For three years I've had a single goal that has directed my actions: get out of debt. Now that my consumer debt is gone (or nearly so), I've spent a lot of time contemplating what to do next. I was worried that without this goal, I'd suddenly lose focus, lose direction. Turns out that's not going to be the case. I've actually been able to come up with three major financial goals for 2008, and a bunch of small goals besides. After I pay off the last of my consumer debt next Tuesday, I need to: These goals are ambitious, but I think I can achieve them. In fact, I hope to achieve even more. When I'm 64 I got a late start on my retirement savings. For the past decase, the box company has automatically been putting something aside for me (and all the other employees), but without that I would have no retirement savings at all. I began my self-directed retirement savings last year, managing to just barely make the full contribution to my Roth IRA. I've contributed $2,000 so far this year, and intend to max out my plan by the middle of December. It wasn't until I started writing Get Rich Slowly that I began to understand the importance of saving for retirement. I'm convinced that it's the single most important financial move a person can make. Even if you screw up every thing else, if you manage to save for retirement... Working for no one but me All my life, I've listened to people complain about taxes with mild disintest. My father used to rail against them, but he was full of bluser, so I ingored him. Until recently, I've always had taxes overwithheld so that I could get a big refund every year. It was the only way I could make myself save. I've always focused on net income instead of gross income. Things are different now. Last spring, my accountant asked me how much I expected to make from Get Rich Slowly in 2007. "I don't know," I said. "Maybe $2000 a month." It was a pipe dream, and I knew it. I was only making $1000 a month at that point. "Fine," he said. "We'll set up estimated tax payments. Every quarter you'll mail $1790 to the IRS, and $320 to the Oregon Department of Revenue." All year, I've mailed my estimated payments promptly and in full. But I've noticed someting. It hurts to write those checks. Suddenlty I find that I do care about taxes. It's fun realzing that I'm basically working every third month for free. Fixing a hole where the rain gets in My upcoming transition to "professional blogger" has me worried. Yes, things look rosy now. Yes, I'm making enough income to support myself. But I'm not I want to establish an enormous buffer. In my dream world, I'd save $20,000 by next winter. All my calculations show that's a stretch. I'm going to keep that as my ultimate target, but I'll be happy to have saved $10,000 by the end of 2008. Describe why I want to bolster my savings. Other goals These aren't my only goals, of course. I've spent a lot of time Short * Eliminate my consumer debt (12/4/07) * Fund 2007 IRA (12/18/07) * Pay estimated taxes (1/15/08) * Pay surplus taxes (4/15/08) Medium * Finish upgrading home electrical system (summer 2009) * Paint the house (summer 2009) * Save for vacation (August 2008) * Fund 2008 IRA (7/1/08) * Buy a Stickley chair (2008) * Save $20,000 (2009) Long * Pay off mortgage early * Save for MINI Cooper * Establish passive income streams that can support me (books? licensed content?) Thoug I've always been a fellow who likes goals, it's only recenlty that I've learned to stick to them. They give me tremendous