One of my goals for 2026 was to "Set a savings goals & be more intentional about spending". The spending part will be a work in progress throughout, but I did want to set some savings goals. With two kids in college, this will be more of a "steady as we go" type of year, but we do still have some savings targets we'd like to hit:
- Max our 401Ks. We will both be 50 or over in 2026, allowing us additional contributions - $65k
- I get a small match for 529 contributions, so $1k into each account to get the match - $1k
- Max out HSA - $9850
- $5k to nephew's college
- Add contributions to Nick & Sam's retirement accounts (earned income) - $5k
- Additional savings -$13,150 (number selected to hit a round total target
- Continue to pay for both boys college expenses
- Earn $2000 in side hustle
- Stay on top of food waste with monthly challenges
- Make an anonymous donation to someone in my community
- Optimize points, perks & miles for travel
- Set a savings goal & be more intentional about spending
- Monitor credit card expenses (cost of having cards & accruing points) to determine value
- Find 3 expenses to optimize
- Figure out when I'm going to leave work
A commenter asked about the "Find 3 expenses to optimize", and honestly, I don't have any grand suggestions at the moment. But, my approach is going to be to review our 2025 expenses & look for things that we can either trim, cut out entirely or go with another provider (e.g. utilities, insurance, etc). We will also take a look at every recurring service/payment & ensure we are maximizing value. I hope to have more creative answers on this, but please share if you have any great ideas!
Do you have savings goals for 2026? What are you working towards?
We are looking at optimizing value for every recurring expense we have both monthly, quarterly or yearly. Some things we have continued out of loyalty, but they have out-priced our faithfulness when we can find the same service for less.
ReplyDeleteVery smart - I need to make this a priority as well. - HP
DeleteI am truly going to get out of debt this year. I have never been able to set up sinking funds for taxes and the like as every penny goes so quickly. I think I may be able to do that soon. I don't want to be sewing until I die.
ReplyDeleteWe are here to cheer you on! You can do this! - HP
DeleteI would love to reduce my car insurance but my umbrella ins is tied to Geico.
ReplyDeleteBig sigh bc I have discovered the longer you tend to stay with an auto insurance the more the rates sr to go up. I have found much cheaper car insurance companies and plans but my umbrella insurance isn’t having it. I don’t want to give up my umbrella insurance.
We don’t have another good option for electrical service either. So I have been striking out on the main expenses I am concerned with.
Cindy in the South
I'm with you, Cindy. Home insurance is very high here due to wildfire risk, so we are pretty much tied to our car insurance as well (same company). I wish we had other options. We are also struggling with our power (we have solar, but are still paying a lot), so I need to get an audit to understand what's happening there. - HP
DeleteI am hoping to do some trimming of expenses but with costs rising this could be a bit difficult. One of Harvey's prescriptions has gone up by $4.00.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Agreed - cutting seems to just offset the higher prices in other areas. - HP
DeleteSuper curious what percentage of gross income $100K is for you! (Might be too specific to answer here, so I understand if prefer to not share or maybe provide a range)
ReplyDelete