These Are My 2023 Money Goals

It may be harder to save with inflation at a 32-year high and my fixed 1.99% home loan coming off in June – but I am more determined than ever to do it.

Here is how I plan to tackle it...

Mission #11 – these are my 2023 money goals

They say failing to plan is planning to fail...

🫰🏻Money is getting tighter for most of us, with inflation up and wages sadly lagging behind. So if you didn't get a 7.3% matching inflation pay rise this year, you are taking a real loss.

💸 Things are costing more, and not just things we want but stuff we actually need like food. Inflation is having an impact on the thing that hurts the most – our essentials.

👀 I said this last year, and I'll say it again because it scares me – one in five Aussies have less than $1000 in savings to lean on in case of emergency.

So, this is what I am focusing on this year to get my own ship in order.

My 2023 finance goals

Build a solid rainy day fund. Or in real figures – three months of after tax salary which for me equates to roughly $7K x three or $21K.
Stick to my budget. I got naughty near Christmas and started spending outside my set guides and that means I fell behind on saving.
Save for India. One of my big goals this year is to go to India for a month. For that I will need $3.5K – or to save $300 a month.
Offset power... I am going to put my savings against my offset to help reduce my fortnightly interest payments on my home loan.
Be prepared. I come off my very wonderful 1.99% fixed home loan period in July. So in order to cope, I am paying my loan at 6.1% until then. This will increase my offset buffer (as above) and help me get used to having less to play with.
Super check. In February, I want to have a closer look at my super because it hasn't been performing as well as I'd like and I want to make sure that I am not getting charged any silly fees.
Get ahead. I want to do some more forward planning next year and get a good understanding of when I want to retire and what I want that to look like – and then work my way backwards to make sure I am on track to make that possible.
Salary sacrifice. I am going to bump up my super with a contribution (pre-tax) of $100 a fortnight, that compounded interest over the next 20 years will be very helpful in the long run.
Round up. And as soon as I get my official new repayment figure in July, I want to add some extra on top of it. I already pay interest and principal but I know an extra $250 a month means I am one step closer to being mortgage free.
Make a will. I am not planning on any early exit BUT I want to get my affairs in order in case something does go wrong. And, as my dad used to say once you own a home you need to get that sorted pronto.