Financial Planning on the Fly

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So, now that I have my bonus and raise, we (my wife and I) have decided on some goals:
  • New Furniture (we are still using the furniture we each had before we were married 4 years ago)
  • New Mattress (our current one is that one I bought for myself over 6 years ago)
  • Newer Car (our current vehicle is showing its age at 180,000+ miles)
  • Travelling at least once a quarter
So now, we have achieved the first 2 items on the list which is great but now we must find a car and time to travel. The car I get since our current one is starting to have random issues, as one will once hitting 180,000+ miles. As far as travel is concerned, not my favorite activity since all travel is linked to visiting one of her friends who I don’t know or have only met once. Very awkward and quite expensive. In addition to these goals, we are to be debt free by the end of the year. So, each trip amounts to about $1,000 and on top of that we are to rid ourselves of all debt. Right. I will get right on it.

Unfortunately, getting altogether debt free is unreasonable in a year but we can get on a better track with some planning. So, instead of 4 trips this year, perhaps 2 would be more reasonable and instead of a newer car, we can get my car which is currently in disrepair, fixed and road worthy which can be used as a trade-in.

All life does seem to be an amalgamation of compromises from the ideal. Personally, I have other goals in mind, but I do agree getting our debt under control is in the top position. I enjoy cooking outside so a grill/smoker would be a nice fit, especially one of the new pellet grills which can handle low temperature smoking as well as higher temp grilling. Since I have one of my brother’s guitars on loan, I would like to have an additional guitar, so I can return his to him. These goals do not replace our goals just in addition and with some judicious planning and a little sacrifice can be achieved quite readily.

Our largest challenge is the fact that we now take care of my granddaughter half the time shared with the father’s mother. There is cost involved plus the time it takes to occupy a 4 year-old who has a natural propensity to occupy most of our free time. We love having her and spending time with her, but it does come at a price both financially and in time that would otherwise be devoted to planning and executing plans to better our situation.
So, in the end, we must sit down, make a tangible plan with firm goals and deadlines just like one would with a business. The ROI must be considered for any money spent and yes compromises need to be made for the greater good.

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