Personal Finance: Getting Ready For 2007: Part 1

Here is my personal “to-do” list for the last few weeks of 2006. I want to be prepared for 2007.

1. Open a Roth IRA for myself and my wife. Currently my retirement savings are being directed into my 403b. Mrs. NCN has a pension plan. In 2007, I hope to max-out my 403b, her Roth, and my Roth. I will be using Fidelity.

2. Buy a new expandable file folder for organizing my bills, receipts, and documents. Here’s a post about how I organize my bills and documents. To search for your own expandable file folder, use this link to search Amazon: Expandable File Folder (I’ll get a referral fee if you do so!)

3. Create a brand new budget for 2007!

4. Develop some personal goals! I really, really believe in “goal setting”. In the past 2 years, I have succeeded in getting out of debt, creating 3 websites, saving $20,000 dollars, and losing 10 pounds. I will be posting my new goals very, very soon!

5. Review and update my insurance policies. I want to review my life insurance policies, long-term disability policy, and renter’s insurance policy. Many sites suggest 8 to 12 times your annual income in term insurance. For me, that amount would be between 350-500 thousand dollars. Currently, I have about 250,000 and my wife has 300,000. I also have 100,000 in life insurance which is “free” from my 403b provider. So, my coverage is at the “low-end” of where it should be.

6. Review and update my will and other end-of-life documents. My wife and I both already have wills, but we actually wrote them ourselves and simply had them notarized. We wrote them when our daughter was three, before our son was born. We were broke at the time, so I didn’t feel that having a will was very important. (I was and idiot!) So, our wills are very, very simple, and I need to review them and have a lawyer take a look at them. They may be just fine, but I need to find out. Also, I need to learn about other “end-of-life” documents.

7. Open an ESA (Education(al) Savings Account) for my son.