Our Financial New Year's Resolution 2014

Another year is coming to a close and the now is the time that many people are making their new year's resolutions. Although many have aspirations of being healthier and losing weight (excellent resolutions), our resolutions for 2014 involve our finances. We were pretty good about our finances in 2013. This time last year I had about $6,300 worth of debt. As of today, I have $2,223 of it left. My fiance was able to save up enough money to purchase a new car and fix it up (he's an auto genius), as well as purchase a new motorcycle. As a result of paying off debt, opening new lines of credit, and paying off new lines of credit, our credit scores have drastically improved. That is pretty good for a couple of twenty-three year old college students, if I do say so myself. 

So here they are... our new year's resolutions for 2014. I'm hoping that making them public will hold us a little more accountable for sticking to them! 

1. Finish Paying off Debt: This includes credit cards, student loans, and the motorcycle (which if Thomas keeps making payments at the rate he has been the 5-year bike loan will be paid off in a total of 5 months). 

2. Save for a Down Payment on our First House: We are sick of renting because it feels like our money is going toward absolutely nothing each month. After all of our debt is paid, we will place the money we generally put toward credit card and loan payments each month in a high interest yielding savings account. This money will be put toward the down payment on our first house. Hopefully we will also qualify for a first time homebuyer's grant offered by the state we will be moving to. Every cent paid upfront on a large purchase such as this is a cent less that has to be paid later (not to mention less interest). 

3. Buy Our First Home: Purchasing our first home is going to open up so many doors for us. It is not only about planting our roots in a more permanent location, but also about having a safe and healthy place to start a family and proving to ourselves that the American dream is not dead. In addition, we plan on using our back yard as the venue for our upcoming wedding. Which leads me to our next resolution...

4. Finish Paying for our Wedding: Luckily, we both have a pretty small and intimate, low-key picture in mind when we describe our dream wedding. We are planning on having just family and close friends (80 people tops). We have chosen is a rustic country theme. Thanks to Pinterest, I have been able to find an endless amount of DIY wedding projects that fit perfectly into this theme. My parents paid for half of my wedding gown as a gift and many family members have given me various gift cards for my birthday and Christmas that have helped with wedding expenses (jewelry, craft supplies, etc). By attending a local bridal show I won a free rhinestone headband I will be wearing on our wedding day, $250 toward tuxedo rentals for the groomsmen, free tuxedo rental for my fiance, and $80 toward linen rentals. My mother used to make wedding cakes as a side job when I was younger, so she will be making our wedding cake. By shopping on Craigslist, I was able to find free old fashioned wooden framed windows, free wooden 8"x10" picture frames, really inexpensive plastic charger plates (you know...the ones that are trending right now so they are super expensive), and a free guest book, cake serving set, cake topper, and pair of toasting flutes. We do not have too much left to pay for when it comes to our wedding and we have not really spent a whole lot of money thus far so this goal should be pretty obtainable once we find a house with the perfect back yard!

 

5. Start a Family: We have been talking about starting our family for about a year now. Money is really the only thing holding us back at this point. I want to have the credit cards and motorcycle paid off first so that we will be able to make large payments toward our house and be able to afford the things we need to live. Let's face it...kids are expensive! We plan on preparing for this big step in our lives by splitting up our extra money each month between an emergency fund/ savings, and making larger monthly payments on our home. In addition, we will be using coupons to stock up on items such as diapers, onesies, bibs, bottles, and baby toiletries when they allow us to obtain these items for free or almost free. I have also been keeping an eye on my favorite free sample websites. Doing this has allowed me to start stocking up on baby items for free. I was even able to find a free baby safety starter pack that included outlet covers and safety latches for cabinets. 

I know this all may sound crazy to some people, but it never hurts to have a detailed plan. This is especially true when attempting to obtain three large, life altering goals within a one year time period. However, I have confidence that if Thomas and I keep working as hard as we have been working in the past and follow the money saving tips and frugal living advice posted on my blog, we will have no problem turning our new year's resolutions into a reality. 

Thanks for reading and I wish you a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2014!