Prioritize your Goals and Stay on Track

Remember when I wrote about how conflicted I was whether or not to get the Mini back on the road or sell it? Well, we sold it. Those who know the story of the Mini, know that this car was my dream car and it made me so happy to drive it. But the poor car has been sitting in my garage for a whole year now (thanks pandemic) and that was no good for it either. The reason I feel compelled to write publicly about this is that I would like to walk through the steps it took to come to this conclusion, and how my long term financial health far outweighed the benefits of carrying this car.

Consideration #1: Willingness to spend

The cost to get it back on the road was substantial. This meant evaluating our current savings balances, anticipated expenses and desire to dump money into this car compared to our other goals. I came to the conclusion that the Mini was at the bottom of the list of where I'd like to spend our money. Did I mention we have an amazing family vacation planned for April 2022? There was no way I was putting that on the line!

Consideration #2: Wants vs. Needs

Oh yes, we all love this infamous question! I had a good hard look at if getting the car back on the road was a want or a need. We now know that my husband will be returning to the office in the new year, but on a more modified basis. Meaning, we don't really need a second car any longer and funding this car is now definitely a want.

Consideration #3: Influx of cash

Now that the car is sold, we received a nice cheque from Mr. Buyer. Not only did we save on the major repairs it needed, but we brought in some money to work towards the thousand other goals we have. If you look at it from this perspective, it's thousands of dollars working towards our financial health instead of against it. I'm also crazy debt adverse, meaning I enjoy watching our nice and cozy emergency savings sitting there in case anything that is a true emergency happens.

Consideration #4: Jeopardizing other goals

Goals! What are your financial goals? Do you know them? Have you categorized them from most important to least? Oh you know I have and I'm happy to share them with you:

#1 Retire at a reasonable age - no excuses

#2 Maximize RESP for kiddo annually - no excuses

#3 Maintain our cottage and boat lifestyle that we cherish - this is a want, and will get put on the chopping block if it puts goal #1 or #2 on the line

#4 Do some renovations on our home to make it exactly how we want it so that we can live here a long time

#5 Travel Travel Travel - Vacations are very important to me and are not very negotiable.

Phew! You see all those goals? Unfortunately a second car is at the bottom of this list, and that's OK! I am sad to see the car go, but I am beyond empowered to watch all of these other goals stay on track and am proud of our family.

Ok your turn. Get familiar with your financial goals and decide what is negotiable and what isn't, there's no right or wrong here! Once you know this, you are less likely to jeopardize those goals with spending on wants.

If you're not sure what your goals are, or are seeking some clarity on how to prioritize them, A la Carte has a handy dandy service called Checkpoints where we can drill those down and create direct strategies to get them going.