Reflecting On My 2023 Financial Goals
*This is a collaborative post on my 2023 financial goals but all words and thoughts are my own
I’ve talked about my aversion to resolutions and making big changes at the start of the year. But I do like setting goals and plans for the year ahead. At the start of 2023 I set some financial goals for the year so I thought I’d reflect back on them.
Savings related 2023 financial goals
We had three set savings related goals which were the biggest goals for us, and thankfully we hit them all.
It started off with our wedding (and then honeymoon) savings goal. We got married in May 2023 and wanted to ensure everything was paid for ahead of time. And that was a massive tick, even if it did take just over three years of savings. I can’t believe our special day was almost eight months ago, but it was such an incredible day. And then we fully funded our honeymoon fund by the end of month, and it’s just a few short weeks away now.
The other goal was to keep to my savings plan for our September 2024 cruise. Currently we’re completely on track with the plan I set, although our monthly saving does go up from February 2024.
After hitting our savings goals, I wanted to do some learning and improvement in my financial journey. So exploring books on saving money has is going to be invaluable to discover new strategies and insights to enhance our savings plan further.
Investments and debt update
This is when things didn’t go quite as much to plan as I’d have liked.
My first goal was to save at least £1,000 into my lifetime ISA over the year, but I didn’t manage it. We’ve had a lot of big things going on (wedding, honeymoon saving, garage renovation) so haven’t had the spare money to put into this. This goes in tandem with setting Luke up with a pension investment (likely a lifetime ISA for him).
We’ve made a decision that after our cruise we’re going to hit pause on anymore big holidays for a year or two. So I then want to focus on some of our longer term savings including both of our ISA’s.
The final goal in this area was to pay off at least £3,000 from our solar loan. We did chip some money off this but we didn’t hit our plan, ending at around £1,800. This is something I really want to focus on in 2024.
Other 2023 financial goals
As I mentioned in my check in post I smashed my goal of increasing my full time wage. This was due to moving companies and roles in April. I am incredibly happy in my new role and can’t wait to see where it takes me over the next few years.
My final goal was to use cashback more often, and it’s still a bit of a mixed bag. I do use it a bit more than I did before, but nowhere near as much as I’d like. It’s mainly when I make purchases on my mobile that I forget to use cashback services, so I need to work out the best to keep on top of this as I know I must be missing out on money back.
My main goals for the year ahead
- Full fund our cruise saving fund before the trip so nothing goes onto our credit card
- Fully save and pay off for our full garage renovation (including all furniture and furnishings). Although some of this will be going onto our credit card and be paid back later.
- Save at least £800 in my lifetime ISA, and £800 into Luke’s ISA that we need to open.
- Pay down our solar debt by at least £4,000 in 2024
- Increase our emergency fund savings by another £1,500 over the year
How have you faired with your 2023 financial goals?
15 responses to “Reflecting On My 2023 Financial Goals”
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All About Me
Rhian Westbury
Travels and Destinations
Nothing currently planned
We’re in the process of working on our financial goals for 2024. We never did that last year but we learned a lot reading your posts so we will be setting goals this year. Thank you so much.
It’s a bummer to miss some goals, but I think as long as you’re hitting most of them, you’re on the right track!
100%, you don’t know what’s going to change over a year that may change your priorities x
Getting out of debt and paying with cash is such a great feeling. You are on the right track and good luck!
Reflecting on previous year goals is important. One can accordingly amend goals for the running year.
That’s good you reached your increase goal. I aim to do the same in 2024, hopefully by launching other income streams.
It’s incredibly rewarding to see your dedication pay off, from ensuring a stress-free wedding to fully funding that dream honeymoon. The anticipation for your upcoming cruise in September 2024 must be thrilling, especially knowing that you’re on track with your savings plan. Here’s to your financial success and the exciting adventures that lie ahead!
I’d say overall you totally smashed the previous year! Super encouraging going into the year ahead and very inspiring for us readers too! Loved reflecting back on the past year. It’s so rewarding!
I think it’s important to know that you won’t always hit every goal you have, and that’s okay x
That is awesome you were able to hit all of your goals! I hope this year is just as awesome for you.
Thank you for sharing your plans for the new year ahead. It inspires and reminds us all to do the same and what is applicable to our personal needs and goals. Kudos to you and your family!
It is good to hear that you are happy in your new role – hopefully you get the grand saved this year!
I wish you succeed in all of your money saving goals. The September trip sounds like it’s going to be an awesome one. All the best!
Thanks, it’s nice to have it to look forward to x
It’s refreshing to see your openness about hitting those wedding and honeymoon savings goals – major kudos on the almost-eight-month-old special day!