
    4. 12/31/2018 
  5. Contribute $12k to Passive Income Streams(stretch goal of $24k) 
    1. 03/31/2018        $8,722.07…..amount remaining is $3277.93 (stretch $15277.93)    
    2. 06/30/2018        Done
    3. 09/30/2018 
    4. 12/31/2018 
  6. Max out 401k contributions ($37K total for me and wife)
    1. 03/31/2018        $12,399….amount remaining is $24,601  
    2. 06/30/2018        $21,876….amount remaining is $15,124 
    3. 09/30/2018        $33,467….amount remaining is $3,533
    4. 12/31/2018        Done 
  7. Max out HSA contributions ($6900)
    1. 03/31/2018        $3549……amount remaining is $3351  
    2. 06/30/2018        $4245……amount remaining is $2655    
    3. 09/30/2018        $6670……amount remaining is $230
    4. 12/31/2018        Done
  8. Keep eating out expenses under $200 pm
    1. 03/31/2018        Not yet….
    2. 06/30/2018        Not yet….  
    3. 09/30/2018        Not yet….unfortunately 😦   
    4. 12/22/2018        Nope 😐
  9. Estate Planning (Will, POD beneficiaries, Caretaker for children)
    1. 03/31/2018        Not yet  
    2. 06/30/2018        Not yet  
    3. 09/30/2018        Not yet…   
    4. 12/31/2018        Not yet..but did sign up for legal services…2019 it is.

2017 Goals and Quarterly Updates

/ humblefi / 2 Comments

NOTE: Fourth Quarter, 2017 Update….on 12/22/2017

I started my humble journey towards Financial Independence in 2014. But, I really did not have any formal goals for 2014. I just wanted to create multiple passive income streams, protect my family with life insurance, etc. I established what Financial Independence means to me and what the goals were. I accomplished all the implicit goals I had for 2014.

For 2015, I was a little bit more formal about goal setting and set my 2015 goals and updated my progress quarterly (here). In addition, I also tracked my progress via a Monthly Progress Report (here). At the end of year 2015, I reviewed my progress towards FI and I was happy to have reached and/or exceeded most goals I set (here).

For 2016, I achieved most of the goals I set out for myself (here). The two goals where I failed badly are: Keep eating expenses under $200 per month & Estate planning. I will try again this year i.e. in 2017.

The Financial Independence criterion for me (2017) are:

Financial Independence Criterion
Emergency Fund $60k (as of 2017)
College Fund $80k
Passive Income Streams $4000 per month
Retirement Fund $900k
Roof for our Family $750k….HCOL area 😦
Medical Fund $100k
Life Insurance To protect my earning years…..

For 2017, I have thought about the following goals to get me closer to the above financial independence goals. What is the current status of the goals:

  • Ones in Red are not complete
  • Ones struck-through are complete

Financial Goals

  1. Keep scouting for a possible home/multi-family residence/rental real estate
    1. 03/31/2017        Visited many open houses…single/multi family…prices still crazy
    2. 06/30/2017        Visited two open houses….prices even more crazy this quarter…
    3. 09/30/2017        8 more….we finally know what we want….need the $$$ now 🙂
    4. 12/31/2017        0 homes….prices shot up & pushed most houses out of our budget
  2. Contribute $15000 towards Home Downpayment Fund
    1. 03/31/2017           $10272/$15000            $4728 remaining
    2. 06/30/2017           $13772/$15000            $1228 remaining             
    3. 09/30/2017           $16701/$15000            Done..but price rises outpacing savings 😦
    4. 12/31/2017           n/a
  3. Contribute $3600 to 529 College Fund 2 
    1. 03/31/2017        $305/$3600 done                     $3295 remaining (behind…)
    2. 06/30/2017        $1966/$3600 done                   $1634 remaining 
    3. 09/30/2017        $3467/$3600 done                   $133 remaining
    4. 09/30/2017        $3600/$3600 done                   $0 remaining
  4. Contribute $3000 to 529 College Fund 1
    1. 03/31/2017        $605/$3000 done                    $2395 remaining (behind…)
    2. 06/30/2017        $1767/$3000 done                  $1233 remaining
    3. 09/30/2017        $2427/$3000 done                  $573 remaining
    4. 12/31/2017        $3000/$3000 done                  $0 remaining
  5. Contribute $16k to Passive Income Streams (stretch goal of $24k) 
    1. 03/31/2017        $10150/$16000                       $5850 remaining ($13850 for stretch)
    2. 06/30/2017        $29970/$16000                       $0 remaining 
    3. 09/30/2017        n/a
    4. 12/31/2017        n/a
  6. Max out 401k contributions for both me and my wife ($36K total)
    1. 03/31/2017        $10489.19/$36K                     $25510.81 remaining
    2. 06/30/2017        $19774.94/$36K                     $16229.06 remaining  
    3. 09/30/2017        $33890/$36K                          $2109.47 remaining    
    4. 12/31/2017        $36K/$36K                              done
  7. Keep eating out expenses under $200 pm
    1. 03/31/2017       $358.61                                      Way above budget…
    2. 06/30/2017       $401.83                                      Out of control 😦 
    3. 09/30/2017       $301                                           Pulled in the expense some…
    4. 12/22/2017       $273                                           Pulled in the expense a little…
  8. Start and finish Estate Planning (Will, POD beneficiaries, Caretaker for children, etc)
    1. 03/31/2017  No progress yet      
    2. 06/30/2017  No progress yet
    3. 09/30/2017  Set up an appt with a financial planner….will discuss and decide
    4. 12/31/2017  Financial plan done; Will, POD, etc next year

Personal Goals

Starting this year, I am trying to track some personal goals. Without adding all the details and boring everybody, I will try to keep this simple. I am hoping tracking this in my blog will keep me motivated to reach my goals. Here they are:

  1. Health Body goals (healthy eating, gym visits, popping multi-vitamins, etc)
    1. 03/31/2017       21.4% success rate  ….nothing but improvement ahead 
    2. 06/30/2017       17.1% success rate ….oh boy…eating too much/no exercise…. 
    3. 09/30/2017       20.0% success rate….behind on flossing, popping vitamins mainly
    4. 12/30/2017       14.1% success rate ….no exercise…. 
  2. Simplify Life: Donate unused books once a month
    1. 03/31/2017       0/3 done                                
    2. 06/30/2017       3/3 done
    3. 09/30/2017       2/3 months done….got my kid to donate old books 🙂
    4. 12/31/2017       2/3 months done….books donated to two libraries  
  3. Simplify Life: Donate unused (old and new) clothes once per quarter
    1. 03/31/2017       1/1 done 
    2. 06/30/2017       1/1 done
    3. 09/30/2017       3/3 done….this time, it was clothes, toys and garage junk!!
    4. 12/31/2017       1/3 done…big kids toys cleanup done; waiting for donation  
  4. Simplify Life: Shred all unnecessary documents once a month
    1. 03/31/2017       1/3 done
    2. 06/30/2017       2/3 done….only 10 folders left…even found 10 year old docs! 
    3. 09/30/2017       1/3 done….a few more folders done….cabinet is so empty now 🙂 
    4. 12/31/2017       1/3 done….did not get to work on this much this qyarter 

Possible candidates for 2018 Personal Goals

I decided to start this section in the last quarter of 2017 (Oct-Dec) so that I can capture possible candidates for Personal goals in 2018.

  • Get together with a Financial Planner and checkpoint the overall state of our finances.
    • My goal was to generate $1000 pm in dividend income and then purchase our primary residence. I am close to the former but way behind the latter.
    • So, I want to set a plan for the next five years and getting a plan review from a qualified professional is timely now.
  • Prepare to find a new job with a better compensation package.
    • To support the house purchase, I need something more that the salary. I would like to add some additional options like a better bonus option, stocks, etc
    • This means I need to do really really well in the interviews…need solid preparation before I look into the market.
  • Get into a PE class of some sort and get my health in order.
    • Need the disciple of a class to help my will power.

2016 Goals and Quarterly Updates

/ humblefi / 7 Comments

NOTE: Quarterly Numbers Updated on 12/30/2016…

I started my humble journey towards Financial Independence in 2014. But, I really did not have any formal goals for 2014. I just wanted to create multiple passive income streams, protect my family with life insurance, etc. I established what Financial Independence means to me and what the goals were. I accomplished all the implicit goals I had for 2014.

For 2015, I was a little bit more formal about goal setting and set my 2015 goals and updated my progress quarterly (here). In addition, I also tracked my progress via a Monthly Progress Report (here). At the end of year 2015, I reviewed my progress towards FI and I was happy to have reached and/or exceeded most goals I set (here). I did fail to reach some goals and they will be rolled over to 2016 (below).

For 2016, I have achieved most of the goals I set out for myself. The two goals where I failed badly are: Keep eating expenses under $200 per month & Estate planning. I will try again this year.

The Financial Independence criterion for me are:

Financial Independence Criterion
Emergency Fund $72k $60k (as of 2016)
College Fund $80k
Passive Income Streams $4000 per month
Retirement Fund $900k
Roof for our Family $750k….HCOL area 😦
Medical Fund $100k
Life Insurance To protect my earning years…..

For 2016, I have thought about the following goals to get me closer to the above financial independence goals.

  1. Keep scouting for a possible home
    1. 03/31/2016        Not much scouting done…job hunting kept me busy
    2. 06/30/2016       Went to two open houses….prices are un-affordable still….
    3. 09/30/2016       Went to three open houses….prices are even more un-affordable…..
    4. 12/31/2016        Decided to wait for interest rates to go up and prices to go down…
  2. Contribute $9600 towards Home Downpayment Fund
    1. 03/31/2016           $3100/$9600 done                         $6500 remaining
    2. 06/30/2016          $5314/$9600 done                         $4286 remaining        
    3. 09/30/2016         $8495/$9600 done                         $1105 remaining
    4. 12/31/2016           Done
  3. Contribute $2400 to 529 College Fund 2 DONE (03/2016)
    1. Vanguard 529 Plan
      1. 03/31/2016        $3k/$2.4k done   Minimum investment 3k
      2. 06/30/2016       Done            
      3. 09/30/2016       n/a 
      4. 12/31/2016    
  4. Contribute $4800 to 529 College Fund 1
    1. Vanguard 529 Plan
        1. 03/31/2016        $1400/$4800 done   $3400 remaining
        2. 06/30/2016       $2400/$4800 done   $2400 remaining    
        3. 09/30/2016       $3600/$4800 done   $1200 remaining
        4. 12/31/2016        Done    
    • Contribute $16k to Passive Income Streams (stretch goal of $24k) DONE (03/31/2016)
      1. VCADX, VWIUX,VTMFX, VWELX,VDIGX, VHDYX, VTCLX, VTMSX, VTMGX
        1. 03/31/2016        $36k/$16k done       $0K (severance,tax refund, espp)
        2. 06/30/2016       Done
        3. 09/30/2016       n/a  
        4. 12/31/2016
    • Max out 401k contributions for both me and my wife.
      1. 2016 401k limit is $18000 per person => $36k contributions for family
        1. 03/31/2016        $8.6k/$36k done         $27.04k remaining
        2. 06/30/2016        $27k/$36k done          $8.97k remaining
        3. 09/30/2016        $32k/$36k done          $4k remaining
        4. 12/31/2016         Done
    • Keep eating out expenses under $200 pm
      1. Last year, it ballooned to $377 pm..
        1. 03/31/2016    $356 pm     ….job hunting lunches 😦
        2. 06/30/2016   $393 pm     ….still out of control…need to tighten up….. 
        3. 09/30/2016   $362.53       ….not much improvement….$30 pm is less  
        4. 12/31/2016    Failed badly….     
    • Start and finish Estate Planning
      1. Will, POD beneficiaries, Caretaker for our child, etc
        1. 03/31/2016  No progress yet      
        2. 06/30/2016  No progress yet        
        3. 09/30/2016  No progress yet      
        4. 12/31/2016   Motivation lacking….perhaps due to tough choices…
    • Get a more stable job. DONE (03/2016)
      1. Current job is on very shaky foundations
        1. 03/31/2016  New job yeah!!      
        2. 06/30/2016  3 months into new job…doing okay.      
        3. 09/30/2016  6 months into new job…doing okay.      
        4. 12/31/2016  9 months into new job…doing okay     

2015: Year-end Review

/ humblefi / 1 Comment

2014 is when I started my journey towards Financial Independence. I did not have a formal set of goals, but I did define what Financial Independence means to me (here).

2015 was the first year where I had a formal set of goals. For 2015, I the following goals to get me closer to my financial independence goals (here). End of 2015 has arrived and it is time for the year-end review.

One word before that. I got amazing support from the Financial blogger community during this year and my humble thanks to all who took the time to drop a comment and/or drop in an encouraging word and/or drop a suggestion. It is truly appreciated. Thank you.

Back to the goals, I managed to reach some goals, exceed some and not reach some.

  1. Max out 401K contributions ($36K) for both me and my wife.
    1. Done: 12/31/2015
    2. Reached this goal…same goal for next year.
  2. Contribute $16K (goal stretch $24K) to Passive Income Streams
    1. Done 09/30/2014
    2. Exceeded this goal big time….very happy about this.
    3. Same 16K goal for next year
  3. Contribute $4800 to 529 College Fund
    1. Done: 12/31/2015
    2. Exceeded this goal as well by about $1000….I am happy about this too…though the goal seems to be stuck at $30K…it is like two steps forward and three steps back.
    3. Same goal for next year though
  4. Deposit maturing CDs into passive income streams
    1. Done 01/17/2015
    2. This was a one-time cash inflow…I used some CDs I had set aside for home down payment…since I did not see that happening this year, I moved them to my passive income streams. I am very happy I did this as well.
  5. Keep scouting for a possible home
    1. Not Done: 12/26/2015
    2. This goal is not looking so good. The prices in 2015 were even more crazy than 2014. So, 2016 is not looking good either. There were some discussion about moving to a lower cost area that *forced* its way into the family’s conversation. But, no decision yet.
  6. Start and finish Estate Planning
    1. Not Done: 12/26/2015
    2. There were some changes within the family which delayed this goal a bit. I was thinking about appointing my brother’s family as a guardian for my kid, but some instability has crept into my brother’s family and I wanted to give him time to work things out…so, I need to rework my strategy and timing a bit more. Family is family…so, I am hoping this issue can be resolved. And of course, I spent way too much time on setting up the passive income streams.
    3. Will add this goal to next year’s goals
  7. Get a more stable job.
    1. Not Done: 12/26/2015
    2. I am struggling with this goal due to a serious lack of will power. I keep starting my preparations and then it gets bogged down after a few days. I think I am mentally tired of working and preparing for interviews and the rest of the things that has to happen in family life. But, doing this when out of a job is not a good idea.
    3. Will add this goal to next years goals but I will come up with some form of tracking to keep me honest.

Summary

Overall, 2015 has been a reasonably good year. I achieved 4/7 goals I set for myself.

  • Average monthly dividend has reached $702 per month…still way below my target of $4000, but much closer to my intermediate target of $1000 per month. I read somewhere that the pace of compounding will visibly increase once you hit $1000 pm in dividends. For next year, I would like to make a serious dent in the goal towards $1000 pm in dividends.
  • Goals 6 and 7 will be done next year for sure.
    • For 7, I need to build up my confidence and will power and beat the heck out of this goal.
    • For 6, I just need to make some difficult decisions along with my wife.
  • W.r.t Goal 5, I am going to keep accumulating small amounts of money towards the home down payment, but I do not anticipate meeting this goal in 2016.

More on this in 2016 yearly plan. Once again, thanks for all the amazing support. I really appreciate it.

2015 Goals and progress updates

/ humblefi / 6 Comments

NOTE: Updated quarterly; latest update is on 12/26/2015 

I started my humble journey towards Financial Independence in 2014. I did establish what Financial Independence means to me and what the goals were. But, I really did not have any yearly goals for 2014. I just wanted to come up with a plan and create multiple passive income streams and let them fly, protect my family with life insurance, etc. I believe that I have accomplished all the goals I implicitly had for 2014. For 2015, I wanted to be a little bit more formal about goal setting and I will document my 2015 goals in this post, updated quarterly. Monthly Progress Report is tracked here.

The Financial Independence criterion for me are:

Financial Independence Criterion
Emergency Fund $72K
College Fund $80K
Passive Income Streams $4000 per month
Retirement Fund $900K
Roof for our Family $1 million
Medical Fund $100K
Life Insurance Done initiating.

For 2015, I have thought about the following goals to get me closer to the above financial independence goals. The updates are quarterly for each goal.

  1. Max out 401K contributions for both me and my wife.(Done: 12/31/2015)
    1. 2015 401K limit is $18000 => $36K worth of 401k contributions.
      1. 03/31/2015 $13K/$36K done       $23K remaining
      2. 06/30/2015 $26K/$36K done       $10K remaining
      3. 09/30/2015 $32K/$36K done       $4K remaining
      4. 12/26/2015 $36K/$36K done        $0K remaining
  2. Contribute $16000 to Passive Income Streams (stretch goal of $24000) Done (09/30/2014)
    1. VCAIX, VTMFX, VDIGX, VHDYX, VTCLX, VTMSX, VTMGX, VMMXX.
      1. 03/31/2015 $4K/$16K done         $12K remaining
      2. 06/30/2015 $8K/$16K done         $8K remaining
      3. 09/30/2015 $25K/16K done         $0K remaining
      4. 12/26/2015 $37K/16K done         $0K remaining
  3. Contribute $4800 to 529 College Fund (Done: 12/31/2015)
    1. Vanguard 529 Plan
      1. 03/31/2015    $1200/$4800          $3.6K remaining
      2. 06/30/2015    $2400/$4800          $2.4K remaining
      3. 09/30/2015    $3600/4800            $1.2K remaining
      4. 12/26/2015    $4800/4800            $0K remaining
  4. Deposit maturing CDs into passive income streams Done(01/17/2015)
    1. VCAIX: $35K   $30K
    2. VTMFX: $10K $20K
    3. VDIGX: $10K  $15K
    4. VHDYX: $5K   $10K 
  5. Keep scouting for a possible home (Not Done: 12/26/2015)
    1. A paid off house is a must for financial independence.
      1. 03/31/2015         No progress
      2. 06/30/2015         Finished mortgage analysis, finally!
      3. 09/30/2015         Scouting properties….not much luck.
      4. 12/26/2015         Prices way out of reach. Some discussions on relocating to a different state…not sure yet
  6. Start and finish Estate Planning (Not Done: 12/26/2015)
    1. Will, POD beneficiaries, Caretaker for our child, etc
      1. 03/31/2015        No progress
      2. 06/30/2015        No progress
      3. 09/30/2015        No progress
      4. 12/26/2015        No progress…definitely for the coming year
  7. Get a more stable job. (Not Done: 12/26/2015)
    1. Current job is on very shaky foundations
      1. 03/31/2015        No progress
      2. 06/30/2015        Interview preparation started!!
      3. 09/30/2015        Interview preparation slowed down 😦
      4. 12/26/2015        No resolution yet…need more will power 😦