But... I don't wanna grow up

Today is my 27th birthday. My new focus on my finances has been making me think about my long-term goals. I'm not where I thought I would be at 27. I was expecting to be at the point where I was financially secure. I never imagined I'd go to grad school and end up with so much educational debt. I also thought I'd be close to the point where I could afford kids. I'm so nowhere near that point. It's kind of scary. I'm really going to need to figure out how to get some extra income coming in. If I could do that, I would put it all into savings and investments. It's just a question of how. I'll be making $3,000 more a year at my new job, but I'll also have expenses I don't have at this job. I'll have to pay my own health insurance premiums, for one (my current agency pays employee premiums). A second job may be a possibility, but I at least have to get settled with the new job first - I don't want to overload myself.

Eh, quarter-life crises suck.

Paying Yourself First

I first became interested in personal finance about four years ago. I was fresh out of college and had my first full time job and very few expenses. I read a few books on the subject and began saving my money. This is when I first came across the idea of paying yourself first. Unfortunately, I never put this idea into practice. I did, however, start a modest savings and opened an investment account. Two years later, when I started grad school, it became next to impossible for me to put any money into savings, as I was living on very little income and accumulating quite a bit of educational debt.

Now that I'm done with grad school and beginning my career, I'm making it a goal to start paying myself first. My first step in this is to get my budget in order so that I can accurately gauge how much money I need to get myself through the month, and how much can be saved. Once I have a realistic idea of how much money I can save, I want to get to the point where the first thing I do after I deposit my paycheck is transfer money into my savings. That way it's not sitting in my checking account just begging to be spent. When I start my new job I want to start making automatic 403(b) contributions, as well.

I don't make a lot of money, but I also don't spend a lot of money. Putting money away before I even really "see" it shouldn't be too difficult. It's just going to be a matter of making it a habit!

My Financial Goals

Short-term Goals (1-2 years)

• Contribute $5,000 to my Roth IRA - in 2008
• Earn my bonus each quarter this year - This would add up to $4,000 for the year. Of course, that's assuming I stay at my current job.
• Find an additional source of income
• Have an emergency fund of at least $3,000 - by next year
• Have a $3,000 travel fund - by summer 2009

Mid-term Goals (2-5 years)

• Save a total of $25,000 across all investments - This includes amounts specified in other goals
• Save at least $10,000 for a down payment on a home

Long-term Goals (5+ years)

• Get out of debt - I don't know if I'll ever be fully out of debt due to my school loans and then one day having a home. I'd like to at least limit it to 'good' debt. I have very little credit card debt and would like to pay off my car.
• Save a total of $50,000 across all investments