My friend Airman at the Military Dollar blog has just published her simple (1 page!) and smart 2020 Financial Plan downloadable printable PDF, and I encourage y’all to go check it out. This yearly overview works with your monthly spending plan to give you a big picture view of your goals and how you’re going to meet them. Plus, it helps you think through some what-ifs with regards to major investments.
Every part of this form may not be appropriate to you, and that’s OK. Either skip it or re-purpose it for something else.
What It’s Got
Monthly action steps – a place to list one manageable thing that you’ll do each month.
Yearly savings, debt repayment, and investment goals.
Your thoughts on market swings – what you’ll do if the market goes up or down, and what you’ll do if real estate goes up or down.
Your 2020 money philosophy
My 2020 Plans
Sometimes, it is helpful to know what other people are planning. It can get the brain thinking in different directions.
In general, my plan for 2020 is to maintain exactly where we are in terms of savings and investments, while paying for the college expenses of 2-4 girls (definitely two, one may be moving on to grad school, and one may either take a gap year or head straight to college.) On one hand, I feel like that is a pretty ambitious goal. On the other hand, we don’t feel like we’re skimping TOO much, so we could probably do better.
Here are the monthly action plan steps on MY sheet:
January: Reset TSP contributions to for new limits
February: Move IRA accounts to new company
March: Make 2019 IRA contributions (I’ve been waiting, and I rather regret it)
April: Finish my In Case of Emergency Binder
May: Check credit reports
June: Update wills and other estate plans
July: Check tax withholding and see if adjustments need to be made
August: Comparison shop for insurances
September: Plan for holiday spending
October: I’m not really sure yet!
November: Check credit reports
December: Stay within our holiday budget
Honestly, I’m hoping I’ll get the first six months done in January, but let us be realistic: I can’t even get a simple post (like this one) out on time. So getting one thing done a month is better than not getting anything done at all.
We don’t have debt except our mortgage, and I’m in no hurry to pay that off, so that part is blank. We plan to max out TSP, our IRAs, and my SEP-IRA again this year. I’m actually not anticipating saving anything outside our usual savings accounts because frankly, college tuition is a lot.
I don’t intend to change strategies if the stock and bond market goes up or down, nor do I intend to do anything if the housing market changes.
My money philosophy for 2020 is: Cut ruthlessly on the stuff that doesn’t matter so you can enjoy the things that DO matter.
Many thanks to Airman at the Military Dollar for putting together this template to give ourselves a little guidance each year. Will you join me?
Do you want to know more about your military pay and benefits?
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