How I Plan On Reaching My Financial Goals This Year

New year, new goals!

Last month, I shared with you my Parental New Year Resolutions, and it got me excited about other goals that I pledged for 2018. Being a busy mom means that you must have priorities in place to make sure you reach your resolutions, and one of my biggest priorities is making sure that my financial health is in check.

When I was younger, I wasn’t very good with money. Because I was a single mom, I was always behind on my bills. My credit was not very good so I didn’t have any credit cards, but just maintaining the bills that I had was too much.

As I got older, and got better paying jobs, I was able to get financially stable. Alongside getting married and now being a double income home, I began to take a closer look at my credit. I was able to then pay my bills on time and get a few credit cards, which I would use, then pay off in full. This helped me build my credit, and now, I am experiencing the best credit I’ve ever had.

Keeping my financial house in order means that I am also showing my kids that it is important to be smart about your money. Hopefully these habits have a positive affect on them as well.

Here are a few ways that I plan on reaching my financial goals this year.

Contributing more to my daughter’s college

My daughter will be attending high school this fall, which means college is only four years away. We’ve been saving for her college education since she was born, but I plan on contributing double that amount starting this month. With the rising costs of college, I want to make sure that we are able to afford it without the stress of taking out a lot of loans.

Opening a Retirement Account

Surprisingly, I don’t have a retirement account—oy vey! I have savings, but not one that has been earmarked for retirement. I will be 43 this year, and I would love the opportunity to retire in 20 years. I will be opening a retirement account and will be adding a substantial amount to it monthly. I will do this by working with an advisor and investing using expert advice and guidance.

Zero Debt

My dream is to have zero debt by paying off everything—mortgages, lines of credit, credit cards, the works. I will cut my travel and discretionary income in half and begin working on each of these, tackling them one-by-one. By November, if everything works the way I plan, I won’t have any debt to my name.

Increasing Passive Income

As a professional blogger, it is important for me to have as many streams of income as possible. To do this, I need to have passive income that makes money for me so I can work smarter, not harder. This year, I have several passive income projects in the works including a new book, a new brand partnership, and a series of online workshops and courses.

Doing all of this will help me get all of the things I named above done.

2018 is the year that will be the best yet! Make smart money decisions, increase streams of income, and get serious about saving for college and retirement. Those are all of my financial goals for 2018.

You can learn more about options to help you save for your child’s college education by visiting Country Financial. A local rep can help you review your options and  assist you in figuring out what makes the most sense for you and the needs of your family. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram as well for financial updates!

This post is sponsored by Country Financial but thoughts and opinions expressed are mine.