Goal setting is an important part of financial success. In 2003, the year we were married, I created “our dollar plan” which is the roadmap for our financial freedom. It is a 14 year plan running from January 2003 - December 2016. The plan details how much money we should have at the end of every year. It accounts for savings, return on investment, and taxes.
Creation of the plan
The plan was started using many of the tools highlighted in Early Retirement: How much money will you need? However, now it mostly lives by itself in a homegrown spreadsheet.
Each month and year I chart progress against the plan to see if we are on track. There have been some minor revisions in our plan, mostly when our children were born and when we built our new house. Otherwise it has remained fairly constant since 2003.
Milestones in the plan
Here’s the goals for this year, 2013, and 2016 (the end of the plan) in total percentage increase since January 2003:
- 2007: 1080%
- 2013: 3007%
- 2016: 4560%
We are almost 5 years into the 14 year plan. 2016 is the year that my husband will turn 40. I also added the 2013 goal because it’s the year before I turn 35.
Accounts in the plan
The plan includes accounts using the following types of retirement and investment plans:
- 401k
- 403b
- 457
- Cash value of traditional pension plan
- Cash value of money purchase plan
- Traditional IRA
- Roth IRA
- Investment Club
- Taxable account
- DRIP
Future of the plan
Follow updates and progress on the plan in:
Our Net Worth Increases: October 2007
Stay tuned for an article in the future on how to create your own plan.
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I can’t wait to learn how to create my own plan. Your article inspired me to get control of my finances and create a plan for my husband and I. Thanks!
TheresaNovember 19th, 2007 at 8:15 am