Balancing multiple goals

RichyRich

Time for a year end check in.

It's been a productive year towards meeting my multiple goals though impatience really is my "deadly sin".

Still, I think I'm in a good position with cash savings sitting at around £25,000 (£16,000 of which will be sent to my Nutmeg ISA and £4,000 of which to my Nutmeg LISA before the end of the tax year - which will leave me slightly under exposed to cash but I plan on increasing this too before the tax year ends), and my Nutmeg balance sitting at about £37,000 across my ISA and my LISA. I don't have an accurate figure for my pension but I continue to pay in at 15% which makes a total contribution of 26.5% including employer's contribs.

My mortgage is sitting at £177,500 plus a few pounds, which will rise slightly before year-end due to interest accrual but is close enough. Total over payments this year have totalled £13,322.74 which is ahead of what I expected.

Overall I am quite pleased with progress this year and that I have been able to avail fully of the tax breaks (even though i haven't actually done so yet).

Which brings us to planning for next year. I'm not a big one for new years resolutions but this year I need to improve my health. A few things going on in my personal life have led me to make poor choices diet wise and I need to fix that PDQ, and to start exercising more too. I'm going to start walking to and from work again, which will save between £3.00 and £3.40 a day into the bargain, and make a conscious effort to eat better. From a financial perspective that should mean bringing my own food to work (though that's something I've never found sustainable in over 15 years of working life) which should save expensive canary wharf lunches. So fingers crossed a better financial year next decade.

Thanks for joining me for the ride, and I'll update the diary next year!

longway2go

I have just read your diary. You are doing so well and absolutely looks like you have found a good balance. I struggle with that myself as I am just keen to see the mortgage balance at 0. I also track mini goals.

Good luck for the next year