Happy new year to all you lovely readers! We didn’t do much for New Years Eve apart from playing some board games with friends and watching the fireworks on TV – I didn’t really think the London fireworks were as good as they were in previous years? (Unless I’m getting too used to them now!). Craig David did really well and he hasn’t changed one bit! 2019 was a great year for the business all in all and we look forward to what 2020 brings. As part of me is slightly concerned about Brexit, the other part is just get on with it / carry on type mentality in keeping the business going.

Anyway, here’s my list of 2020 Goals to continue on the journey of Financial Independence Retire Early;

  • Invest maximum £20,000 limit into ISA (post April 2020).
  • Achieve an average savings rate of £4,200 per month (net £50,000 per annum).
  • Continue to update the blog / post updates on finances on a monthly basis.
  • Re-Read Tim Hales Smarter Investing Book.
  • Achieve an average savings rate of 55% throughout the year.
  • Aim to pay off 50% of Zopa Loan to halve monthly payments. (This is my last loan / debt I have! – apart from my mortgage)
  • Pay £3,600 extra against mortgage in 2020 (upping mortgage repayments by £300).
  • Continue to put away (emergency fund) £150 into Premium Bonds per month.
  • Plan out garden / vegetables and research into storage options.
  • Build 2 additional raised beds in the garden for potatoes.
  • Pay off tax bill (self assessment) in the usual fashion.

All in all I’m trying to get my savings settled down and remove this sort of ‘rush’ mentality from my head (wanting to save as much / as hard / as fast as I can). It’s a journey and a lengthy one at that and I don’t want to burn out with the process. Therefore my aim is to save £4,200 p/m (minimum) to net £50,000 annual savings each year – of course if there’s any change to the business / dividend allowance this may change / alter in the next coming months. I definitely want to take full advantage of the £20,000 ISA limit come April 2020.

So alternative goals are more to do with the garden! I love it – it’s great escapism from the computer screen and forces you to slow down a little. I’d like to read up more about vegetable storage options / crop rotation (to put nutrients back into the soil) and keep working on using the freezer to bulk grow certain veg (like tomatoes we did last year etc).

Here’s a fantastic 2020 to you all and good luck for the up and coming year!