Photo by Andy Newson

I’m not one to toot my own horn, but I will today because, frankly, I deserve it.  Today I became a card-carrying member of the Debt-Free club.  This beautiful day follows an intense two year period of handing over half of my salary towards debt repay, and I am tickled pink to have finally gotten to the point where I don’t have to throw away my paycheck on crap that I purchased eight years ago.  [You can check out how I screwed up my finances in the first place here.]

Now that my student loans and credit cards are paid off, I can start focusing on the  next goals I have for my financial future.  The big picture focus is to start building my net worth by investing in a few choice funds, and to start doing some serious saving for retirement.  I’m gonna share my goals and plans to reach those goals with you guys below.

1.The next item on my to-do list is to save $10K to put in a savings/emergency fund.  My plan is to have this completed by the end of April 2009, and since I’ve become accustomed to living on half my salary, I’ll throw everything I was putting towards debt repay into my money market and high-yield savings accounts.

2. After I save my 10K, I am going to invest $2,500 (the minimum) into the Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF.  I’ve been looking at this fund for a while, and since I am still young and have a long investing future ahead of me, I’ve decided to invest in a riskier fund that has a lot of potential for a high return.  I’m also going to start contributing the maximum to my Roth IRA account.

3. My ultimate goal, once I have a nice financial cushion in my checking and savings accounts, is to quit my 9-5 and find a part-time job three days a week doing something I enjoy (possibly fundraising/grant writing for a nonprofit), and spend two full days each week focusing on building this site.

Since I’m in a positive and story-sharing mood today, I’d really like to hear from you guys about any financial goals you’re working on or have reached so far.  Feel free to share your tips and stories in the comments section!

Related posts:

1. Here’s Help with that Debt Reduction Resolution
2. To Charge or Not to Charge: Should Credit Card Spending be Restricted for Young Adults?