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Oops! I’ve Already Failed My New Year’s Financial Goals

By Femme Frugality 22 Comments

Oops! I've Already Failed My New Year's Financial Goals Do you have New Year's financial goals? Don’t let January get you down. It may have been a disappointing month, but 2015 is going to be your year.

Happy February!  It’s the most depressing month of the year for, oh, so many reasons.  Maybe you don’t have a hunny on Valentine’s Day.  Maybe you just hate winter, and it won’t go away.

Or maybe, just maybe, you haven’t quite met your benchmark for your New Year’s Resolution.  That makes you want to quit.

DON’T DO IT!

Especially if your goals were financial.  There is still so much time to catch up. Would it have been nice to start in January like you planned?  Sure.  But starting in February is so much better than waiting until next year.  Let’s look at some examples, numbers, and long-term consequences to give you a better idea.

Credit Card Debt

Let’s say you have credit card debt.  We’ll go with $4,000 of it.  You’ve got an ugly 24.99% interest rate, and your minimum payment is $200/month.  Your goal was to pay $500/month and have the whole thing paid off by November, but that didn’t happen in January.  So now you paid off $200, but got charged $83 for interest, brining your current balance to $3,883.

Really, that’s no so bad.  As a matter of fact, if you just start doing what it takes to pay off $500/month now without racking up any new charges,  you’ll have your balance paid off in December. (If you continue only paying $200/mo, it will take you until April 2017 and cost you almost $445 more in interest.)

Building an Emergency Fund

Maybe you have a goal to build a $10,000 emergency fund this year, or add $10,000 to one that already exists.  You figured out you’d have to save $833.33 in order to do so, and in January you saved nothing.  You’re already almost $1,000 behind, so why keep trying?;

Because believe it or not, you’re not very far behind at all.  In order to make up your January payment, you’d only need to save up an additional $75.76/month.  So now instead of $833.33, it’s $909.09.  If moving into the next hundreds group is too much for you psychologically, stay with the $833.33 and forget about January.  You’ll have $9,166.63 at the end of 2015 (plus any marginal interest that your savings account acquires.

If you give up, you’ll have $0.

Investing

Maybe you’ve made a goal to start investing this year.  You have $500 in your Roth IRA from when you ambitiously opened it in December in anticipation of the New Year, but you didn’t add the $300 last month like you wanted to.  You only added the minimum of $50 that you’re required to.  Now we’re in February.  It’s a short month, and you’re feeling like a failure.  You’re thinking about just contributing that $50/month.  Maybe you’ll try again next year.

Look at the numbers before you give up.  Let’s say you’re 20 years away from retirement.  If you only save $50 a month and we assume an 8% return on your investments, you’re only going to retire with $29,787.66.

If you decide to do $50 this year, and then actually live up to your resolution of $300/month next year and every year thereafter, you’ll be sitting on $154,126.45 on the big day.

If you get your butt in gear and save $300/month starting today, you would have $165,842.14 when you retired, if all of our metrics were correct.  (Which is impossible to predict perfectly without a magical, crystal ball.)

If you start today instead of waiting until January 2016, you will have invested $2,750 more, but gained an additional $11,715.69.

Start getting that money into your retirement today.  Missing January wasn’t that big of a deal, but waiting until next year is a mistake near $10,000.

February Can Be Happy

It can be a rough month, or it can be an extremely motivating and wonderful one.  Let the shortness of the calendar prompt you to get out there and side hustle, negotiate, or Craigslist your clutter all that much more quickly in order to meet your goals.  Don’t let January get you down.  It may have been a disappointing month, but 2015 is going to be your year.

 

Filed Under: Money, Observations Tagged With: Financial Goals, New Year, Resolutions

About Femme Frugality

Femme Frugality is a twenty-something who has had an obsession with personal finance since before entering adulthood. This obsession allowed her to graduate college debt-free, avoid any major consumer debt, and have a rocking credit score. She writes about money as it applies to all aspects of her life, including motherhood, travel, college, her recent wedding, or the nitty gritty day-to-day grind of earning and saving. Connect with her on Twitter or Google+.

Comments

  1. Gary @ Super Saving Tips says

    March 28, 2015 at 21:43

    We can’t do anything about yesterday, or last month, but we can always start doing something right now. Great post to motivate us all to get started or continue on with our goals.
    Gary @ Super Saving Tips recently posted…Should You Trust Your Financial Advisor?My Profile

    Reply
  2. Mrs. Frugalwoods says

    March 28, 2015 at 06:14

    I love the upbeat approach! And, you’re so right that even if we feel behind, the best thing to do is just get started and work away at goals one by one. It has been a long, cold winter here and there’s definitely something de-motivating about poor old February 🙂
    Mrs. Frugalwoods recently posted…Weekly Woot & Grumble: Guests We’d Never Met (Plus A Flat)My Profile

    Reply
  3. Alex V @ Eventus Financial says

    March 26, 2015 at 20:19

    There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of failure, just ask any successful business person.
    It’s all about picking yourself up and going again.

    I’ve struggled with a couple of my goals, but resetting my expectations for timeframes has made the world of difference.

    Reply
    • Femme Frugality says

      March 27, 2015 at 14:37

      Hooray for resetting! Failure can be a positive if we learn from it. At the very least, it shouldn’t make us freeze up and give up. Best of luck to you on achieving your goals!
      Femme Frugality recently posted…Financial Assistance Programs: Emergency Room Bills For the UninsuredMy Profile

      Reply
  4. kay ~ lifestylevoices.com says

    March 26, 2015 at 18:59

    I like the way you ran the numbers. It’s amazing to see what a little tweaking here and there can do.
    kay ~ lifestylevoices.com recently posted…Ketchup Time!My Profile

    Reply
    • Femme Frugality says

      March 27, 2015 at 14:36

      10 grand+ is an easy way to get over the psychological block of waiting until February!
      Femme Frugality recently posted…Financial Assistance Programs: Emergency Room Bills For the UninsuredMy Profile

      Reply
  5. Taylor Lee @ Engineer Cents says

    March 26, 2015 at 16:23

    This was? is? 100% me on my spend-less-on-food goal. February was a monster.
    Taylor Lee @ Engineer Cents recently posted…10 Things I’ve Learned While Attempting To Buy A HouseMy Profile

    Reply
    • Anne says

      March 26, 2015 at 18:39

      Silly February!

      Reply
  6. Richard says

    March 26, 2015 at 13:27

    I think it’s all too easy to see failure as an “ending”. You tried, you failed, end of story. Personally though I see nothing wrong with seeing that failure as a temporary “blip” and starting all over again. Better this way than wait all the way till *next* year to try again 🙂
    Richard recently posted…4 Actions You Should Take Today To Make Next Christmas A BreezeMy Profile

    Reply
    • Femme Frugality says

      March 27, 2015 at 14:31

      Exactly. Failure can actually help us learn how to become more successful if we allow it to.
      Femme Frugality recently posted…Financial Assistance Programs: Emergency Room Bills For the UninsuredMy Profile

      Reply
  7. Dan @ Our Big Fat Wallet says

    March 26, 2015 at 06:00

    I don’t set new years resolutions because I know I will probably fail at them. I’d rather have a lasting, concrete financial goal for the long term than a short term, spur of the moment resolution that hasn’t been properly planned out
    Dan @ Our Big Fat Wallet recently posted…Buying a Second Hand Engagement RingMy Profile

    Reply
    • Femme Frugality says

      March 27, 2015 at 14:30

      My goals generally come as inspiration hits. I’m not huge into the January 1 tradition, either, but when you are it can be helpful to remember that you can hit reset at any time!
      Femme Frugality recently posted…Financial Assistance Programs: Emergency Room Bills For the UninsuredMy Profile

      Reply
  8. The Money Spot says

    March 26, 2015 at 03:29

    Agree! Middle of last year, I failed to keep track of my finances for 1 month and then I completely stopped it. This year, I’m definitely keeping this goal.
    The Money Spot recently posted…Is Your Pessimism Habit Coloring Your View Of The Economy?My Profile

    Reply
    • Femme Frugality says

      March 27, 2015 at 14:29

      Best of luck in 2015! And if there’s another one month slip up, I’m sure you won’t wait till January to get back on the horse!
      Femme Frugality recently posted…Financial Assistance Programs: Emergency Room Bills For the UninsuredMy Profile

      Reply
  9. Aaron says

    March 25, 2015 at 09:13

    Great advice! Every day is a new beginning to start saving, or at least every paycheck should be. Automation is our friend when it comes to saving.
    Aaron recently posted…3 Ways to Start Saving Money NowMy Profile

    Reply
    • femme @ femmefrugality says

      March 25, 2015 at 17:27

      Automation is awesome!
      femme @ femmefrugality recently posted…Favorite Free Memory Catching App: BlinkbuggyMy Profile

      Reply
  10. Eleanore says

    March 25, 2015 at 08:42

    This is all great advice, but we are in March now..not February..

    Reply
    • Anne says

      March 25, 2015 at 10:22

      Ya… I messed up the scheduling on this one :-/

      Reply
      • Eleanore says

        March 25, 2015 at 10:34

        haha that’s okay. I was just confused for a minute..

        Reply
      • femme @ femmefrugality says

        March 25, 2015 at 17:27

        I think the rest aren’t as time-specific, but if you need me to edit any for that just let me know!
        femme @ femmefrugality recently posted…Personal Finance Playlist: Money Music That Doesn’t SuckMy Profile

        Reply
  11. Brian @ Debt Discipline says

    March 25, 2015 at 06:41

    Let’s the 28 days be your friend! Either to get things done or o move on to the next month! 🙂
    Brian @ Debt Discipline recently posted…Online HustleMy Profile

    Reply
    • femme @ femmefrugality says

      March 25, 2015 at 17:28

      Exactly. No looking back! We can learn from past mistakes, but if we dwell on them we run the risk of letting them dictate our future.
      femme @ femmefrugality recently posted…Ding! Dong! The Debt is Dead!My Profile

      Reply

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