Good morning Loves. Remember back in January when I set some pretty aggressive goals for myself this year? Honestly I had good intentions when I set them, but never in a million years did I think I would stick with them. Why? Because I have commitment issues. I rarely finish anything I start when it comes to goals because I hate living with restrictions. That’s just who I am.
Saving for retirement: Check
I excited to tell you that my goals, on all fronts, are on track. Even as I’m writing this I can’t believe it, but it’s true. I have actually already met my savings goal for the year. How? By being a stellar employee in 2014.
Instead of taking my bonus in cash and loosing over half of it in tax I decided to put it directly into my retirement account. This way I boost my savings and don’t give any away to the tax man. The downside to this is now it’s in my retirement account and I can’t touch it without penalties. But oh well.
The thought of losing any of the money, whether it’s on withdrawal fees or withholding tax, just makes me cringe. So despite my original plans to take it in cash I am going to transfer it directly to my retirement account, invest it and hopefully watch it grow for the next 25 years until I retire.
Cash savings: Epic Fail
Taking a lump sum of cash from my annual bonus and saving it for retirement seems almost too easy doesn’t it? Although I’m proud of my achievement because I did work for the money, I don’t really feel like I saved it. So in an effort to keep myself focused on good money habits I’m still trying to save my actual earned money on a monthly basis.
Remember last month when I told you I saved $1000? Well with my little trip to New York City at the beginning of March those savings went out the window. Actually I should say the money went to the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Chinatown and to the lovely people at Greyhound.
Spending the money was worth it because I was going crazy and needed to get away, but it’s not helping me achieve my cash savings goal of $7000 in 2015. That’s my new goal. Since I already met my original savings goal, now I’ve redefined it to be cash savings, meaning non registered, meaning outside my retirement accounts.
Isn’t money funny?
That’s the thing about money; it takes a long time to earn, but it gets spent very quickly. I hope to make up the $1000 loss (if you can call a trip to NYC a loss) this month and get back on track towards my savings goals. I’m not sure what I’m saving for, I think I just want to prove to myself that I can do it, since I rarely stick to any personal goal strategies.
Photo from I’d Pin That
