Every year brings new goals. In 2018, Kristia posed the following challenge: to not increase your expenses when you receive an increase. With this in mind, here are my goals and challenges for 2019.
The most important thing I learned in 2018 is the importance of an emergency fund that is easy to access. So my main goal is to bump up my emergency fund and save 3 – 6 months’ worth of living expenses.
This is how I’m planning to achieve this:
I’m going to cut on my expenses. This means fewer takeaways and drinking outings, and buying the right amount of food I need (because too much food usually ends up in the bin). I’m also going to better manage how I deal with the money I send home. And I don’t want to find myself paying interest on my credit card, so I hope not to use it.
To save, I will put 80% of the money I can invest in my 32-day account and 20% in my TFSA and my son’s TFSA.
I’m also planning on generating extra income, like selling stuff and freelancing. In addition to this, I want to improve my trading, software development and data analysis skills. Since I moved closer to work, I have more time to focus on these things to ensure multiple income streams in the near future.
The most important goal I want to achieve every month is to use at most 60% of my after-tax salary.
Finally, I’m planning to read and finish at least one or two financial books.
Of course there are other goals, but if I achieved these, I will be happy.
Njabulo Nsibande is a Just One Lap user-turned-contributor and a founding member of an investment club. His “Cash Club” blog details his experiences balancing the financial obligations of a young parent with his investment aspirations.
Follow Njabulo’s journey here every month. You can also follow his trading journey by listening to his Village Trader podcast.
Find him on Twitter: @njabulo_goje.
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