Have you guys started thinking about your New Year’s Resolutions yet? I’m all about the power of the list – as a matter of fact, I think it’s been one of the biggest things that have helped me achieve everything I’ve achieved. It’s difficult to get going without a clear direction.

A list alone doesn’t really cut it though. I try to back up my New Year’s Resolutions with a monthly check in to see how I’m doing. I’ve found most years that I start out in January with some idealistic goals. By May or June, I already have an idea of which ones probably aren’t going to happen and by December I usually realize that one or two of those goals I thought mattered a year ago, just really don’t anymore.

Sorry, macarons… maybe someday.

So here are my 8 goals for 2018.

1. Max out my IRA. I’ve been on a pretty good streak here and I don’t want 2018 to be the first year I don’t make it. Things are looking good though and I should manage to hit this goal early in the year.
2. Max out my 401k. This is only the third time I’ve ever even had access to one and I make pretty good money with minimal living expenses. So it seems crazy to me not to try to max it out.
3. Buy $5,000 in stocks. Every year before this the goal was $1,000. On really good years I could turn it into $2,000. Since I’m making more, I should be investing more too and between the 401k and upping this goal, those are my big changes based on the new income for 2018.
4. Add $5,000 to my down payment savings account for a house. Pretty much miraculously I managed to do it this year, so it should be a little easier next year.
5. Add $3,000 to my new car fund. Last year the goal was $2,000 – so if something has to wiggle a little, it can be this. I’ll still consider it a successful year if I can sock away that much, but if brokeGIRLrich does really well, I should be able to hit the bigger goal.
6. Go on a family vacation. This isn’t even a huge financial goal because I’ll just stay with my folks and they’ll probably feed me. It’s more of a time and priorities goal – because all the money in the world doesn’t mean much if you don’t ever get to get away and spend time with people you love.
7. Go on a vacation to a foreign country with the best friend. Same idea as number 6, but technically I’ve got two weeks of vacation at some point this year. While my family has dibs on one week, the hope is to use the second week to go somewhere with Hawaii travel buddy.
8. Add two more skills to my resume. I definitely managed to add one this year by becoming a notary, which, kind of funny to me, is now useful at the circus. I’ve also been brushing up my music reading skills by taking trombone lessons with the trombone player in our band. I have some ideas about doing some OSHA training courses that could fit this bill or maybe this will be the year I finally use my Russian Rosetta Stone properly and am able to add that skill to my list.

What’s on your list for 2018?