Comments on: Setting Personal Finance Goals – Eliminating Overlapping Funds

By: Egirl

Egirl — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 04:11:01 +0000

Thanks for this post. It has practical, useful info and helped me to see how I can stay on track with my goals.

By: Moneymonk

Moneymonk — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:25:08 +0000

Nice. Pretty clean and concise goals. They are close to the goals I had when I started on my personal finance journey.

I’m right on track, it’s make a difference when you write everything down.

By: jnwcmr

jnwcmr — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:57:08 +0000

I disagree that overlapping funds are a bad idea. I think they are a good idea for all but the most risk-averse. Sure, you won’t have the cash to buy a fridge, newer car, and house down payment all at once, but really, what’s the likelihood of all three happening simultaneously?

Yes, this blog is about debt reduction, but when you’re talking about eliminating overlapping funds, I assume that your debt is either gone or very manageable. Once you’re past living paycheck-to-paycheck (which you are if you are accumulating cash for these three goals) you have the ability to take a longer view, and put some of that cash into higher risk/reward uses.

I will grant you that this is a poor time to use banks as an example, but they don’t keep all customer deposits in cash. They maintain a reserve (that’s emergency fund to you and me) to cover day-to-day operations and the rest is loaned out at higher interest rates (and higher risk of default).

Once the debt is managed, the real long-term goal is wealth-building for retirement. That won’t happen if all your cash is sitting in a bank waiting for you to buy a fridge or a car. Am I saying to invest your emergency fund in stocks? No. I’m saying manage your investment risk/return to make your retirement the best it can be.

By: B Simple

B Simple — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:07:09 +0000

Really enjoyed your finance goal series. Most people really do not sit down and think about where they want to be in the short-term or long-term. If you don’t map it out by setting goals its unlike you will get to where you want to be. Again great content.

By: Trevor @ Financial Nut

Trevor @ Financial Nut — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:17:35 +0000

Well said. I love that you have such a comprehensive plan. I don’t think it’s all that common either. My wife and I have set some pretty loose goals. Because we have such a solid budget that we live rigidly, we haven’t taken the time to set concrete goals.

Great article. I’ll be sure to do it.

By: kepsik

kepsik — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:27:49 +0000

Nice financial plan you have made. Good article!