My Financial Goals for 2021
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2020 was my first full year making big-girl dollars at my big girl job, while also paying rent and health insurance. I had everything under control, while I tried to enjoy the wintry city with my friends and coworkers. I was very fortunate to have financial stability under my feet, as the world turned upside down in the wake of the coronavirus. In the grand scheme of things, I came out of 2020 unscathed, but could use some newfound motivation and aspirations. In an attempt to hold myself accountable, why not post about some of my financial goals for 2021. I won’t disclose my goal amounts, as I don’t want anyone to think they need to compare numbers, but there are some things I hope to work on and meet next year.
If you didn’t know, I also provide content for the finance blog SistersForFI. Check out the article “25 Money Goals for my 25th Year” which was my take of the same-title from The Financial Diet. On SistersForFI, it’s the same list of items, but a bit shorter, and centered on the idea of achieving these goals as a 25 year old. The nice thing about December birthdays (besides the holiday season, of course!) is that it’s easy to align your goals/resolutions with the upcoming new year. It’s a great time to reflect on the past 12 months and see what you can do next. In no particular order, here’s what I’ve got in mind:
Bulk up my Emergency Fund. 2020 was a particularly scary year, riddled with instability for many. I was very fortunate to maintain my current job, without any pay/hour cuts, but it’s pertinent that I continue to grow my emergency fund. I currently have about 3 solid months saved, but am aiming to have 6 months saved.
Pay Off More Student Loans. I was able to pay off a solid chunk of my student loans this year, but I hope to maintain a similar amount for the following year, but the only caveat is that federal student loan interest will kick back as a result of the student loan forbearance extension expiring. It was a good run to take advantage of not having interest pile up. My goal is to eliminate all my student debt by the time I’m 30. I’ m on track of paying off $30k before I turn 30.
Contribute to my ROTH IRA. I plan on maximizing my employer’s 401k match again this year, but I also want to start putting money towards my Roth IRA, even if it’s a nominal amount every month. I didn’t think I would put so much emphasis on retirement accounts in my mid-twenties, but here we are.
Save and Budget for a Move. The biggest thing that I foresee eating away at my savings account is my impending move in 2021. My apartment lease expires at the end of summer 2021. I would probably move in with my boyfriend and we would have to budget for a new place, including first month’s rent, security deposit, a broker's fee, and furniture. I luckily have pieces that I can bring over to my new place, but there are definitely new expenses coming my way.
Hopefully Pay Less for Rent! I’m currently paying what I would consider at the top of my budget, so I would like to pay less OR pay about the same, but with added amenities and/or space. My priorities with apartment living have changed since the pandemic and it would be nice to have more space for an office and hobbies. My priorities in the apartment-hunt has also changed, so with different priorities comes different spending!
Implement No-Spend Challenges. As an avid physical (pre-Covid) and online window shopper, I find bliss in adding things to my shopping cart and then closing the tab. Sometimes, the sales get the better of me. I’m hoping to implement periodic no-spend challenges, whether it be for a week or a month on various things like eating out, clothes, miscellaneous, or everything. I also plan on telling a few close friends about my plans, and even letting them randomly select weeks in 2021, so I can be held accountable for my actions. I already have a few weeks marked on my calendar!
Open a Credit Card and Use It Wisely! It sounds counterintuitive to have all these financial goals and then say I want a credit card. With great caution, I want to use a card to rack up points on things that I’m already spending money on, so I can later use points for travel. Elaine, you don’t have a credit card already? I do. I have an American Express, but I’m technically under my mother and only used the card for school-related purchases in college. I realized Amex didn’t rule all when I needed to travel outside the country. I ended up getting a temporary card from Chase for a bit, under my sister. I then paid off that debt. Now, I don’t use any credit cards, so while I keep the Amex open since it’s an older account, I’d like a card with better rewards for my needs. While I don’t want to be wrapped up in the gamification of collecting points, I do want to be able to rack up points to make a larger purchase in the future. My goal is to never have an actual balance on the card and pay it off each month.
Donate More to Causes I Care About. This past year has really highlighted the many struggles that have been existing in society and I have the financial means to help others. Whether it’s to social justice organizations, environmental impact funds, food banks, or natural disaster relief, I want to be able to give back. I also want to look more into local groups that I could donate to.
Actually go to the Doctor(s). As I’ve shuffled around the past couple years and switched from being on my mom’s insurance plan to my school’s to my own through my employer, I haven’t really gone to the doctor much. I’ve gone to local urgent care walk-in clinics, but have yet to establish a new PCP. I wanted to sort this all out in 2020, but with the pandemic, it was easier to just stay home, but I know that since I am paying for my insurance I should get some use out of it and get my routine check-ups!
Shop My Own Closet. For someone who has been WFH since March and doesn’t typically get dressed everyday, I’ve gotten a lot of new additions to my closet. It’s time to stop buying and actually get some use out of my closet.
Prioritize secondhand, thrift, and local. If I am feeling some need for retail therapy, I should focus on buying thrifted or locally. I used to hate shopping online because of sizing, but over the years, I’ve slowly grown accustomed to it all and am now too familiar with it. I admit, I also have an Amazon Prime account. Can you believe there was a time where we just bought items from the actual store and didn’t rely on 2-day delivery? It’s rare that I really ever NEED something that urgent, so I can forgo convenience.
Mend and Reinvent. Not only should I wear the good clothes I already have, but I should learn to properly mend my clothes, whether it’s fixing a button or closing a rip. I can also get creative and DIY it into something personalized and new. In the past, I’ve gotten creative with a pair of scissors and fabric glue, but would like to build my DIY skills.
Invest? Perhaps it’s time to buy shares in other companies and do the whole build and “diversify your portfolio” thing. As easy as it is to think about the big names out there, I want to also think about the companies that align with my needs and morals. Time to learn more about investing!
Take Advantage of At-Home Workouts. I simply need to get more use out of the yoga mat I have and the millions of free workout videos available online. I was pretty good about it during the summer, but have fallen off since then. My current go-to YouTube channels are The Fitness Marshall, MadFit, Rachel Gulotta Fitness, and Blogilates.
Practice Health is Wealth. Medical expenses can cost you, so I’d like to practice healthier habits beyond that of just doing cardio inside my apartment!
Take advantage of additional Employee Benefits. I know my employer has an EAP, or Employer Assistance Program, where they offer assessments, counseling, and services to employees who are seeking help for personal or work-related problems. I think it would be helpful to look into their free mental health and financial services.
Invest in my Career. This is a bit open ended, but I want to start taking exams for my architecture license, as well as join an organization or two related to my field. This also includes taking advantage of free resources for educational enrichment, like attending free lectures and dedicating time to updating my resume, portfolio, website, and online profiles.
Save for Other Short-Term Goals. I currently just save with the intention of building my emergency fund, as well as saving for a new apartment. However, I want to establish other savings goals adjacent to my bigger goals. My two short-term goals would be to 1)Save for my next vacation 2)Save to build a custom PC. Who doesn’t want to go on vacation? And once I feel safe travelling on a plane again, I can’t wait to leave! On the PC note, I currently do a lot of my casual web browsing on my work laptop, which is not ideal. I’ve been inspired by setups I’ve seen on YouTube and aesthetic desks on Pinterest, so it would be nice to have a new PC and workspace.
Consider Side Hustles. What can I monetize? What can I make and sell? I wonder what I could create and/or do to make a passive income. I lowkey hate the idea of monetizing everything and I don’t want to suck the life out of my hobbies, but I do want to explore other ways of making income besides my 9-5. Whether it’s designing things to sell on Etsy, monetizing this blog, or something else, I’d like to consider the hustle (virtually). I’m not necessarily trying to do the whole case-by-case gig thing.
Grow my Net Worth. For the first time this year, I saw my net worth in the positives. Of course all my goals are aimed to help my financial situation (save, pay off debt, invest), but I want to keep in mind that I’m already in the positives and should aim higher!
Curb Take-Out and Food Delivery Services. Prior to Covid, I spent money on actual groceries and dining out in the city. During WFH, I spend my food money on general groceries, delivery (UberEats, GrubHub), and grocery-delivery services (InstaCart). While I want to continue supporting the local restaurants in my area, I need to be more conscious of when and how much I’m spending.
Live and Spend More Sustainably. I’m on a slow sustainability journey and as I finish up certain products within the next year, I’d like to explore more sustainable options and alternatives that could change my lifestyle. My first big change in 2021 is that my sister is gifting me a Tushy!
Reset and Automate. I was pretty good about automating my savings and loan payments prior to 2020, but during the pandemic I started to make more manual payments for whatever reason. Time to automate again!
Cut my Screen Time. For some peace of mind and to give myself a well-needed break, duh. That time could be used to do other things! No, I don’t need to be productive ~for the grind~, but to give my head a break from the digital space.
Be Flexible. 2020 is not what we expected, and we don’t know what 2021 has in store, so while I do have all these money goals, I shouldn’t be hard on myself for slipping up sometimes. It’s a good thing to be flexible and adaptive.
Hopefully this may have inspired you to think about your financial goals for the new year. We’re all at different stages of our life — physically, mentally, and financially, so don’t treat my list as your own. You also don’t need 25 goals! I’ll report back in a year to see how things have changed. Hopefully for the better! Anyways, take action in 2021 and do what you can to make the best out of it.