Now did that year come and go or what? I swear as my children are in their younger years the time seems to pass way quicker than I remember. For those that have not read my blog before each year I set out some pretty challenging goals. This year was a pretty impressive for us, it’s crazy when you focus a bit of time each month to focus on your goals you set how possible it can be. So without further to do here is how we did!
Increase my TFSA account by $6,000 Accomplished
This is one of the goals we decided to fund first so we could get that money working for us. This was complete by May and purchases were made with that money.
Open up and fund Maria’s TFSA to $3,600 ←Accomplished
So earlier in the year we opened up a TFSA through Questrade and not only did we contribute the $3,600, we ended up increasing it by $8,000 by end of year. In order to get this TFSA maxed out in a reasonable amount of time, we will need to fund it more than the standard increase of $6,000.
Pour a concrete patio and purchase and place a hot tub on it Accomplished
So we started looking at hot tub’s this summer and what we learned is if you buy a Arctic Spa you don’t require a concrete base due to the material make of the hot tub. So we ended up only having to do a road crush base. Once the prepping was done we went out and purchased a Summit model sold by Arctic Spa. Back when i was a young adult i only dreamed of having a hot tub (As did my wife) and this was a purchase that was very humbling to make as not only did we purchase one, we were able to buy it with cash.
Receive $2,400 in dividends Accomplished
This was a bit of a challenge as we have some money tied up in non dividend companies (Not ones I’d recommend). With some key trading and more than half the companies increasing the dividend this year we were able to bring in $2,525.
Do not pay even one penny in interest on any credit card Accomplished
This is a goal that i recommend to anyone that is building their goal list. It does a few things for ya. It makes you look at your balance each month to see where your money is going and if you need to make any necessary changes to ensure you don’t put yourself in a position of getting behind on those payments, keeps your credit number increasing and maybe the number one reason is you’re not giving your hard earned money away that you can really never get back. As for us we accomplished this goal for the third year straight! We pay it off at the midpoint and last day of each month.
Give back ←Accomplished
This one was new to the list and this is why. For the most part almost everyone has a time in their life where they need help. It could be financially, emotionally or even physical. When you received that help you probably said to yourself one day when I’m in a better position I am going to do the same. So this year we did so in a couple different ways: My wife has had some close friends struggling, out of respect for those people I’m referring too i will not get into details other than my wife Maria has been a there for them each and everyday, from a late night coffee, to a 3 hour listening session or just a shoulder. This stuff is not easy and I’m proud of her for it. Over the course of the year we have went through our clothes as well as our kids stuff, furniture, toys and anything else we came upon and donated all of the items to either a friend in need and Moms Canada which goes to mainly single mothers who battle to just make ends meet. We also donated many empty cans and bottles to local kids who were fundraising for their teams. Next year we are going to up our game here and you can read all about it when our 2020 goals are set.
Increase the RRSP account by $5,100 Accomplished
This goal came slightly ahead with $6,607.76 invested into our RRSP’s. Next year’s goal is going to increase as the company i work for has increased the matching or what i call as free money
Beat the TSX (Year end TSX $14,315) Accomplished
With the TSX closing around $17,098 that would put it up around 19.5% on the year. Our portfolio came in at 30% ahead thanks to dividends a few sells on certain stocks, stock price gain and timely purchases.
Receive $700 from our cash back credit card ←Accomplished
We currently use the Costco Mastercard as you receive 3% on all restaurant purchases, 2% at the pump and 1% on everything else. We focused on using the card for basically everything and had this complete by the midpoint in the year.
NEW goal – Receive $1200 from our cash back credit card Accomplished
We knocked this one out of the park as well and came in at just shy of $1,400. We will put this money to good use come the new year.
Fund the kids RESP by at least $2,400 Accomplished
We funded the kids educational funds by putting in $2,500 and the government gave $500 which gave us a total of $3,000. Next year this goal is going to increase to ensure we take advantage of the government funding and set our kids up with the opportunity of options.
Increase net worth by $60,000 Accomplished
We set the same goal back in 2018 and came up short, this year we are proud to say we not only met this goal but actually increased our net worth by $75,000. We were sitting at around $62,000 at the end of the third quarter alone. The stock market didn’t have any crazy downturns in the 4th quarter to challenge this goal. Saving, investing and decreasing debt played a role in the accomplishment.
Reduce debt to asset formula from 61% to 57% ←Accomplished
Wow what a year. In 2019 we were able to reduce this number from 61% to way ahead of our goal to 52%. You can determine your number by taking your total debt and dividing it by your total assets. The debt we currently have left is only our mortgage and with current mortgage interest rates on the mortgage being so low we shouldn’t see any reason this dropping can continue. Our overall goal is to have our debt to asset around 40 within the next couple years.
Finding new ways to reduce waste in our house hold ←Accomplished
This was one of the hardest goals to accomplish as us as humans create an enormous amount of waste.Here are a few different ways we reduced waste
- Stopped purchasing single use razors and went with an electric razor, i find you have to shave more often however your not throwing out multiple blades each month
- Reusable bags and boxes are used for grocery shopping, still getting in the habit of remembering the bags.
- Using the compost bin which is a challenge on its own, if your trying to figure out what’s smelling up the house you may want to dump your compost :).
- Purchased rechargeable AA and AAA batteries. As we have two younger children this has really helped the environment and let’s face it, the bank account.
- Started buying some second hand items rather than new
- Donating household items vs throwing away
- Purchased reusable straws
As we go into the new year we will continue to add to this list
This is the first year that we were able to accomplish all our goals before the end of the year. To be honest these goals for 2019 were set to a place where it was going to be rather difficult to hit but with dedication and focus we knocked it out of the park. 14/14!
If your looking at setting some goals for 2020 here are a few suggestions that may help you get started and set you up to make it happen:
- Sit down with your spouse and discuss what each of you would like to accomplish, this is important as your visions might be different and that’s okay. Set out those goals as a team!
- Set reachable goals, being realistic is important. Each goal should have a breakdown on what you will require to do to stay on the right path.
- Put your goal list in a location that you will visually see them at least once a day.
- Review your goal list on a monthly basis to determine if your doing enough each month to accomplish the end goal.
- Don’t force a goal that would put you in a financial burden.
- Sometimes your goals may change and that’s okay, things happen and life can be a rollercoaster at times.
- Celebrate your accomplishments (I need to take my own advice here), it’s worth celebrating your wins!
- Failure is the first attempt in learning
- Write out your goals as like you already attained them and at all possible hang out with people that are already succeeding at what your trying to achieve (You are who your friends are).
- What are the habits that are required to accomplish what your trying to achieve, learn it and put it in action.
Please feel free to share your goals with me and other fellow readers in the comment section, I’d love to hear about them. Also if you have any questions or would like an opinion please feel free to reach out! Keep an eye out for our 2020 goal list that will be out soon and feel free to sign up via email to get your posts right to your inbox. Thanks for reading and remember:
Invest In Yourself
Brian
Great job…great team!!!
Thank you 🙂