I was considering writing some new year’s resolutions, but most of the ones from last year still apply, many unfulfilled.
Some are just continuing goals… the major one I did get done was to buy a house (though it wasn’t before the winter as intended).
The new goal for this year is to get the house fitted out properly… new couch(es), new desk, rugs, outdoor furniture, all that kind of stuff. And (though it may conflict) I’m also aiming to pay off 20% of my home loan this year.
7 replies on “Happy New Year”
Ugh, you’ve reminded me – on my wall is still hanging the resolutions for 2004. 2005 had none and neither did 2006.
Paying 20% off the loan is a big ask, but if you achieve it then the mortgage should be as good as gone by age 40 which will be really something!
Maybe even good enough to write a book about – there’s a lady who wrote a best-selling book about paying off her mortgage in 5 years (by someone who did it in three). But her house is in some fringe area in Qld and would’ve been way cheaper than yours.
She’s since gone on to write best sellers in related areas, eg investment and even personal success (which is what investment authors do when investing loses its fad status).
You can’t buy furniture AND pay off that much of that gargantuan home loan with two school-age kids and one income. Even a well above average one.
Last year I made two similarly conflicting resolutions. I bought the motorbike, but I didn’t pay off as much debt as I wanted to.
Happy New Year to you too and I hope your resolutions are kept by the end of the year. Good Luck!
Well, you have to have a goal that’s at least a little ambitious, right? I admit, I didn’t have the figures in front of me when I wrote that… turns out that in the first 2 1/2 months, I’ve paid off about 4% of the loan. Not sure I can keep that momentum up though.
A trap to be wary of is that when the mortgage is new there can sometimes be a frenzy to make extra payments early on (which is no bad thing).
But then the mortgage becomes part of life and the concept of owing $X00 000 becomes no great deal, especially if there’s no issue about being able to meet the payments. Especially when values are rising and/or the debt is tax deductible then enthusiasm to accelerate payments drops off (and sometimes with a sound financial reason too).
A book I was reading said goals should be SMART –
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time Limit
Not that I can talk, with my procrastination on resolutions for the last year or two!
My goal this year is just to buy my First home. I’m already on the way in a big way. The only reason why I won’t have got the property will be that I haven’t found the one that I want.
My resolution is to lose weight and ever since the clock struck midnight on 31st, I have had a constant craving for chocolate. Must go and buy some fresh fruit as a substitute but most of the good greengrocers are closed and the thought of BiLo fruit doesn’t exactly get my gastric juices flowing.