https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:37:29 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017/page/2#post-2681301 Tue, 17 Jan 2017 11:05:28 +0000 thestairs 2681301@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We don't really have a financial goal for 2017. We happy with our financial situation that we're in.</p> <p>We Debt-free, zero debt. No school debt (none of us have a college degree). No credit cards debt.. Cars are paid off, long paid off.</p> <p>Rent and All bills are pay on time early every month way before the due date; once we get the bills we pay it right away mail out the payment the next day.. Credit card bills, same thing. Mail out payment next day way early before the due date. We have excellent/perfect credit scores.<br /> Everything are all pay on time way early every month actually. Never once we have a late payments, let alone a missed payment.</p> <p>My husband make decent income, he make 100K a year. Despit we live in a HCOL state California, but life is comfy for us due to we both Debt-free. And we both are not big spender.<br /> He very responsible with money, he work hard to secure for our future. To make sure we always be in a comfortable fiancial position.</p> <p>His checking account it just where he pays Rent and all bills. His saving accounts and his retirement accounts are where all his life saving money are at.<br /> He has two Saving accounts, and both accounts have more than decent saving money in it save for emergency/rainy days.<br /> He has two 401k accounts and one IRA account saving for retirement, and all three has more than decent money retirement saving in it, espcially his IRA account.<br /> He has Life insurance, Health insurance. He has excellent/perfect credit scores.. Despite he has more than decent money in his saving and retirement accounts, he still added on Life insurance just in case. He is a huge planner.</p> <p>We never over spend. We budget everything.. Every month money go in what in what, we have everything budget lay out all ready.<br /> We do live BELOW our means. We rent in the cheapest monthly rent place. No, we dont' need to live in a high-end place with swimming pools and work out gyms and all that shit, lol. we don't care those stuff.. I told my husband why pay the top expensive rent monthly when we can find a place with much lower/cheaper rent? It helps each month to add MORE money into your savings if we paying lower rent.<br /> Perhaps I'm cheap, but to me having 'cash' in our saving accounts is more important than live in a high-end place.. It not just money in Saving accounts, it also money in 401k and IRA retirement too, the more retirement savings we have the better we be in our old age.</p> <p>I'm very frugal. I'm a coupon person; I cut coupons, I save coupons, I use coupons.. I save every dollar as I can.<br /> My husband make 100K a year and I'm here cutting coupons out of weekly grocery ads, lol.. even coupons like buy one get one half off, or .75 cents off I still cut out and use to save.<br /> I'm not a huge planner like my husband, but I'm frugal.</p> <p>Is Debt-free and making 100K a year income comfy to others? Probably not, but to us it comfy. And being Debt-free sure help alot.. And what added further to the help it our lifestyle, we both are not big spender and we live Below our means. We hate hate debt, so our goal is lifetime Debt-free.</p> <p>------------------<br /> I do have a goal (this is my goal, this is what I want)--my goal is to buy a condo for my mother in-law. My husband only have his mom the only blood immediate family member he have left.. I really want to fulfill this goal to get her a condo, so she don't have to worry about rent in her old age.<br /> .......<br /> Sure, she have her own comfy apartment, she one person by herself and live in a big comfy apartment.. BUT don't want to see her live in rent apartment for the rest of her life, I want her to enjoy her aging age rent-free. I want her to have a place to live without have to worry about rent.</p> <p>My mother in-law has family/relatives in Georgia (her side of the family). She thinking of when she retired she will relocate to Georgia, and enjoy her retirement age close to her side of the family.. We plan to buy her a condo there when she retired. A condo in the South (Georgia) is much much less expensive compared to where we live California.<br /> So yeah, that is my goal, continue saving in 2017, keep saving so when my MIL retired, we set to buy a condo for her. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017/page/2#post-2675765 Sat, 07 Jan 2017 13:06:37 +0000 Corduroy 2675765@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>1, Don't make any stupid financial mistakes like not submitting the forms for our dependent care money like last year (OUCH).<br /> 2. Consolidate my four 401(k)s. This has been on my list for several years but the number keeps growing.<br /> 3. Increase our annual charitable giving by $500, trying increase that amount annually.<br /> 4. And DH just chimed in that we should do a will this year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017/page/2#post-2675753 Sat, 07 Jan 2017 12:16:20 +0000 2littlepumpkins 2675753@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Buy a home and stop paying rent. There are pros to renting but I think we're just about ready.</p> <p>Increase Dh's deferred comp contributions. (He already pays quite a bit into pension.) </p> <p>Number one: stick to our budget. If we do that we will be ok. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017/page/2#post-2675741 Sat, 07 Jan 2017 11:50:43 +0000 DisneyBee 2675741@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>To pay off our car loan. </p> <p>I'm scared of how much we'll have to pay for summer camp and full-time daycare for our 2 sons this summer. So even though, I'm paying additional principal on our car loan....I may need to hold back during the summer. Decisions, decisions! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017/page/2#post-2675652 Sat, 07 Jan 2017 04:12:29 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2675652@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LML: oh my! That's a tough one for sure. It really is crazy how expensive kids are! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017/page/2#post-2675604 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 22:53:31 +0000 LML 2675604@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Mine are to (a) survive unpaid maternity leave, (b) get to zero credit card balance, and (c) pay all our medical bills from giving birth. Our deductible/out of pocket is high so it will cost us at least 10k to have the twins, even with insurance. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017/page/2#post-2675504 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 19:21:31 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2675504@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@codeitall: thanks! Technically my oldest started K but after school costs and summer camps aren't free! I estimate we'll still spend about $4k in care for her. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2675492 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 18:58:17 +0000 codeitall 2675492@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T.H.O.U.: I have to say I think yours is the hardest one here! Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2675435 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 16:30:19 +0000 808love 2675435@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I want to redo our floors and/or buy new couches. :-) We are saving money by sticking to our existing budget. I'm also thinking about paying off mortgage a year earlier than scheduled but we'll see. I'd have to apply an extra monthly payment to principal and haven't decided if I want to do that yet. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2675423 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 16:14:10 +0000 farawayyama 2675423@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This is a transition year for us, so not add any new debt and end the year well afloat. And stick to our budget.</p> <p>DH is finishing grad school mid year. We may have a big move. We both have student loans and we have one car payment. I have a job I love (teacher) that, along with his stipend we get by on. Ill have to leave it if we move though. He will be starting at entry level again so we expect a tight couple of years. Hopefully it will all pay off in the long run. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2675233 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 12:01:22 +0000 Mama Bird 2675233@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our goal is not to start eating into our savings too much. We're going to have a few big expenses in 2017, and we've got to keep close tabs on them so we stay within budget. Plus DS is starting public school... you'd think this would cut expenses, but school lets out at 2:30 so we'll likely spend just as much or more, either in after care or in my lost wages if I start picking him up. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2675176 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 10:49:11 +0000 ShootingStar 2675176@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: DH's dream car is a Tesla Model X but I won't let him buy a $100k car. Mostly because can't afford it, lol. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2675175 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 10:45:24 +0000 looch 2675175@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@ShootingStar: We are fully electric (my husband drives a Tesla) and we have the charging station in our garage as well. My husband mostly charges at work or at the Supercharger that's halfway between work and home, so we're not battling for the home station.</p> <p>I would want them to replace the battery, so we'll see what they say come April. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2675143 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 10:13:05 +0000 ShootingStar 2675143@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@erinbaderin: DH loves it. He loves all the features like heated steering wheel and seat, and loves that he never has to stop for gas. The bad things are it's pretty small and the range. I'm kind of tall and I don't love riding in it, especially with car seats in the back. And in the winter the range is much much less. Everything uses the battery, including the heat. On his old commute he would have to stop running the heat and freeze until he got DS from daycare so that he didn't run out on the way home. Now his commute is shorter (16mi/25km) and he also has the option to charge at work so it's mostly a non-issue. But it only works for us as a commuter car. Everything is done in my larger gas car.</p> <p>@looch: We have this same dilemma and we have a lot of debate about what our car strategy should be. He will still need a car to drive to work and after having such a low payment and no gas to pay for for 3 years, it's hard to think about buying him another car. And we already have the charging station and LOVES the car. But I'd really like a different car and my car is the big family car. So we go back and forth on handing my car down to him and me getting a new one, or buying out his lease and waiting a couple years to get me a new one. He thinks Nissan will be still giving out incentives to buy out leases so we're hoping the cost to buy it is fairly low. If it's much higher than we expect, IDK if it'll make sense either. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2675048 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 08:23:05 +0000 looch 2675048@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@erinbaderin: I love it. I used to give electric the side eye, but since having it and driving it full time the last year or so, I have come to adore that little thing. It doesn't have a ton of trunk space, so it's a challenge if you need to haul larger items and I do get a bit of range anxiety with it. For example, on a full charge, if I turn on the heat, the range drops to about 66 miles. If I keep the heat off, the range is 88. So, we use blankets in the car, it's quite a comedy show, lol. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2675046 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 08:21:12 +0000 looch 2675046@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@ShootingStar: Yes! It absolutely serves my needs but I am just not sure if buying it makes sense at this point. It's three years old and my husband has an idea that if we can buy it for something like $7000, we should do that, but I really don't know what the right number is! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2675045 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 08:20:46 +0000 erinbaderin 2675045@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: @ShootingStar: Do you guys like the Leaf? I want one badly! We basically only drive our second car to and from the train station (about 20km round trip) and I think an electric would make so much sense for that and local errands, and then we can use our main car for my commute (100km round trip) and longer drives. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2675044 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 08:18:48 +0000 erinbaderin 2675044@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I want to start 2018 with a $0 balance on my credit card. It's going to take a bit of dedication so I hope I can stick to it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2675042 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 08:15:03 +0000 ShootingStar 2675042@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: We have the same problem in August. You have a Leaf right? DH leases one right now and I think we're going to buy it. He just loves that car and we don't want to buy him a new one because I need a new car soon. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2675027 Fri, 06 Jan 2017 07:32:01 +0000 looch 2675027@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We need to figure out what we'll do for a second car come April. I love my little electric tin can, but it doesn't make sense to buy it because of the battery life and I am not sure if we can extend the lease. It's dirt cheap, like $100 a month to use this car, so it's going to be hard to swallow something more than that.</p> <p>Other than that, it's more of the same. Continue to cut unnecessary spending. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2674786 Thu, 05 Jan 2017 20:31:41 +0000 Boogs 2674786@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>To buy a new car for me, ideally in cash. Stashing money into the house to either do a huge remodel/addition or have a ton of equity to buy something else. And saving for two vacations. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2674697 Thu, 05 Jan 2017 19:03:04 +0000 Coffee-lover 2674697@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I want to pay off 2 small credit card debts, pay back the 2,000 we borrowed from the savings acount, and save up enough to pay for the hospital bill of our 2nd baby (not pregnant yet, still ttc). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2674607 Thu, 05 Jan 2017 17:26:36 +0000 Synchronicity 2674607@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Continue paying down my student loans and, fingers crossed, save money for a maternity leave. We will start setting aside money regardless of when I get pregnant so we will be that much further ahead even if it takes a while. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2674604 Thu, 05 Jan 2017 17:23:04 +0000 Mrs. Sunshine 2674604@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are in a transition year. DH got a new job in October and will likely switch again ins February. But our main goal is paying off a small credit card debit we seem to not been able to shake, and have at least 3 months living expenses saved in case of emergency. This is the first time we've been able to have more goals than just, pay bills. It feels nice to set this goal and feel that it's attainable. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2674592 Thu, 05 Jan 2017 17:08:19 +0000 Silva 2674592@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Refinance our student loans for lower interest rates, settle into a budget that feels comfortable given recent dramatic changes in income and monthly payments. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2674573 Thu, 05 Jan 2017 16:46:07 +0000 fancyfunction 2674573@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just continue saving more in general with the goal of redoing the kitchen. Fortunately we don't have any debt. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2674552 Thu, 05 Jan 2017 16:18:46 +0000 IRunForFun 2674552@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We don't have any debt, but the only goal this year is to save a bit and max out our contributions to our Roth IRAs. With me not working it'll be tight! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2674533 Thu, 05 Jan 2017 16:01:07 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2674533@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hahaha Goal is to not go INTO debt this year. First year with 3 kids in daycare. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2674531 Thu, 05 Jan 2017 16:00:16 +0000 Tanjowen 2674531@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Max out DH's 401k this year; pay off last bit of my school loan; Save enough for large down payment on new car for me. If we hit these goals, I will be thrilled. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/financial-goals-for-2017#post-2674480 Thu, 05 Jan 2017 15:08:27 +0000 ShootingStar 2674480@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We plan to pay off my grad school loans early, increase my 401k contributions, and add to our regular savings. </p>