https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 12 May 2026 05:06:27 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/3#post-2694277 Thu, 09 Feb 2017 06:41:38 +0000 looch 2694277@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: those are all awesome! We've done something similar, where we've committed to some weekly discussions to kind of get us back to having a touchpoint so we can discuss what's going on. </p> <p>At the end of the day, our difficulties financially are that we tend to "secret spend" small amounts and then before you know it, we've got a huge credit card bill or 70 amazon orders in a month. We're also going on vacation this month for a short time and we're not sure about the rest of the year. The hard part is that I am also going to be stopping working at the end of this month, so our income is going to go down by half and I am very jittery about it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/3#post-2694217 Wed, 08 Feb 2017 21:20:56 +0000 Mae 2694217@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>2017: baby #2 arrives</p> <p>2018: DH gets snipped. NO MORE BABIES. Also try not to lose mind with baby and preschooler. </p> <p>2019: Remember I have a job. Try to stop sucking at job (assume there will be some suck-age in 2018)</p> <p>2020: Work on figuring out what I want next from my career. Also work on paying down student loans. </p> <p>2021: Hopefully be in/working towards my next long-term position and be done paying off my student debt. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2694201 Wed, 08 Feb 2017 20:18:14 +0000 MissLace 2694201@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>2017:<br /> have baby #2 (due in April!)<br /> Get a 2nd pup (just brought her home 3 weeks ago!)<br /> Get a promotion (wouldn't happen until Dec 2017)<br /> DH either get a significant raise or a higher paying job<br /> Pay off my student loan</p> <p>2018:<br /> we'll have 2 kids in full time daycare, so i don't expect to save any money for the foreseeable future...</p> <p>2019:<br /> start TTC baby #3 (our last one) so that they're born in 2020 (so we'll never be paying for more than 2 in daycare since my oldest will be in kindergarden by then).</p> <p>2020:<br /> Have baby #3!</p> <p>2021: TBD </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2694184 Wed, 08 Feb 2017 19:33:21 +0000 matador84 2694184@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>6+ months of emergency funds in savings<br /> no credit card debit<br /> add to retirement/529/college savings for kids<br /> refinance house at 15 year mortgage vs 30 year<br /> 10 year anniversary trip </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2694170 Wed, 08 Feb 2017 19:04:43 +0000 sunny 2694170@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: I actually don't love Mr. Money Mustache. I find that he's a bit impractical for me, though admittedly I read a few blog entries and then haven't gone back. He no longer has a 9-5 so he's able to trade his time to save money. DH &amp; I work 40+ hours a week so it isn't always practical to spend time to do something that an "affordable" amount of money could achieve. </p> <p>@looch: DH &amp; I sit down and look at our full financial picture once a month. We review all of our accounts: savings, investments, retirement, mortgage balance, etc. I found that by doing it monthly we got into the habit of doing it. When it was less frequently, we would forget and then it wouldn't be done for a year. It only takes about an hour, so it isn't a big time commitment. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2693814 Wed, 08 Feb 2017 12:58:49 +0000 KayKay 2693814@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I typically have not been big on 5y plans (TTC/pregnancy/kids and medical training are all too volatile to predict or plan around!), but now that we're done with the babymaking and relatively settled, we're talking about it.</p> <p>Interesting to read all of the ideas on here -- keep it up! :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2693804 Wed, 08 Feb 2017 12:53:43 +0000 luckylifemummy 2693804@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>love this post! so many great plans</p> <p>-buy a house<br /> -baby #2<br /> -buy a second car (and pay it off asap)<br /> -vacation<br /> -build up savings </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2693386 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 21:49:21 +0000 travellingbee 2693386@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Get kids out of daycare!<br /> Pay off cars.<br /> Start saving aggressively into 401k again.<br /> Take a big family vacation (Disney or Hawaii) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2693383 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 21:47:18 +0000 skipra 2693383@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have a list of house items to complete including a kitchen reconfigurement, adding a shower to our half bath, replacing some windows, and a lot of work on the exterior and landscaping.<br /> We will be done growing our family by then but not 100% decided if we are done now or will try for one more. If we are done, I will be looking to go back to work or school part time when our youngest is in preschool.<br /> I want to take the kids to Disney and go on a nice trip for our 10 year anniversary.<br /> And this is a silly, little thing, but I want to make yearly photo books! I haven't been good about them so I need to get started. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2693339 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 20:32:30 +0000 808love 2693339@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Save! :-) Actively exercise outdoors again and implement plant based diet consistently. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2693333 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 20:15:00 +0000 Anagram 2693333@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: We agreed to a date night at least 1x a month, agreed to the big vacation I wanted this summer with a budget DH thought was reasonable, agreed to keep a very small portion of DHs bonus to potentially give me some kind of part time childcare this summer when I'm off work, and agreed to put everything else into the house. So we're both happy at the end of it.</p> <p>Our homework after the discussion is to calculate the benefits of paying off the house (saving interest) vs putting more money into college funds and to seriously try to nail down what kind of childcare we will be using next year. I already called 1 after school care place today and we have an appt for a tour on Friday. I really, really love our nanny but as part of our homework, I agreed to explore other options for next year so we can run numbers and maybe meet all of our spending/saving goals at the same time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2693120 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 14:57:31 +0000 Ajsmommy 2693120@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Family will be complete when LO2 arrives this month.. soooo... </p> <p>1. decide whether to remain in current home and make adjustments to it or sell it and buy a better fitted house in same neighborhood<br /> 2. regular big vacations (Disney, tropical, sight seeing out west)<br /> 3. save, we have maxed out our 401k's, our savings account is where we want it so now we are exploring other investment/saving options/college savings<br /> 4. new cars when current ones need replacing </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2693119 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 14:57:19 +0000 looch 2693119@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: I am just curious, what were the compromises? Is it along the lines of eat out twice a month, or get a housekeeper once a month, or get a second job?</p> <p>My husband and I hadn't had a state of the family finances in a long time and I wasn't aware of what the full financial picture really looked like. I was thinking we were one paycheck away from living on the street when in fact, it wasn't like that at all, but I tend to paint things a lot worse than they are. Once we had that discussion and I saw on "paper" what things really were, I was able to calm myself down. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2693090 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 14:41:45 +0000 Anagram 2693090@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PawPrints: I'll check out that blog. Sounds good! </p> <p>To clarify, Dh doesn't want to pay off the house instead of fully funding our retirement or saving money in other vehicles. He wants to do all that AND put more money into the house, instead of pay for luxuries like a house cleaner or a nanny or big vacations or eating out regularly. So we have had to sit down and come up with compromises and each talk out what we need, what our goals are, etc. But we did that last night and came up with a plan that satisfies both of us.. It was good! We also walked away with homework for each of us. I kind of want to have these talks monthly now...like a "state of the _______ family finances" talk, haha. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2693028 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 13:14:48 +0000 PawPrints 2693028@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: Are you or your DH familiar with the blog Mr. Money Mustache? His whole approach to finance is about finding ways to cut down on your spending while still loving your life and enjoying it to the absolute fullest - seems like it could be a great avenue for combining what your DH wants with what you want. The MMM philosophy is all about recentering your desires away from expensive material needs and shifting toward getting joy from free/cheap activities (like playing in the park with your kids or cooking meals with friends etc). So you end up cutting your spending by a lot, achieving major financial goals quickly, without feeling like you're sacrificing your family's happiness. Could be worth a look. It really is smart to cut your expenses if you can, but I disagree with your DH about using that money to pay off the mortgage; it would be smarter to put that money into your 401(k) or a market investment account. </p> <p>As for us - we are very lucky that we have no debt at all, made a seriously lucky investment with our first home that has paid off big-time in this crazy housing market, and have been able to stick with our jobs while staying in the neighborhood we love. So our only real 5-year goals are:<br /> -Buy a slightly bigger house (though we may wait a while on this since we love where we live) and decide whether to sell our current home or make it a rental/income property<br /> -Have another baby<br /> -Probably eventually replace our car, which turns 10 years old this year!<br /> -Regular vacations (some with kids, some just DH and I, some with grandparents)<br /> -Stick with our current aggressive savings approach (we've maxed our 401(k) withholding for years, and are funneling a lot into DD's 529, and have a high goal for our investments on top of all that) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2692928 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 11:00:53 +0000 nwm 2692928@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>loving thinking about this too! goals in semi-chronological order:<br /> -make partner at my firm (hopefully this december)<br /> -go from family of 3 to family of 4 and later maybe 5<br /> -build up retirement and 529 savings<br /> -pay off our house<br /> -make next 5 year plan<br /> @anagram, I am like you, I think it's worth it to enjoy some expenses in the short term and wait a little longer on the mortgage. but for us, our forever house is in a neighboring state to where we're currently working, so the goal is to pay it off and then start planning to get out of the rat race where we are now, so both of us can afford to be more flexible in taking our next jobs, and with LO in great neighborhood public schools. we're still not sure the exact time frame for that.<br /> if DH had input, he'd probably add like three major construction projects on our house that would torpedo most of the financial goals i have outlined! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2692886 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 10:37:01 +0000 sapphire 2692886@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>-have kiddo #2 (due this year)<br /> -pay off car #1 (will do this after taxes this year)<br /> -replace car #2 and have paid off<br /> -finish our basement (probably 2019)<br /> -last of student loans paid off by 2020 (only have my professional school loans left)<br /> -at least one major vacation per year (Hawaii this year, Jamaica next year) with a sans kids trip for our 10 year anniversary in 2020<br /> -start 529 for kiddo #2 and increase payments to each - plan to increase significantly once LO #1 starts public school<br /> -move from full time to part time work by 2020</p> <p>I guess most of this is financial! We're fortunate in that we already own the home that we will be in for at least the next 10 years and both have jobs we love. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2692869 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 10:21:29 +0000 Anagram 2692869@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We did sit down and make a 5 year plan last night! It was a long, drawn out, and much needed conversation. And we came to some compromises and agreements, which was great.</p> <p>I was resistant at first, because I'm just not into these things, but now I'm super glad we did it. And I got to add in my own line items into our 5 year plan/budget, so I think it was a win-win. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2692862 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 10:08:26 +0000 Anagram 2692862@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@petitenoisette: Yeah, he doesn't like debt of any kind. For example, he's never financed a car in his life. Didn't take out loans for his undergrad or his grad degree. His big dream is to pay off our house now, sell and go elsewhere and pay cash for a house. Just because it would feel good to pay cash and never pay a dime of interest.</p> <p>I don't think it's a bad way to be, it's just different than what I would do, so we have to talk things out and think about different angles. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2692859 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 10:05:13 +0000 yellowbird 2692859@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Get a real job<br /> Move<br /> Buy a "forever house" that we will stay in at least through high school for our children </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2692851 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 10:01:57 +0000 petitenoisette 2692851@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: @sunny: I had the same thought regarding paying off your house faster. What does paying off the house allow you to do in the future (versus the trade offs of what it will allow you to not do now)? </p> <p>I get the sense that this is an anxiety driven goal for your DH and not based on examining all the pros and cons...<br /> (sorry, if this is overstepping to say, I know I don't know you personally but just from what you've written!) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2692788 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 08:53:15 +0000 LuLu Mom 2692788@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>5 year plan:<br /> - move into home (we are beginning process of building currently and will hopefully be in the next 6-7 months. This will be house until kids girls graduate from high school most likely)<br /> - have our 3rd and final baby<br /> - pay off credit card &amp; car loan<br /> - pay down student loans - most likely be 7-8 years on the plan we have mapped out<br /> - finish basement in house (not fully finishing it right away and doing it on our own)<br /> - Disney trip<br /> - 10 year anniversary trip </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2692781 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 08:41:50 +0000 Bao 2692781@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>-Pay off all debt except house and a car (mine is 12 years old I'll need a new to me car in the next 3 years I'm sure)<br /> -have 1 year emergency fund<br /> -continue small house projects </p> <p>Not a lot planned really, just trying to get ourselves to a comfortable financial state. We have less than 17k in debt (minus house) so I think it's totally doable! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2692778 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 08:40:31 +0000 MrsBrewer 2692778@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Love this thread! It really has me thinking!</p> <p>1. Move into our forever home. We only took out a 15 year mortgage on our starter home and we've been here 5 years now. A huge chunk has been paid off already giving us a decent down payment to work with. </p> <p>2. Pay off more student loans. 1 will be paid off with taxes this year. But we will still have 40k left. </p> <p>3. But minivan. This will be in the next few months. </p> <p>4. Possibly have #3 &amp; #4. I'm due with #2 in August and want our kids close in age. </p> <p>5. Try to actually take a vacation! We haven't yet since DD was born. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2692777 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 08:31:16 +0000 Silva 2692777@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Have one or two more babies.</p> <p>Be halfway through paying off student loan debt (this is, sadly, ambitious but doable)</p> <p>My husband will be partnered in his medical practice in 4.5 years. Our plan after that is to get our current house ready to sell and hopefully by 5.5-6 years from now be in our forever house.</p> <p>I'm not sure what will happen with my work. I may stay at one day a week for a while, or increase hours when the youngest kid is in preschool. Depends on how many we have and how crazy it feels! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2692775 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 08:26:39 +0000 jetsa 2692775@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This is such a great thread, without my husbands input I'd say our 5 year goals are:<br /> -review the books and most likely buy into my firm<br /> -meet with a financial planner and discuss 529's, paying off our mortgage, and retirement savings<br /> -take one big vacation each year<br /> -Camp close to home 2-3 times each year, and farther away 1-2 (including the beach this year)</p> <p>There are other things that will happen over the next 5 years but I think these are the big things that I want to make sure happen. We are taking a parent only trip this weekend. We should discuss this. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2692763 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 06:54:49 +0000 Cherrybee 2692763@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are almost a year into our 5 year plan, which takes us up to our 40th birthdays, by which time both of our children will be in school and we will only have before and after school childcare and holiday provision to pay for. </p> <p>Last year we achieved:<br /> - baby born to complete our family<br /> - new kitchen<br /> - me lose weight (40lb gone) </p> <p>2017:<br /> - me get new job (provisional offer made!)<br /> - DH get promotion<br /> - pay off credit card (ran up while I on mat leave)<br /> - become part of school community (we find out in April which school E is going to) </p> <p>Beyond:<br /> - build extension<br /> - loft conversion<br /> - career development for both of us</p> <p>I'm aiming to start having occasional date nights going forward, but only once the credit card is paid off. I guess that will start with some regularity next year. We prioritise annual family holidays (vacations) but alternate between staying in the UK and going abroad. We went to Ibiza last year. We are staying in the UK this year, going to Devon, and plan to take the girls abroad in 2018. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2692760 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 06:15:31 +0000 farawayyama 2692760@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>1. DH gets a good post grad school job<br /> 2. Buy a house<br /> 3. Have baby #2 (and done)<br /> 4. Pay down a lot of our debt<br /> 5. Buy DH a new (to us) car in cash<br /> 6. Go home to NZ, ideally twice<br /> 7. Take another international trip </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2692754 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 04:23:31 +0000 SugarplumsMom 2692754@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>- Secure a job that I'm happy with<br /> - Finish all of our home renovations<br /> - Upgrade our car to something more roomy<br /> - Pay off our student loans </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-familys-5-year-plan/page/2#post-2692752 Tue, 07 Feb 2017 02:05:49 +0000 mrsbubbletea 2692752@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This really is a great thread. We haven't really discussed and it we so should! That being said, I know we definitely want to:<br /> -have our second baby (that's on my as soon as possible list, fingers crossed)<br /> -do some repairs on our home this year (new doors, minor kitchen work, a couple windows, roof)<br /> -determine if we want to remodel or move<br /> -continue with one nice vacation per year (not necessarily fancy, but so far we went to Maui last year and my MIL's home country the year before) </p>