2008 Financial Goal Progress - January

Two days ago I posted an update on my personal goals, and now it's time to highlight progress on our financial goals.

1. Pay for braces. My daughter just received her braces on Jan. 29. The office manager is on vacation until next week, and another employee couldn't get the system to give me a discount for paying within the first 90 days. The office manager is supposed to call me next week to resolve the issue. This goal should be accomplished within the next week.


2. Refinancing our mortgage. Please check out this post about why we are refinancing now. I locked a 30-year fixed rate of 5.5% on Jan. 14. This goal should be accomplished by the end of next week. The closing is scheduled for the morning of Feb. 4, and the loan will disburse on Feb. 8, if all goes according to plan.

3. Contribute 12% to retirement plans. This was our contribution amount last year. We just had to verify the first paystub of the year to be sure the payroll conversion where my husband works transferred our information correctly.

4. Find a job/source of income for me. So far I've made $25 from opening an account at E*Trade. I will get more focused in the search within the next two weeks so I can start working mid-February.

5. Consolidate retirement accounts. No progress yet. With the refi and working on our income taxes, this goal has fallen off the radar for now. I'll talk with my husband once his big project at work is completed, after Feb. 9.

For January, I'm 2 for 5; a pretty good start to the year.