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At the beginning of 2018, I published 6 personal finance goals that I planned to accomplish by the end of the year. As such, I wanted to take the opportunity to review the progress achieved at the mid year point.
Although there have been some revisions to the plan, most of the original targets remain in tact. The dividend income goal to earn $425 is really the only goal that’s changed. The rest can still be accomplished or turned around if they are off pace.
A review of the goals for 2018 is included below. Ultimately, there are three reasons why I’m publishing this update:
- To be aware of where I stand for motivation.
- It’s a good opportunity for a personal finance post.
- An excuse to publish the McLaren photo I took (This car is not owned by any of the RTC Staff).
1. Earn $425 from Dividend Income in 2018 | Fail—Not on pace (New Target is $385)
The first goal I set for 2018 was to earn $425 worth of dividend income. This target was set because I wanted to surpass my previous dividend income total, $424, from a previous portfolio. It was the portfolio I built before I took a year off to trade and blog.
With that said, it looks like I will come up short of that goal. The RTC Portfolio Manager recently published a report that included guidance. The new expectation is that the portfolio will generate $385.
Though I’m slightly disappointed that the original target will not be reached, the portfolio is still making tremendous progress. The portfolio has already achieved a fantastic year over year increase, and the forward projections will put 2019 in a great position to reach new highs.
2. Grow Forward Dividend Income Projection to $650 by the end of 2018 | Pass—This target can still be achieved
The projection doesn’t have to change just because the dividend income target will not be met. When it comes to dividend investing, you’ve pretty much determined how much the portfolio will earn by mid point to the 3rd quarter. Buying stocks after that point will either miss the ex dividend date, or may not be in time for the last payment of the year.
On the other hand, the forward dividend income will keep on moving forward. As of the most recent report, dividend income was $369.67. If you assume an average pace of $20 per month added, you arrive at $120 worth of annual income on top of that total—the total projection for 2019 would be $489.67. But if you consider that $107.55 was added to the portfolio in December and January last year, that would push the total closer to $600. To get that final $50, I just need to find a way to add an extra $8.33 per month in dividend income. It’s going to be a challenge.
3. Save 32% more than 2017 | Pass—Saved 42.34% of what was saved in 2017 (Still on pace by the end of June)
It would be a lot easier to describe how much more I’m trying to save in 2018 if I just gave the numbers in dollar figures. However, I’m not quite comfortable sharing how much I’m saving just yet. I mean, an intelligent person could estimate the size of my portfolio based on the dividend income reports. But there’s also a cash portion of savings that is not discussed on the blog.
Ultimately, I have to save 57.66% more this year to equal last year’s total savings, and then I have to save 32% more than that to reach the target for 2018. The plan is simple—maintain a consistent pace so that I’ve saved the same amount as 2017 by December. If the pace can be maintained, I’ll be able to use extra money received in December to complete the goal.
4. Increase Savings Rate for House and Emergency fund by 0.025% | Pass—the saving rate has been maintained but there have been withdrawals from savings
I have been funding house and emergency fund’s at the target rate all year. However, I made two withdrawals to blatantly spend money. The first time I accessed funds during a vacation and can’t even remember what I spent money on. The second time I actually needed something new.
Nevertheless, I’m still focussed on building this cash portion of my overall portfolio up. It’s comforting to have cash for emergencies, and the house fund keeps the dream to move out of the city and seclude myself alive.
5. Steam line the accounts and control the f*%king cash flow | Fail—there hasn’t been enough control
Although the year started off well, I haven’t been maintaining cash flow as well as expected.
As such, a daily budget has been reestablished that I intend to stick to until the end of July. I just need to stay within the allotted spending amounts for each category. It’s really not that difficult, it just takes time every day.
To help improve my savings rate and to hold myself accountable for expenses, I’ve been considering a new type of report. Similar to how to dividend reports motivate me to save more, and how the blog reports motivate me to work harder, there are personal finance blogger areas of opportunity.
6. Pay the Student Loan down to less than $6,500 | Pass—on pace
I’ve been making regular bi-weekly payments to the student loan all year and it’s finally starting to look like a small figure.
In truth, the lower it gets the more I’m tempted to just pay off the whole damn thing. It would be the wise decision, even though I have been acquiring stocks that pay a higher yield than the interest rate of the loan. But it’s just reaching a point where it’s beginning to cheese me off. Every two weeks, there’s cash being taken out of my account that could be going to dividend investing. Not to mention the extra days I have to work to afford those payments.
With that said, it’s very possible that I begin to make additional payments even at the expense of my savings to pay this loan off sooner. After all, cash flow is king.
Concluding Thoughts on the Personal Finance Goals for 2018
Overall, I’d give a rating of 3.5 out of 6 for the personal finance goals for 2018 so far. But the year is not over!
There is still an opportunity to go above and beyond the original goals that were set. Sometimes you just have to find a way…
As mentioned in the introduction, the main purpose of writing this post is to be aware of where I stand. In the end, that’s the only way to know if you are on pace to achieve goals.
Though I do feel like I’m a few years behind where I should be financially, the only thing you can ever do about an issue is act on it. The feeling of control over one’s own life gained by making personal decisions is invaluable.
I look forward to sharing an update again at the end of this year.
Blog Traffic Report – May 2018
