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Last Updated on February 16, 2020 by Diane Hoffmaster
Our personal budget has been stretched fairly thin for the last few months and I'm researching examples of personal financial goals to help me save money. After the slightly out of control holiday spending came a trip to London (not cheap!) and a few first of the year expenses (darn you Home Owner's Association!) and now we are looking at a very slim balance in the bank. With two teens who one day soon will want to go to college, we need to learn how to save money in ways that don't involve me giving up my organic food or my iPhone. A girl has to have standards, right? So, here are a few things I have put on my financial to do list in the next few months that I am hoping will help save me a few dollars.
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4 Examples of Personal Financial Goals
Ditch the PMI on the mortgage
I have lived in this house for 12 years. We started with a 30-year loan but refinanced several years ago to a 15-year loan. I am still paying for private mortgage insurance at a rate of about $60 per month. (for those of you not familiar with PMI, it is basically insurance that you pay for to protect the bank in case you default on your loan.) In order to get that taken OFF my mortgage, I need to fill out a ton of paperwork that I have just not gotten around to doing yet. You have to have paid a certain percentage of your loan off already to remove the PMI which I am also working on by making additional payments to the loan principle every month. Once that PMI is gone, that $60 per month will go directly to the principle of the loan which will allow me to pay off my mortgage faster. Call your bank to ask if you are wasting money on PMI!
Automatic Payroll and Bank Deductions
You can't spend what you don't see in your bank account, right? We have been signing up for automatic payroll and bank deductions to remove the money from our site so it doesn't get spent. Payroll deductions can help you save money on taxes depending on where you invest them or if you are donating them to a worthy cause. Bank deductions can go to a savings account or to any number of stocks, bonds, money market accounts, etc. Talk to your human resources people or a financial adviser about how to set up automatic deductions.
Boost Our Rainy Day Fund
We used to have a decent rainy day fund to draw on in an emergency. And then we had about 6 years of home repairs that dwindled that down way below where it should be and we haven't done anything about it. While we still have home repairs that need to be done, we are taking a bit of a hiatus for a couple of years until we can get the rainy day fund back on track. It has gotten too easy to use that emergency fund for things that are 'wants' rather than 'needs'. If you don't have a rainy day fund yet, this is one thing that must go on your financial to do list. Put those automatic deductions to work and start saving for an emergency.
Start Searching for College Scholarships
If you are looking for examples of personal financial goals and you have kids in high school, this one is important! My son is a Junior in high school this year so we have a year or so to go before colleges start looking for their money. However, do you know how many college scholarships exist out there? Do you know how many of them get unused because no one knows about them? According to Scholarships.com, you should start looking for college scholarships during your child's junior year in high school. I have a TON of work to do in the coming months to see if we can find financial help in paying for college.
If you search online you will find a ton of examples of personal financial goals to help you save money. Everyone is at a different place in life and will have different goals and strategies to trim down their personal budget and save money long term. What works for one person may not be a good fit for someone else. I would love to know what YOU have planned for this year in terms of setting financial goals!
Have any examples of personal financial goals to share? Leave a comment!
Check out my financial wellness checklist for more budget tips!
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician at Good Pill Pharmacy. She has two college aged kids, one husband and more pets than she will admit to. She earned her BS in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire but left her career in science to become a stay at home mom. Years of playing with LEGO and coloring with crayons had her craving a more grown up purpose to her life and she began blogging and freelance writing full time. You can learn more about her HERE.
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