What I’m Saving For: 2019

2019 is shaping up to be a wild and exciting year for me, so I want to make sure that I’m saving for what’s coming up. There’s a few things listed in my budget categories at the moment, and I thought it would be helpful if I went through those here (as well as how I’m approaching each). I use the YNAB Budget System, so when I refer to categories, that’s what I mean. You can read more about my love for YNAB here.

Also, today is a very special day, and my GIFs are themed accordingly. You’re welcome.

The Ever-Exciting 401(k)

The longest-term savings goal on this list. I had paused a regular contribution to my Roth 401(k), which is basically a cardinal sin for a personal finance blogger. Oops.

But in my defense, I thought a self-funded move might be imminent, so I was saving for some shorter-term goals. Now that my career plan has crystallized, and it means I’ll be staying put for a while, I can pull back on that and return to putting money in my retirement account!

A quick note on this—I wouldn’t have pulled back my contributions if it had jeopardized any sort of company match. Because Free Money is always at the top of the list when it comes to prioritizing your savings! If you have a company match, and you aren’t getting its full monetary value (or you’re not sure if you are), stop reading right now and go find out. FREE MONEY, PEOPLE.

Ahem. Moving on.

Obviously, this is more about contributing as much as possible to retirement now, while I’m young, rather than meeting some sort of set savings goal.

I’m Going to Morocco!

One amazing perk of my current job is getting to travel to cool places for business. Morocco has been high up on my travel wish list for a while now (not the top, but pretty darn close). So when I found out that I’d be going this spring, I knew I had to swing my schedule and finances so that I could stay a few extra days. And I’m super excited!

I wasn’t planning any big trips this year because I wanted to focus on saving money, but when the opportunity (and free plane ticket) falls in my lap, I’m definitely not going to say no.

Have you been? Any recommendations of things I should see (or can skip)? Let me know! I’ll definitely be in Casablanca and Marrakesh but haven’t decided if I’ll go anywhere else. I’d love to fit in a visit to the Sahara, but I’m not sure if I’ll have time.

I’m not sure how to budget for this trip yet. On the one hand, I want to do and buy ALL THE THINGS. On the other hand, I have plenty of ambitious financial goals for the next 12 months, so I have to contain myself. We’ll see how that goes…

My Family is Hella Smart

OMG my youngest sister is graduating! From a pretty darn good school, if I do say so myself. Even if it isn’t my alma mater. I’m not bitter.

I’m ridiculously proud of her, and also trying to nonchalantly give her all the financial advice that I wish I had right out of college. Is anyone surprised?

It’s so important for me to be there to celebrate with her, especially since I don’t get to see her that often. She’s my half-sister, and we’ve only been averaging about once-a-year visits for the past few years. I’m hoping that will change when she’s out of school. It will be so great to see her walk across the stage! And she already has a great job lined up. Like I said, hella smart.

To save money, I’ll be driving out. That doesn’t actually save me that much money compared to a plane ticket when you calculate gas and wear on my vehicle, but it means I won’t need to get a rental car for the weekend. And even better, I can bring StarDog! He’s an excellent road trip buddy, and then I won’t have to pay for (at least one) pet sitter. That cats, unfortunately, will be staying home. But they love their sitter, and I know they’ll be in good hands. Bringing StarDog will save me about $120!

I’ve already booked a very cheap Airbnb since I know those will book up fast over the next couple of months. But it’s way cheaper than a hotel, especially when you add in hotel pet fees (which would negate the pet sitting savings I’m so excited about).

For this trip, I’ll need to save money for gas, tolls, and food. I’m hoping to minimize that expense by packing snacks and ready-to-make meals. In addition to what I spent on my Airbnb, I’m tentatively budgeting $300.

A Summer Wedding

I found out last week that one of my cousins is getting married, and she’s asked me to be an attendant in her wedding. It’ll be small, and I don’t think I’ll have to buy a dress (though that hasn’t been confirmed yet). But I will need to fly to the West Coast and get a gift. I’ll also need to fly to the Midwest later in the year for a separate reception (that will be bigger), but I’m hoping to use points for at least part of that flight if I have enough.

For this, I’m guessing I’ll need to have $600 set aside. Though I’m really hoping it comes in lower.

Moving!

Ok, the move isn’t imminent anymore (check out last week’s post if you missed my update). But, it’s much more likely that I’ll have to self-finance it, so I want to make sure I’m saving up. I’m trying to save about $50 a month in this category, and I’ve already put quite a bit in. Slow and steady wins the race, and this way I’ll be ready when that magical moving day does come (DC is hard y’all).

Bonus points! I got a boost in this budget category at the end of last month when I sold my 10-year old, nasty dog-smelling sectional on Craigslist for $200! Gotta love that sweet, sweet Craigslist cash.

Emergency Fund

The last big thing I’m saving for right now is my Emergency Fund. I really love the idea of saving up for 6 months of expenses, especially as I look at eventually leaving a traditional employer and the steady paycheck that comes with it. This savings goal is a little hard to calculate because I don’t know what cost of living will look like wherever I move, but regardless, I still need to save more. I’ll probably get more specific about that goal number later in the spring. I just know I need to keep working on it!

This goal is easy though because I have $120 coming out of every paycheck and going directly into a High Yield Savings Account. I have no self-control, so it’s easiest to save it when I don’t see it! And seeing quarterly interest payments that are higher than $0.01 is so satisfying.

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Okay, those are the big things on my savings list this year. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to get a little more serious about them now that I’ve told the world (or at least the corner of the internet that reads this blog). I’ll report back as I reach goals (or mainly I’ll report back when I have beautiful morocco photos to share).

What are you saving for this year? It’s a great time to map out any big expenses coming up so you can start planning for them! Last minute things are inevitable, but too many of them aren’t really last minute and can be anticipated. And if you’re clear on why you’re saving money, it’s so much easier to resist overspending!