My Money Habits and Money Goals Over the Last Few Months

This week in money

The next month in money is going to hurt badly. I Have just finally been able to get back on stable ground, saving quite a bit of my income but a big storm is coming soon. Two house payments, two utility payments. This month will be one of my hardest and I am not looking forward to it. Even with two housing payments, there will be other expenses pulling me elsewhere as my income starts to shrink and shrink. Hopefully it won’t be a month like January where I had to pay my taxes and pay for multiple other random expenses that set me behind a couple of thousand dollars. Since the first month, and since the end of last year really, I have been struggling to get back to normal where I can max out my Roth IRA contributions and save money for future expenses like a vehicle, a ring, a wedding, maybe even a slowdown at work for school purposes. All while trying to keep up with my investments has me struggling a lot over the year. I have still done well. I had to pull from my emergency fund for one month and this could have been easily avoided if I saved for taxes but instead, I filled up my brokerage. I could have paused my HSA contributions and my 401(k) contributions, but I haven’t done that. I am still taking advantage of the company match and even maxing out a new account like an HSA. My investments are still growing despite my feelings. I have also been able to have vacations. New experiences. One new experience is PAYING taxes instead of them giving me money back. I have also seen snow for the first time. Went on four cruises. Stayed in a deluxe hotel for the first time. There have certainly been wins. Seen a brand-new theme park. Passed my classes…. Have I had a good year? Despite the lack of Roth IRA funding, it looks like I have done well. Maybe it just looks a little different than last year and the future payment just scare me a bit.

I had a great year last year. I was able to save so much money. I was able to make more than I ever had before. I felt strong about my direction in my life and my pace at which I was going at it. 2025 hit me like a ton of bricks. Some ups and a lot of downs.

I feel like I am coming to the point of the year (halfway point) where things are going to start to balance out. I have lived above my means for a couple of months this year and I have had two months where I had to pull from my emergency fund to sustain myself. This is the first time in 24 months where I have had to do that. Life goes through phases and luckily I should be hitting a phase where I can start saving lots of money.

It couldn’t come at a better time because there are so many goals I would like to hit. Currently my investments are exclusively HAS and 401(k) which I will convert to Roth if I move jobs. I’ll have to pay some taxes on the amount, but it is better to pay taxes on $5,000 than $500,000. During last year I projected myself to hit $100,000 of net worth by 30…. That seems like a fairy tale now. After the stock market took a beating and more lifestyle increases it could be a few more years. I need $5,000 more to max out my Roth IRA for the year but it seems like a far dream. I had to pause the secondary investing for a little bit of time as I refilled my emergency fund after some hard months.

There are some relationship goals that do cost a little money. An engagement ring is in view, and with an engagement ring in view, there is also a wedding journey that starts as well. Several thousands of dollars to be used for this as we navigate life together.

Another personal goal for me financially is to buy a new car. In a couple of years my vehicle will be 10 years old with over 100,000 miles and will need to be upgraded. It already has begun to show its age with computer issues and interior/exterior issues. Each day that passes the value drops just a bit, which gives me FOMO of how much money will I be losing in the next two years.

Furthermore, I also have some goals for the new house to really make it a home. Some extras that I don’t need but I do want. Some examples of that being a kayak, a paddleboard, a grill, a pressure washer, pavers, and an electric bike. These are just some fun add-ons that I am looking for. There is a lake in my neighborhood and an awesome 31-mile bike trail that I would love to spend some weekends on. Not a need so this will be down the list of priorities.

It has been an unfortunate collection of months in 2025 regarding my financial positioning. I also have investments in a single stock(stupidly) that has been dropping like an anchor. Still a long way to get back to normal but hopefully will come back.