Priorities

Last Updated on 1/28/10

Over the past few months I've been researching and developing a financial plan for the future. I've come to the point where I'm ready to list my priorities for the next few years.

Priorities:

1. Save $500-$1,000 $2,000 for India trip
   
2. Maintain $10,000-$12,000 $7,000 in my emergency apartment fund
3. Save $5,000 for wedding
4. Pay interest on student loans

Those are my goals and the order I am focusing on them. However, during this time I still plan on doing the following:

1. Contributing to my 403b, raising it by 1% with each raise
2. Paying my mortgage
3. Contributing to my Roth IRA

My priorities will help me achieve some of my goals. I may revise these short and long term goals, but for now this is where I'm headed.

Short-term:

1. This summer I will be moving out of my studio and into a one bedroom with my boyfriend. I'll have to find a renter for my place and have money to pay the mortgage and rent while I look. I will also need money to put down a security on a new place. DONE.
   
   
2. I hope to go back to school in the 2010-2011 school year. I have found a program that so far seems to be what I want and my tuition benefits will cover the majority of costs. I hope to only have to spend $1000-$2000 a year for two years to receive this degree. (Of course I have to get into the program as well!) I'll only need about $300 a semester for books.
   
   
3. Costs of a wedding - Working on it

Medium-Term:

1. Eventually I'll want to be able to buy a place with my fiance.
2. A large scale move? I'm sure we won't stay in new york city for the rest of our lives, and there is a chance we won't even stay on the east coast.
3. And of course I do eventually want kids.

Long-Term:

1. Retirement

Does anyone have any other long term goals besides retirement? It just seems too far away for me to know exactly what I'll want when I retire. So I know our goals should be specific, but I'm going to have to keep my long term goal vague.

So this is were I am with my financial plan. This has been an excellent process, I've learned so much and I even changed my asset allocation in my 403b. This learning process is far from over, but at least I now have a clearer view of what my goals are. My next step is to really look at how I'm going to meet these goals.