SMART Financial Goals for 2012

I have divided up my goals for 2012 into two main categories, financial and personal.  This post will only concentrate on the financial goals, and I will take a future post to write up some of my personal goals for 2012.  Now there are a few parts to these financial goals so I will do my best to break them out for you and elaborate a little bit on each aspect.

SMART Financial Goal #1:  Pay off some debt.

Now that is not very specific so let’s improve upon this, shall we.

S:  Eliminate PMI on the rental house.  Pay off the business line of credit.  Pay off the Discover Card.

M:  I need $960 to pay against the principal in order to eliminate PMI.  The current balance of the business line of credit is $950.  The Discover Card balance is just over $8500.

A:  I think all three goals are attainable.  I plan on using blogging earnings for this debt elimination since these earnings have not been figured into my life and represent extra funds.

R:  Considering the fact that I made over $1000 gross for the last 2 months blogging and will be striving for $30,000 in 2012, I think that netting about $10,000 should be fairly realistic.

T:  The PMI is essentially a done deal.  The money has already been transferred from PayPal and simply needs to be sent to the mortgage company along with appropriate written instructions.  I will be calling them later today.  I have enough money to pay for the first 2 months of author expenses of Grand Per Month set aside so any revenue during January and February could go right toward the business line of credit.  By the end of February, that should be paid off.  That will give me the remainder of the year (10 months) to pay off the Discover Card.

SMART Financial Goal #2:  Make $30,000 in 2012 through blogging.

S:  Specifically, I want to gross $30,000 for the year and net at least 75% of that or $22,500.  This will be enough to help me accomplish the above financial goal of paying off the designated debts.

M:  Well, yes it is measurable.  Dealing with numbers make the measuring part fairly simple.

A:  Yes, it is attainable.  There are many bloggers making consistent earnings around $1500-$2000 per month.  With 2 blogs, it is certainly possible.

R:  This is where it gets a little sketchy.  For me, it will be a stretch I admit it.  I think so mainly because of my difficulty attracting traffic online.  I am getting better, but the question remains whether or not I can grow the blogs and the earnings quickly enough during the course of the year.  But I am definitely thankful for all of you who consistently read this blog day in and day out.  I am also thankful for the great enthusiasm with which Grand Per Month has been received.  So, we shall see.

T:  By the end of 2012.  I have a schedule of earnings that will get me there so I can know whether or not I am on track each and every month.

So, these are the two main financial goals that I will be focusing upon in 2012.  I have a few others like not adding to my other credit card debt, and increasing the dividends in my retirement account but those plans either aren’t quite as specific (no additional credit card debt) or have already been written about (dividend plan).  On the other hand, the goals above will require fairly active management throughout the year so will require some extra focus.

Readers:  What are your financial goals for 2012?  Feel free to share in the comments below.  Here is to a great 2012!

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