New Year's Resolutions - 2008

The new year is almost here, and it is time for me to put down on paper our New Year's Resolutions for 2008.

For 2007 my husband and I wrote down about 10 New Year's Resolutions. Some of them were the same and some of them were different, some of them were financial goals and some were personal goals. Between us we only met 3 of those goals which were:

1. Pay off $10,000 in debt.
2. Start an online savings account with a higher interest rate than what our bank has.
3. Enroll and participate in my husband's 401(k) program through his employer.

I am proud of what we accomplished, but also ashamed that we didn't do more.

This year I decided we should create a joint New Year's Resolution list (something I read in Love & Money) instead of having individual goals and going it alone. We came up with a list of 5 things we really want to accomplish in 2008. Here are our 2008 New Year's Resolutions:

1. Pay off all credit card debt. In order to accomplish this goal we will use at least $4,000 from my husband's bonus in February, $2,000 from our tax return refund, and $500 a month.
2. Buy a second car. We will not spend more than $10,000, we will put down at least $500, and we will get a rate of 8% interest or better on our auto loan.
3. No fast food or carbonated beverages. This goal is both financial and personal. On the financial side it will save us money, and on the personal side we will be healthier. Also, there is a penalty each time this goal is broken. Every time one of us has a carbonated beverage that person pays $5 out of their allowance into savings, and every time one of us has fast food that person pays $10 to savings. The penalty should help us stay on track, and there is a positive side effect (saving money) if we fall off the wagon.
4. Increase 401(k) contributions. We will increase from the current 1% to 2%.
   
5. Decrease rent by at least $200 a month. We will not be able to move until this summer (our lease is up April 1st and we plan to move in July after our new baby is a couple months old). We are currently paying $1,600 a month and will rent a new place for $1,400 or less per month.
   

So, that's it for us. I hope you can help me stay on track and stay honest with our 2008 New Year's Resolutions. Good luck in keeping yours, and I hope you have a very happy and prosperous new year!