This year the goals were hard to figure out. Our budget is going to be super tight so honestly the main goal is to just survive without accruing more debt. Which puts us at our first goal.
Increase Net Worth
2022 was the first year we had net worth loss. This was a combination of overspending, new land debt and market decline. For 2023 I want to go back to saving more than we are spending overall. Which I think the next two goals will help with.
Save $1,000 Extra in HSA
We already do an automatic paycheck deposit weekly but it’s not enough to cover our entire OOP max for medical bills. We don’t have enough in the weekly check to set anymore up on auto pay so I would like to send more directly over the year with windfalls. $1,000 is kind of an arbitrary number, I want to deposit enough to cover all our medical bills for the year so we can use tax free money. This number could be $0-$2,900 depending on how health issues go throughout the year. $1k is a good starting point.
Save $3,000 in IRAs
I was hoping to save $5,000 this year so we would hit 15% of our income but it is looking unrealistic for our budget. We’ll start with this and see how it goes.
2023 is going to be the year for hustling and scrounging. With our barebones basic budget covered by paychecks, spending and saving are going to have to be fought for. At least I am aware in advance so I can tighten the purse strings and start looking for ways to save/make money. Our first big decision will be our tax return. It is going to be tough to decide where the money should be allocated. I am eagerly awaiting our W2 so I can get a rough estimate of what I’m working with. Hoping the return is bigger than I’m expecting and I get a nice surprise. It would be great to fund the IRAs and HSA at the beginning of the year.
January 7th, 2023 at 06:37 pm 1673116643
I know different plans have different rules, but if you can make random deposits, never pay a medical bill directly. Always deposit in the HSA, then pay from there. You will always get the tax benefit that way.
Some people avoid HSAs because they have a higher deductible than other plans - even though premium costs might be less. But once you are in, they generally seem very flexible to fluctuating situations. Much better than FSAa that are choose, use, lose and make you guess about future needs.
Check on what over the counter stuff you might be able to run through your HSA too. Depending on your tax bracket and your medical situation, there can be significant savings here.
You might be doing these things, or they might not be right for you, but if you have a cash back credit card with no balance, paying regular expenses like car and auto insurance, cell phone, cable, internet through them and paying the card off every month can net you a few hundred dollars or more each year. The same with groceries and other store purchases - but this is only good if you have the discipline to just spend what you would and pay it off every month. Paying interest even once negates the benefit!
Monkey Mama does a good job with opening credit cards and bank accounts to get rewards, then closing them. If you have time to stay on top of this and aren’t concerned about a small hit to your FICO score, this can be a good way to pick up $200 or more for minimal effort.
And reviewing your statement for subscriptions and cancelling all but one of each will save money. You will frequently be offered a ‘deal’ to stay or sign up, and in a two adult home, you can bounce things between people to stay at ‘trial’ rates.
A few small changes can give you a little breathing room…
January 9th, 2023 at 12:00 am 1673222409
January 11th, 2023 at 02:40 pm 1673448014
I tried checking to see if we put $5k in a traditional IRA if it would drop our income below the threshold but it looks like it didn't change anything, so I guess it only takes actual gross income into question and not AGI?
January 15th, 2023 at 09:18 pm 1673817503
Hopefully you can find ways to cut back and then deposit the money in something else.
As far as medical stuff, it never hurts to ask if your doctor has samples of this or that. Granted, it isn't a huge savings, but it is a start.
I was just emailing a friend about his wanting to save for a big trouble many years down the road and one of the things I told him was not to think he could only save large amounts, but to start small. I did that years ago...I opened a savings account and whenever I had a few extra dollars (I'm talking 2 or 3), I would save it and then deposit it. If it was in the account, I wasn't tempted to spend it and over a couple of years, I had a nice little account and when something bad happened, I had the cash to pay for it. Looking at the large stuff is good, but also look at the small stuff.
I am not above writing companies for coupons. I email them and ask. I figure it's a few moments of my time here and there, but anything you save is that much more than what you have.
Good goals!