The New Year is almost upon us and I've been giving some serious thought to my resolutions. Normally, I don't make resolutions for the New Year. I believe that if you really want to enact a change in your life you can do it any day of the year, not just January 1st. But, I do have some changes coming up in my life, such as moving to a new home and having more disposable income. Because of this, I have decided that I actually would make a few frugal resolutions this year.
1. Rebuild my emergency fund. This got wiped out when my wife became disabled and was unable to work. I am going to build a $1,000 emergency fund to start.
2. Eliminate debt. To be honest, I have lost track of my debt due to some medical bills being turned down by insurance, and others being created when my family did not have health insurance. First, I have to get a copy of my credit report, and then start knocking out my debt. I hope to eliminate at least $10,000 in debt this year.
3. Save for a new home. The new home I'm moving into is not my own. It is my father-in-law's retirement home. He won't retire for four more years, so in the meantime I can save for a down payment on my own home.
4. Contribute to my IRA. Again, because my family had no health insurance I had to spend a large amount of my income on prescription medications in 2007. Things will be much different in 2008. I hope to contribute at least 10 percent of my income to my IRA.
5. Continue to live below my means. This is a never-ending challenge. If you can live on less money than you earn, the rest of your financial life falls into balance.
I'll be updating my resolutions throughout 2008 to let you know how I'm doing. Feel free to make some frugal resolutions of your own and share them with us!
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