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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     
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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 😦