There's an article going around that a lot of personal finance bloggers are writing about on their blogs. I figured I'd do so as well since I enjoy all this personal finance stuff.
20 Financial Milestones For Your 20s
# 1 – Finance a dream vacation…in cash – NOT REALLY
Considering I’m not even sure what my dream vacation is, this is a no for now. Maybe a honeymoon someday? I did pay for a cruise back in 2008 (2009?) and of course it was in cash, so I suppose that somewhat counts. That was not a dream vacation though. I don't see myself ever taking a really elaborate trip but we'll see how this one turns out.
# 2 – Pay off your student loans - CHECK
Never had any to begin with. I was pretty anti-student loans and was lucky enough to never have to use them.
# 3 – Automate paying your credit card bill in full – N/A
This is a no because I want to force myself to review the bill every month when I get it. If I automate it I’d stop checking it.
# 4 – Get rid of all bad debt – CHECK
My only debt is my mortgage and it’s not considered "bad" debt in the personal finance world.
# 5 – Build an adequate emergency fund - CHECK
This was the first thing I did after graduating from college. I probably need to re-asses how much money I want in there and see if I need to beef it up now that I’m a homeowner though.
# 6 – Make your first, and last, investment mistake - NO
Well, I opened a Roth IRA in 2008 and it promptly lost 50% of its value when the market crashed. It’s now about back to where it began. I suppose that wasn’t a mistake so I guess I still need to try real investing before I’ll make my first mistake.
# 7 – Develop a statement of cash flows - CHECK
I use
Mint.com. Best financial tool I’ve ever used.
# 8 & 9 Max out a Roth & Contribute to your 401(k) – NO (Not Doing)
I haven’t been contributing to a Roth since I left my last job that had a Roth 401k. I’m also not going to be maxing out my traditional 401K this year but I am contributing 10% and that’s enough for me. I don’t need to be rich in retirement and there are better things I can be doing with that money now.
# 10 – Get a degree or certification that increases your earning power – NO (Not Doing)
Considering that I want to be a stay at home mom I don’t really see the point of getting another degree at this point. Sometimes I think about the fact that I could get my work to pay for a Masters and I consider it but then I think about all the other things (ministries I’m involved in) that I’d have to give up to make that happen and that’s not worth it to me.
# 11 – Take a career risk - NO
Probably never will.
# 12 – Negotiate something - CHECK
I negotiated the price of my Elantra when I bought it in 2007. I had just turned 20 so it counts for this decade of my life.
# 13 – Earn your first side grand – NO (Not Doing)
Unless I get into a major blogging spree and try to advertise my blog I don’t see myself making any side income. I could easy do side jobs using my programming skills but I program enough at work and as side projects for ministries, I don’t want to program even more. Plus I just don’t care about making extra money.
# 14 – Start a sub-savings account for an upcoming financial goal - YES
I did this when I bought my house. I also realized that I really hate it when I zero out an account, even if it’s for a good thing.
# 15 – Set a target retirement date – NO (Not Doing)
I have no idea what God is going to do with my life. I’m not going to try to plan something that is potentially 40 years down the road.
# 16 – Monitor your credit - YES
I get my credit report every 4 months exactly on schedule. I haven’t gotten my credit score since I bought my house in 2009. But since nothing is showing up on my report and I’m not interested in taking out a loan or anything that would require my score, I’m not concerned about it right now.
# 17 – Say no to a financial salesman - NOPE
Does throwing away credit card offers count? I get about two of those a day.
# 18 – Give just enough to make it hurt – COULD DO BETTER
I definitely give. And I tithe the classic 10% like a good Christian. But I want to make sure that I take the blessing that God gives me and use it to bless ministries.
2 Milestones for the Over Achiever
# 19 – Invest $1 for every $1 you spend - NOPE
Definitely not doing this, although that would be pretty awesome.
# 20 – Start a 529 College Savings Plan – NO (Not Doing)
I have no plans of setting up saving plans for kids that don’t even exist. And even if I had kids, I’m not sure I’m going to pay for college for them. We'll see when the time comes I guess. I think I’m better off having been forced to take that responsibility on myself.
