# Any big financial goals for 2018?



## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

Simple title, simple question...any big financial goals for 2018?

I'll go first.

1. Max out our TFSA contributions for the year ($11k). Should be done by Jan. 3.
2. Continue to kill mortgage debt - by making some additional mortgage payments throughout the year.
3. Max out my RRSP contribution room again. Close the gap on my wife's available RRSP contribution room.
4. Have some fun and take an international trip in the fall of 2018. Investing is fine and good but you gotta live your life too.

Happy holidays CMF and best wishes for whatever you have planned in 2018!


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## 1980z28 (Mar 4, 2010)

Create a budget and live within it as this will be the first year with no earned income in retirement


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## Ag Driver (Dec 13, 2012)

Deleted


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

We need to spend more money-splurge on ourselves a little.


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## zylon (Oct 27, 2010)

Nothing big here; just run-of-the-mill management.

max TFSA
max tax-free withdrawal allowed from RIF
more to charity than in '17
don't manage managed money
keep an eye on the rest with trailing stops
continue searching for someone with enough grey matter that when s/he inherits a gold piece, won't immediately seek out the highest bid in worthless fiat


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## ddivadius (Apr 28, 2017)

Now that mortgage is paid off will be throwing most of the net savings after expenses into RRSP/Spousal RRSP as I have tonnes of room from previous years and I am in a high income tax bracket. Tax refund will all go to TFSA (still a long way to go to catch up here as well). Max RESP for 2 kids as well.


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## stardancer (Apr 26, 2009)

1980z28 said:


> Create a budget and live within it as this will be the first year with no earned income in retirement


Having been retired for 13 years (hubby for 16), I can advise you to stick to the budget closely. We are not rich by any means and I am still in savings mode; example, the RIF payments come at the end of the year to fund next year's TFSA contributions. After you hit your 70's the RIF payments start to get smaller and the medical expenses (especially medical travel up here in Northern Ontario) get higher. I am counting on the TFSAs to fund the dwindling RIF resources in the future.


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## milhouse (Nov 16, 2016)

Max out TFSA contributions
Max out RRSP contributions
Allocate $20-25k to non-registered account
Exercise and hold some work stock options (they expire early 2019)
Hit $1.5M CDN in investable assets if equities stay friendly 
Generate $30k in dividends in non-registered account


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## DigginDoc (Sep 17, 2015)

A couple of years ago I traded down from 2 1/2 acres and big house and moved to the lower mainland. Last year I bought a new townhouse, new car and a tv that appears to be smarter than me. :joyous: My gics will come due next year and I will have to do something with it. TfSAs in January. However I turned 71 this year and also had an operation and radiation. I may go with an advisor or ETFs in 2018. Questions to follow on another post.
Cheers and Happy holidays 
Doc


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## Dilbert (Nov 20, 2016)

Retire end of March at age 61 and live off of dividends, moving forward.
Begin to work on planning to minimize future tax payable on RIFs and capital gains.
I really enjoy this site, best wishes to all at Christmas!


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## Oldroe (Sep 18, 2009)

I will move in kind riocan from cash account to TFSA.

Continue to look for opportunities.


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## Koogie (Dec 15, 2014)

Max out TFSA contributions on Jan. 02Max out accrued RRSP contributions and HBP repayment +/- 57K (possible)Roll maturing GICs as required.Finish fleshing out CDN dividend portfolio.Add to existing US and INTL ETF holdings. Hold nose due to valuations.Increase divvy and interest income from circa 52K up to 65K (dreaming).A lot will depend on when the goddamn government finally releases details on theirchanges to CCPC taxation. Some of the goals might go on hold depending on taxtreatment.


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## Loonies (Jul 31, 2017)

This will be the first year for me setting financial goals as part of my annual planning! In 2018 I turn 27, so I think it is about time I start planning.

*2018 Goals:*
1. Increase NW from 90 to 150k (+60k)
2. Increase emergency fund to 10k, currently sitting at a measly $600.
3. Contribute $3,000 towards Employee Share Plan
4. Contribute $3,000 towards TFSA
5. Pay off Line of Credit
6. Put health before money


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

^ I think you got your order (or numbering) reversed but then maybe not, as you're still young.

Oh, my 2018 financial goals - still working on it. Just like every new year's resolutions.


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## MISAOK (Nov 19, 2017)

I don't know if this answer is what the OP had in mind as it does not answer the question with firm numbers, but my main financial goal is just to clarify the plan... as in do better than the current plan of "save as much as I can".

Address the known unknowns:
What are our expected expenses in retirement?
How much should I have in RRSP, TFSA, non-registered, professional corp at age of retirement? Benchmarks at earlier ages?
Are there other places I should invest - whole life insurance? Real estate?

Specifically for next year
How much money should I a) leave in the corp, b) take out of the corp and i) put in RRSP ii) put in TFSA iii) use to repay student loans iv) dump into mortgage?
How much disability, term-life, whole-life insurance should we buy for me and/or my wife.

What about the unknown unknowns? I guess that's what I read these forums for.


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## canew90 (Jul 13, 2016)

Hope all 14 of our holding increase their dividend by an average of 6% in 2018.

All the best to every one in 2018


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

Almost 12 years into retirement. 2018 will mostly be continuation of 'staying the course' and keep annual spending within my chosen VPW metrics (we are under spending relative to VPW recommendations). A few things to also consider:

1. Replenish my FI allocation a bit (sell a bit of equity) to keep my 'multi-year reserve' (against a significant bear) constant

2. Consider a swap of an under-performing equity or two for something else (opportunities permitting). PWF is a sales candidate, and ALA might be if the upcoming merger does not cause stock price to start to appreciate. I don't care much about a 7.65% dividend yield if there is no stock price appreciation over time.


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## OutofBounds (Dec 7, 2016)

I would like to replenish the $10,000 in savings I withdrew a little over a year ago. It was used to help dig myself out of a hole and as of November this year I've been 100% debt free. I'll finally be able to funnel a proper amount of money into savings.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

Clean up the mess my finances have become.

I'm suffering from a slight bout of disorganization.
With my LIRA, Pension, RRSP, Unregistered investments, Spousal RRSP, I've got a mess.

A few extra dollars here, there, adn the various registered plans don't really cohere to my overall "strategy" I set up earlier.

I'm seriously thinking getting lazy and going more couch potato, but I've done quite well with my selected investments, Definately more AMBA than LF


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## 30seconds (Jan 11, 2014)

1. Clean up my portfolio allocations. I have been building a spreadsheet that in getting fairly automatic which should help keep me inline more. B
2. Reach 200k NW
3. Hope my cars transmission doesn't die because I don't want to go through the headache
4. Keep building my businesses


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## redsgomarching (Mar 6, 2016)

i would really like 200k nw. at around 115-120 now. 80k seems like a stretch!!!


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## nipunsh19 (Dec 18, 2017)

2018 Goals:

1. Increase NW from 80 to 120k (+40k) No reg savings account 
2. Start Contributing to RRSP max out RRSP 
3. Start contributing to TFSA, no clue how to Invest ?? :-D 
4. Stop being frugal lol


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## janus10 (Nov 7, 2013)

1. Sell current house by the spring.
2. Pay off HELOC.
3. Pay down mortgage on 2nd home by $150k.
4. End year with RRSPs growing by more than we withdraw.
5. Increase NW by $400k (stretch goal).


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## iamelle (Jan 5, 2018)

I am new to this forum and reading the posts inspire me to become better in terms of my finances. We are relatively new immigrants. Made some bad financial decisions when my husband lost his job for more than a year. Now more than ever, I really want to fix the mistakes and learn from them. These are my goals this year:
1. Pay-off credit card debts
2. Continue saving for our emergency fund
3. I have a 52-week money challenge allotted for December expenses
4. Continue saving on my RRSP thru salary deduction and to maximize the employer's contribution
6. After saving up for the emergency fund, start saving for downpayment for a house. Read and learn how to invest and open TSFA. 

Any suggestions is welcome. I need motivation and new knowledge to help us pull through.

Thank you!


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## latebuyer (Nov 15, 2015)

I have monetary targets for rrsp, tfsa, emergency fund and mortgage. Once i reach those goals i will put money towards a vacation fund. I also have a goal to buy only 5 tops this year as i spent too much on clothes.


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## Metaz (Jan 12, 2018)

I have to find a job and this will my goal in 2018.


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## DollaWine (Aug 4, 2015)

Cash flow a wedding. Ouch!


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## newfoundlander61 (Feb 6, 2011)

(1) Selling our paid off home in the spring and renting an apartment.
(2) Investing the money from the house to provide monthly or quarterly to give us some money to do a little travelling.
(3) Will max out my TFSA and open one for the wife also maxing that one out.

Thats about it, not fully retiring but making a lifestyle change a little early so take advantage of our good health and have some fun together.


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## scorpion_ca (Nov 3, 2014)

Increase net worth to 500k.
Buy a house. However, I may change my mind.


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## gardner (Feb 13, 2014)

(1) cash-out golden handcuffs and retire
(2) sell current rental property for ~$320K and realise ~100K CG
(3) scope out building costs for a home in Victoria


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## Gordo99 (Dec 13, 2011)

Now that I have cut ties with Financial Planner and consolidated all of my holdings on Waterhouse accounts I need to clean up and max out TFSA contributions that I regrettably didn't do for a few years.

Nice to see folks counting down to retirement. We're within two years now. The goal is to get the retirement numbers nailed this year and begin the final countdown.

But still spend and try to enjoy life more this year.

Love this site. Good luck to all this year.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

I am in a good place already but my financial goal for 2018 is simply to clean up some investments I have ,holding on to some dud stocks so selling for the losses in 2018 and to find one good investment property in Toronto in 2018 if my cryptocurrency investments go up north of 500% in 2018 lol.


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## stardancer (Apr 26, 2009)

Goals for 2018

Since I over-achieved my goals for purchasing stocks in 2016 and 2017, I am focusing on catching up on a few things for the next few years:

continue contributing to our TFSAs, but also catch up on the extra contribution amount from the year it was $10,000; already done for this year- $5,500 + an extra 500 for each of us

transfer $2000 into one daughter's mutual fund; part of my gifting plan; we are supplementing our other daughter on an on-going basis as she is disabled and on ODSP; done for this year

rebuild our GIC ladder; we had to break it in 2017 when our vehicle died; time to pay it back to rebuild our emergency fund

It will be a tight year- as soon as I committed to this plan, our stove died; thankfully our remaining emergency fund can absorb the cost, but anything extra will go into replenishing the fund. As we are dependent on pensions (which never increase anywhere near as much as prices increase), I have to make sure we can meet life's financial challenges.


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## BasicFu (Jan 13, 2018)

Start my 20 year investing career, really

I just finished paying off all my non-mortgage debt. My goal is to be churning dividend income well enough to be able to retire at 55 which seems possible, but it'll be tough and I'll have to be cautious. I've got about 15k ready to invest and 5k in savings (which itself takes care of all my regular bank fees thank the gods). So I'm planning to find some good solid blue chips that provide a good dividend. I've been looking at some simple funds and single companies in the TSX so I can just live simply and fill up the TFSA I just opened.

Aside from this my only goals are to continue to live a frugal life and be dedicated to ensuring my future is one of self-sufficient fun and as little stress as possible.


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## Marc (Jan 16, 2015)

Our plan for 2018 is to max out our registered accounts. We've already maxed out our RRSPs and will have our TFSAs maxed out within the next few months. Apart from that, our goal is to focus on our allocations as we are very low on International assets (8%) when we look across our entire portfolio of investments. We're thinking of adding an International ETF to increase our exposure outside of Canada. We are looking at XAW but would appreciate any other ETF recommendations.


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## Holland (Apr 24, 2016)

I am hoping to hit $160,000 in investments this year and generate $12,000 in realized gains, with at least $10,000 of that coming from dividends and option premiums.


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## Calmoney (Dec 19, 2013)

So many goals:
•	I have just finished my first year of retirement…and I am down to pinching myself once a day, it is great.
•	Continuing on the path of div investing that I have been doing for over fifteen years. I have been able to create a second pension with this. Because of a DB pension from work I just let it grow. The YOC for the portfolio is in the high single digits now. No need to (hopefully) ever touch the principle.
•	Ensuring my 2 daughters are putting away 15% of their income every month for the future, or possibly a house.
•	Maxing the TFSA, the first day of each year.
•	Contributing what I can to an RRSP, due to income from a rental property.
•	Giving decent amounts to charities that are important to us.
•	Always continuing to learn, I have exhausted the public library of everything they have for financial related books. I give them suggestions for new books, sometimes they will order them and I will be on the “hold” list.
Anyway, kind of rambling, a few things that are on my mind for 2018.


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