Now I think I’m doing well in my plan, but it is certainly a daunting task. I plan on using any extra money I make to pay these loans back as soon as possible, but I have to also keep on saving for my other goals.

One question I’ve been toying with for the past couple of weeks is whether or not I should stop contributing to my emergency fund and switch to other investments or saving goals. In addition, I have my student loan payments to start worrying about.

I think i’ll give the funding other savings goals a shot (i.e. my home downpayment fund). That way, I can at least rely on it as well should the emergency be even bigger than what I currently have saved. Once I feel comfortable with the size of the home downpayment fund, then I’ll lower that contribution and switch to start either paying down the loan faster or making some Roth IRA investments.

My question to you is, is your emergency fund big enough?

We’ve become bombarded by so many choices nowadays that we often look at the whole platter and just choose from it. Instead, we need to ask ourselves what do I truly want to do - what makes me happy?

The obvious answer is to do what makes you happy Circumstances certainly shape decisions, but there’s no reason to not go through the exercise and find out what makes you happy. If you find that place, even if current circumstances don’t allow it, you will always be thinking about it and finding ways to subconsciously have it become part of your life.

For me it’s user interface design (how one interacts with a website for example). I’ve always loved how things work, and when they work well I am in awe. It’s definitely not the field that I studied in college, and not what I’m currently doing, but I’ve always had this in mind and it’s led me to work on side projects for friends that allowed me to do interaction design.

That’s just my example, but hey, if you don’t know what to look for – how do you get there?

A great exercise that I used to help me get at this point is finding what I have in common with what I do in my work, with friends, with family, and with strangers. I found that just writing down something under each column sparked a connection, amazing what paper and pen can do. My commonality was that I loved to help people to find solutions to problems. This is the overall subject that I love to do, and user interaction design is a way of doing it in the “real” world that really connected with my love of drawing.

I’m not giving up on this dream, it’s always there in my mind, and someday it might become a more real part of my life.

Do you know what you should do?

The test itself is not hard, but it is something that you have to know cold in order to finish with enough time to spare. In addition, the very nature of answering more questions right from the start that have a greater impact on your score than the latter questions, made it imperative that you do it right from the beginning.

This brings me to my lesson. Doing things right from the start reduces rework and is more rewarding in the long run. I’m not talking about perfectionism, but just putting the effort in what you do so that it shows.

I often look at reports at work that others put together with gramattical and mathematical mistakes, and it makes me wonder just how much they care. These are reports being sent to superiors and even publications, not a simple blog post such as this By doing things right from the beginning, you can develop a reputation of being reliable and knowledgeable. These qualities come in hand when looking for recommendations, promotions, and even during layoffs! I know first hand. Plus, you become almost indispensable to the organization if you can show these skills. Whether or not you want to be indispensable is another question

I propose that to improve ones career, one should develop new skills – whether that is in management or in a technical manner that is different from what one is doing.
Take me for example. I took on extra projects and earned side income by utilizing those skills, albeit at a much lower work rate than I would’ve liked. That has actually led me to other projects (higher paying) and more opportunities to expand my career. It amazes me how much new skills offer outside of the actual knowledge you gain. It brings about a change in mindset and approach to problems that you would’ve never had, if you didn’t explore it.

If you are currently contemplating “so what do I need to learn?”. I don’t have an exact answer, but a guideline that you should follow an interest or passion and develop it to the fullest extent. From my experience, most people are not doing what they thought they’d be doing in their lives and have put things like their passions on hold. This mindset can lead to job unsatisfaction and a void in one’s life. So go ahead and set some specific actionable goals and small steps to get to those goals. I’m in the process of doing the same now (details removed for anonimity):

• Start a website that connects _________ with __________ and earn a passive income of $10,000 per month.
  • Identify appropriate infrastructure requirements
  • Learn Ruby on Rails
  • Create data structure and sketch out user interaction with site
  • Identify revenue streams and income model

These are my beginning steps, and I’ll post more as I accomplish them. This being a side-project, it might proceed at a slower rate.  What are you passionate about? Are you willing to try something new and exciting in your life?

Total Assets: $75,583
Total Liabilities: $109,657

Networth: -$31,074

Slowly but surely I am working my way into paying the student loans, my only outstanding “good debt” as they say, although I don’t know how much good it is with some of the loans at 6.8%. I also received a decent bonus from work, which was taxed 50% of course, but I entered it all toward paying the student loan. I am looking to make some additional payments for the student loan, but I need to come up with a game plan for 2011 in terms of how I’m allocating the money. It’s pretty cool, and I’ll share my insight to the way I’m approaching this. Essentially, I am taking the total amount I am expected to make over the rest of the year net, then I am subtracting all of my trips, gifts and large expenses. Then I am calculating my monthly needs (some of which I know such as rent and cell bill), and determining what my budget should be for everything else. This is a new way that I am allocating my money and I’m hoping it will help me in becoming more conscious of my spending as I will be automating all the goals on a bi-weekly basis.

I think I’ve found my solution. Google Calendar. Yep, I am going to automate my goals and habits in a clear way on the one device that I always look at, my phone. So far, it’s helped me recite my affirmations in the morning for the past two weeks (testing this affirmation thing out and I’ve been able to regularly take my vitamins in the afternoon (which I always forget to do).

I’ve even put in the regular updating of my Networth, so fingers crossed, I will provide regular updates from now on

Anyway, here’s to automating your habits.

—

My goals for 2010 (starting on Feb 1st 2010)

1.) Achieved: Establish a $12,000 emergency fund by December 2010. Right now I’m at $4,300 and with bi-weekly $250 contributions I can reach this goal. (Automated)
Specific – Yes, an exact amount.
Measurable – Yes.
Attainable – Yes. I laid out the entire plan.
Realistic – Yes. I can save that much per paycheck.
Timebound – Yes. I set a deadline of Dec 2010.

2.) Achieved ~ somewhat, no current debt, but did carry a balance a few months in 2010: No Credit Card Debt

Specific – Yes. Currently I managed to payoff all of my CC debt with the exception of a self payment for previous.
Measurable – Yes. Pay off every month.
Attainable – Yes. Spend within my means and budget.
Realistic – Yes. I will always check for my balances and maintain to budget.
Timebound – Yes.. always by the end of the month “zero” out balances.

3.) Achieved and Raised to 7%: Contribute 6% of my income to 401k Retirement Accounts (Automated)
Specific – Yes.
Measurable – Yes.
Attainable – Yes.
Realistic – Yes.
Timebound – Yes.

4.) Not Achieved, only saved half of that 2,400 because I stopped contributing half way through the year to pay down my credit card balance, well worth it. Save $4,800 towards the eventual downpayment for an apartment/house (5 – 7 year goal) (Automated)
Specific – Yes. ($200/paycheck)
Measurable – Yes.
Attainable – Yes. Spend within my means and budget.
Realistic – Yes, at least according to my budget.
Timebound – Yes, 1 year then revisit. (this number might change according to how I can budget these numbers further.)

5.) Achieved, took a month long trip to South East Asia – spent quite a  bit more than $2,000, more like $5,000, need better planning for this year or next. Enjoy life and build some memories by taking some trips (total planned expenditure $2,000)
Specific – Yes.
Measurable – Yes.
Attainable – Yes. Budgeted, also “if” I do get a bonus this month then I will use a portion towards this goal. well no bonus.. guess I’ll have to find another way.
Realistic – Yes. I will always check for my balances and maintain to budget.
Timebound – Yes. By end of the year allocate $2,000 to a trip. *I already spent $1,000 of this money on a recent trip.*

6.) Not Achieved, life happened and my dislike for budgets took over. I’m much happier with the automated saving plan and spending allocation, not putting this goal on for 2011. Create a budget, trim where necessary, and follow it starting April.
Specific – Yes.
Measurable – Yes. I will track my expenses thoroughly for the months of February and March to figure out the best allocation of money and where to cut back.
Attainable – Yes. As long as I always write down my cash expenses. Otherwise the rest of the purchases will be categorized on Mint.com
Realistic – Yes.
Timebound – Yes. By the end of March I should have a clearer view of my budget.

Cons:

• 400 – 600 more in rent per month (about $6k more/year!).
• Moving in with a roommate again..

Pros:

• Convenience to the city and work (i.e. no more +1hr commute back after going out in the city).
• Experience of having said that I actually lived in the city (I’m contemplating starting a consulting career in one year which might take me away on a regular basis).
• Splitting utility and cable bills
• Splitting some food costs
• Slight savings in commuting costs (only 1 monthly pass for the MTA)

I’m not sure if these make sense and worthwhile the $6,000+ annual expense given my current status.. It does seem quite irrational. I’ve tried to tell myself that I’ll start taking lunch more often to work and eating dinner at home on a regular basis to make up for the lost amount of money. I guess anything to convince myself that this is a change that needs to happen. In a month, this move will happen and I’m quite nervous so I thought I’d follow Kotter’s 8 Steps to creating organizational change and apply it to making this move:

1. Create a sense of Urgency
   • Done. I have to move out by the end of the month.
2. Form a Powerful Coalition
   • Need to work on this.. So far only my roommate
3. Create a Vision for Change
   • Trying to envision living in the new place and being a true New Yorker
4. Communicate the Vision
   • This post.. I’ve also been talking with friends
5. Remove Obstacles
   • Don’t talk to nay-sayers and come up with strategies to make the move have almost no impact (i.e. new ways to save/earn money)
6. Create Short-Term Wins
   • Start by making changes this week, lunch and dinner in everyday
   • Think about the new apt and all the pros
7. Build on the Change
   • Continue the short term wins and build on them every week to create new goals
8. Anchor the Changes
   • Turn these changes into long term habits by continuing to practice them

Well, that’s about it, off I go to work and to start my change process… 1 step at a time.
If you want to read more about actual organizational change you can check out Kotter’s 8 steps by clicking here.