Our Financial Resolutions for 2015
This time last year, we shared our financial resolutions for 2014 with you. The best part of publishing posts like that is it gives us the opportunity to review/reflect on all we’ve accomplished, so we can take account of where we are and set goals for the new year.
Alyssa didn’t end up buying an investment property, but she did get engaged/married and bought her first home with her husband! KL also bought her first home in the city, with her partner (now fiance!). I crossed all 3 of the goals off my list, including building up a $10,000 Emergency Fund. And Idriss setup an automatic savings plan for his son’s post-secondary education.
We weren’t all successful in achieving our goals, though. Chris had resolved to waste less money on things that are avoidable. Unfortunately, according to Mint, he spent over $500 on parking tickets. (Oops!) And Kurtis opened both a TFSA and RRSP, but still hasn’t started contributing to them on a regular basis. At least there’s room for improvement!
After giving them a chance to review last year’s post, I asked the team what their financial resolutions were for 2015. Here’s what everyone said:
Alyssa: I want to setup preauthorized RRSP contribution plans through Wealthsimple, and do weekly budget tracking for my husband and I. We also want to eat out less, which we’ve already been doing since we moved into our house, but it needs to remain a priority!
Chris: My wife and I have come up with a pretty detailed budget for 2015, so we just want to try and stick to that!
KL: My financial resolution this year is to, again, cut down on spending. Being a homeowner is expensive, so I have less disposable income to work with – and now I have to save for a wedding! I wish I had rich parents. (Just kidding. Love you, Mom!). But seriously, my fiance and I will be paying for the wedding on our own, so we are waiting until 2016 to tie the knot so we can save up for a wedding that is “not ghetto”. (His words, not mine.)
Kurtis: I want to start making bi-weekly contributions to my RRSP, and continue educating myself on all topics investing and personal finance-related.
Cait: My plan is to live off 50% of my income (or less) all year, then save 25-30% and allow myself to spend the rest on travel.
Idriss: I want to increase my car loan payments by 25%.
Elisa: I actually love that we wrote that post re: tiny houses, because my financial resolution for next year is to start saving for my own! I’d like to save at least half the amount in 2015, then finish saving and buy one in 2016. And in order to save more, I’m cutting down on useless materialistic costs, purchasing second hand items and buying no name brand food.
Brynn: My financial resolutions are to: regularly contribute to my investments/RRSPs, make lump sum payments on my mortgage (against principal, so I can be mortgage-free faster!) and save up for two vacations per year; that’s incentive to continue saving and investing more!
Alex: I’ve always been terrible with budgeting and being mindful of how much money I’m spending. In 2015, I plan to set and follow a personal budget.
Kayla: I want to start making monthly contributions to my RRSP and TFSA. I’d also like to start a travel fund, so I can visit family in Seattle at least 4x/year.
Grainne: I want to radically reduce my discretionary spend (goodbye Starbucks) and pump more cash into savings, both for a down payment and an Emergency Fund.
Chrissy: I would like to make paying off my student loan a priority, so I can get it below half of where it is now (while still managing to have a life, of course!).
Christina: I would really like to diversify my investment portfolio. I also want to start seriously thinking about buying property…
What is your financial resolution for 2015?