As 2011 comes to a close, I’m left reflecting over what the past year has brought. I’m feeling overwhelmingly grateful as I stop to remember all that has been accomplished this year.
- Paid off almost $27,000 in consumer debt.
- Built an emergency fund of over $13,000.
- Shaved hundreds off of our living expenses.
- Created this blog and connected with all of you!
Things weren’t always this rosy for us.
When our oldest son was one, Kirk and I embarked on a journey to change our circumstances. Kirk wanted to get out of the roofing industry, and I had just closed an ice-cream shop.
Kirk decided to try his hand at real estate and I went back to school to learn more about writing, Web design and eMarketing.
It was an incredibly rough several years. Our income was sporadic and unpredictable and real estate proved to be a poor choice due to the unfavorable changes in the housing market at that time (2005-2007).
Today I look at our circumstances with gratitude. I’m employed with a great small company that allows me to work from home four days each week. Kirk has transitioned into Web development and is thriving in an industry that matches his interests and skills.
We’ve come a long way over the past six years, but I know things can change at any time.
While things are going well, we plan to continue to work towards our financial goals. Below is a rough guide to what we’ll be working on:
- Build an emergency fund totaling $20,000.
- Save enough for Kirk to buy a car (his car is aging rapidly).
- Increase Roth IRA contributions from $150 to $300 per month.
- Begin to make larger principal payments on our $178,000 mortgage.
- Increase our vacation savings contributions from $150 to $250 per month.
I’ve said this before, but practicing minimalism has truly helped us get to a place of comfort and contentment. We currently live happily on about 53% of our total net income (after a 15% 401k contribution, which isn’t included in our net income).
Living well below our means has been the most integral piece of our current financial comfort. It also helps us insure that if our circumstances change — as they always seem to do in life — we should be able to sustain our family.
Since we spent most of last year attempting to reduce our living expenses, this year we plan to continue to keep our living expenses low, while we work on increasing our income.
We have a few ideas on how to make this goal a reality, but for now I’ll just say we’re working on it.
How has this year treated you? What are you hoping to change as we head into 2012?
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This year has been super rough for us on many fronts. My only hopes for next year are that we can get back on health insurance and our guy can get a scholarship for his 2nd year of preschool. Oh, and finish on the house renovations. Once those are done, I’d be fine moving and renting our place out for a profit!
I’m so sorry it’s been a hard year for you and your family Megyn.
Renting your house for a profit sounds promising! And know that things will get better for you. Having young kids at home is usually a tough time financially. Especially when you have to shell out money for things like preschool!
I hope 2012 brings a flood of good in to you life!
Jenny you sure have done a lot in 2011. Thanks for sharing your journey and allowing us to be a part of it. 2011 was a great year for me! I became a father for the first time, got connected with a lot of cool people, and launched a new podcast project that I had been working on for a while. With that being said I am looking forward to an even better 2012 as my wife and I are looking to sell our condo and purchase a bigger home for our family, in addition to perhaps buying ourselves a newer car. Professionally I want to reach more people and teach them how to properly handle their money among other things. I don’t know how it will all get done but I am looking forward to seeing how it all turns out!
It sounds like you had an incredible year yourself Jon!
I’ll look forward to hearing about your new adventures in the upcoming year.
Congrats on an impressive and inspiring 2011, Jenny! All the best as you continue to work toward your goals and inspire others to do the same in 2012.
Thank you Josh! I’m so glad we had the opportunity to virtually meet this year.
Congratulations on an awesome year Jenny! I’m looking forward to seeing your progress in 2012.
Happy New Year!
Thanks Laura! I can’t wait to see what you have in store as well!
I like you am looking back and forward with gratitude. This year saw us become totally debt free, but above and beyond the monetary side it saw my commitments reduce and my ability to spend time with the people I love and do the things I enjoy increase. Take nothing for granted, savour the successes! Happy New Year Jenny! xx
That’s fantastic Jo! I can’t believe you never mentioned that you guys became completely debt free last year.
And you’re so right about the real reason for trying to get rid of debts is to free up commitments. Doing this allows us to enjoy more time with people we care about and live more fulfilling and meaningful lives.
It’s a win-win, really. Kill the debt. Get more life!
It was end of October but I’m not sure whether it’s a British thing or just me but I’m not that comfortable blogging about money. It’s easier to stick to food!