Five year plan

Jane Dough wrote a great post recently about her five year goals. It got me thinking.

Right now, I'm creeping up on age 30. In five years, I'll be creeping up on 35. My son will have just finished first grade. My parter will be 48. I will be almost ten years out of grad school. I will probably have a couple of new neices or nephews. My oldest nephew will be finishing college. My two remaining grandparents will be in their nineties (I hope). My parents will probably be retired, or on the verge or retirement.

My financial goals are mostly about increasing savings levels, not actual dollar figures. Here are a few things I'd like to have accomplished between now and the year 2011.

1. Continue to have one adult working full time, and one working part time. When our son starts school, shift so the part-time parent is working five mornings a week, and can be home when he gets home from school.

2. Make sure that at least one of the adults in the house is in a good, long-term stable job. Right now we're both part time, both feeling a little transitional.

3. Double M's retirement contributions. Currently he's putting away 15% of his income, plus employer match. I'd like to see him putting away 30%, plus match, five years from now. Playing catch-up on his savings is a major priority.

4. Double my own retirement contributions to 20%, plus employer match. Right now I'm contributing 10% plus match.

5. Start contributing to our Roths more consistently, even if we can't max them out for quite a while. Think about whether we should be prioritizing our Roth IRAs (after putting enough in the 403b's to get the employer match, of course).

6. Continue to save a small amount monthly (currently $75/month) for L's college education, but keep our focus on retirement savings.

7. Get our son into a good public school! This goal is so important and so complicated I'm thinking it needs its own post (coming soon).

8. Drive our 1994 car for another 2-3 years, then buy a car only 5-7 years old with good gas mileage. Buy the car with cash, of course.

9. Re-eveluate life insurance needs in 2-3 years. Also consider buying disability insurance.

10. Continue to donate 2-3% of our income to political, environmental, health, and educational groups. Once retirement savings are at a better level, think about increasing donations.

11. Continue to be aware of changing laws regarding our unmarried status and the impact on our finances and our legal rights.

12. Take one short vacation every year that is NOT a trip to visit family or friends.

13. Continue to live below our means. Continue to have only one car. Continue to look for ways to trim our budget. Continue to eschew materialism, even as our son gets older and becomes more susceptible to advertising and classroom fads.

14. Work on making our house and our entire lifestyle more energy efficient.

15. Keep learning about personal finance.