Financial Goals 2008

With 2007 quickly coming to a close, I would like to give you my financial goals for 2008.

1. ROTH IRA's. Having just gotten married in July, my husband and I are playing catch-up for our 2007 ROTH's. In July, we set up automatic contributions for his ROTH and increased the contributions to mine. By April of 2008, we need $2580 more in my husband's ROTH and $2380 more in my ROTH. We're hoping a tax return with mortgage interest and property tax paid on two houses until September will help us out with this. We also plan to put $4000 into each 2008 ROTH by December of 2008.
A stretch goal for us would be to put an extra $1000 into each ROTH for 2008, which is the new maximum. We both started saving for retirement at an early age, so we don't need to do this, but it sure wouldn't hurt!

2. New Car Fund. My husband is very adamant about never having a car loan, and I agree with him. We're planning on a "new" car in about 3 years, one that will actually be about 2-3 years old at the time of purchase. We currently own a 1998 Honda Accord (hubby's) and a 2000 Ford Mustang (mine!), both paid for. I think my car, though newer, will probably be the first one replaced. I don't want to even think about attempting to get a car seat in the backseat of my Mustang or fitting a stroller in my minuscule trunk!
Our goal for 2008 is to add $3900 to the balance of our new car fund. Since we'll want to replace my husband's car soon after mine, our stretch goal would be to add $4500 to the balance of this account.

3. Emergency Fund. While we currently have at least 6 months of living expenses in our savings account, we don't have that much of it designated as "emergency fund" money. Our goal is to increase this fund by $2600 by the end of 2008.

4. New Siding Fund. My husband bought the house we currently live in about two years ago, and the paint on the exterior is beginning to peel pretty badly. The house is big enough to raise a family in, so we decided that we'd like to stay for the long run if possible. Given that, we've decided that instead of repainting, we are going to put vinyl siding on the house. Though more expensive, it should last a lot longer. We haven't gotten a quote yet, so we're not exactly sure of the cost, but we have a general idea. We would like to put new siding on by the spring of 2009, sooner if we can save up the money.
Our 2008 goal is to add $4000 to this fund. Our stretch goal is to save enough to put the siding on sooner, meaning another $2000 saved. We'd also then have to have all of this saved before the snow flies here in Wisconsin. This makes our stretch goal read "to add $6000 to our siding fund by October of 2008."

I will try to give updates on these goals throughout the year. Do you have financial goals for 2008? If so, what are they? If not, below are some other blogger's 2008 Financial Goals. Maybe they'll give you some inspiration!

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